plus 3, MCGREGOR LANDS LEAD IN MADONNA MOVIE? - PR Inside

MCGREGOR LANDS LEAD IN MADONNA MOVIE? - PR Inside
Movie Projector: No 'Bounty Hunter,' 'Repo Men' or ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs
FEY HOPING FOR LOHAN MOVIE COMEBACK - PR Inside
Movie review: `How to Train Your Dragon' flies high ... - Washington Examiner

MCGREGOR LANDS LEAD IN MADONNA MOVIE? - PR Inside

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 01:22 AM PDT

2010-03-23 09:27:07 -

Scottish actor EWAN MCGREGOR has landed the lead role in MADONNA's movie about late British royal KING EDWARD VIII, according to reports.
The Material Girl is stepping behind the camera for a second time to di rect a historical drama based on the former King, who abdicated in 1936 s o he could marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.
And the Trainspotting actor is set to play Edward in the upcoming movie , reports Screen Daily.
McGregor will join Vera Farmiga, who is slated to play Simpson, as well as Abbie Cornish, who has also been linked to the project.
Madonna made her directorial debut in 2008 with Filth and Wisdom, which was panned by critics.

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Movie Projector: No 'Bounty Hunter,' 'Repo Men' or ... - Los Angeles Times Blogs

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 03:11 PM PDT

"Alice in Wonderland" doesn't have to worry this weekend about getting taken down by a "Bounty Hunter," "Repo Men" or a "Wimpy Kid."

Walt Disney Studios' 3-D blockbuster "Alice" is sure to top the box-office charts for the third consecutive weekend, while a quartet of movies opening in wide release all jockey for position behind it.

After its huge, $116-million debut in the U.S. and Canada, director Tim Burton's "Alice" declined a relatively modest 46% on its second weekend to $62 million. It should fall a bit less on its third weekend, which would put ticket sales at around $35 million and possibly as much as $40 million.

So far "Alice" has racked up more than $221 million domestically and about the same amount overseas.
Sony Pictures' romantic comedy "Bounty Hunter," which stars Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, has the best prospects among the new pictures. (Correction, 3:25 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that Jennifer Garner stars in "Bounty Hunter.")

Despite its genre, the movie is generating nearly as much interest among men as women, according to people who have seen pre-release audience polling. Some of the movie's ads have focused on its action and broad comedy elements in order to lure more males. The picture, which Sony and Relativity Media financed at a cost of $40 million to $50 million, should open to around $20 million.

Science-fiction action flick "Repo Men," meanwhile, is on track to open closer to about $15 million. Relativity Media also co-financed this movie, which co-stars Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker, this time with distributor Universal Pictures. The movie cost $32 million and has been awaiting a release date for about two years — an unusually long time -- since production was completed.

In a bid to draw sci-fi fans and tie into the film's man-on-the-run theme, Universal has promoted the movie through a game in which players get clues online and seek out four real people attempting to avoid detection for a month.

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid," based on the popular series of children's books and comics, faces a big challenge in competing for the family audience with the continued popularity of "Alice." The modestly budgeted picture cost 20th Century Fox's movie label Fox 2000 only about $15 million to produce, so a predicted opening of about $10 million should be respectable.

Director Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" starts expanding nationwide this weekend after generating a healthy $4.6 million over the last four weeks in limited release. The political drama, which co-stars Ewan MacGregor and Pierce Brosnan, is playing at 819 theaters and is likely to take in closer to $5 million.

Also debuting this weekend is "The Runaways," based on the band of the same name led by Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. Independent distributor Apparition is launching the movie at 244 theaters in 10 cities, a larger-than-normal start for a film in limited release, before taking it nationwide next week.

"The Runaways" will undoubtedly draw some young female moviegoers thanks to the lead roles played by "Twilight" stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. Focus Features opens its Noah Baumbach-directed drama "Greenberg," starring Ben Stiller, at one theater in Los Angeles and two in New York City this weekend.

-- Ben FritzTop photo: Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston in "The Bounty Hunter." Credit: Barry Wetcher / Columbia PicturesBottom photo: Karan Brar (from left), Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." Credit: Rob McEwan / 20th Century FoxFive Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

FEY HOPING FOR LOHAN MOVIE COMEBACK - PR Inside

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 09:30 AM PDT

2010-03-22 17:33:09 -

TINA FEY hopes LINDSAY LOHAN will make a triumphant return to the big scr een following a string of box-office flops - because she showed such pote ntial as a teenager filming MEAN GIRLS.
Fey wrote and starred in the 2004 movie, in which Lohan played a naive school girl who becomes part of a ruthless girl gang.
The 30 Rock star was convinced the 23 year old was destined for a stell ar movie career and was devastated to watch the actress' personal problem s overshadow her professional life.
Lohan, who has endured a string of legal problems and stints in rehab, went on to appear in a string of critically-panned films, including 2007' s Georgia Rule and thriller I Know Who Killed Me.
But Fey is confident the former child star can turn her career around.
She says, "Lindsay was 17 when she did (Mean Girls) and she was brillia nt. But to have success and money at that age has got to be overwhelming.
No one tells you 'No', and I definitely wouldn=E2=80=99t want that for m y child.
"Lindsay was a lovely girl, very smart and very funny - and I hold out hope that we=E2=80=99ll see some really good work from her again." (CL/WN

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Movie review: `How to Train Your Dragon' flies high ... - Washington Examiner

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 01:05 PM PDT

What a refreshing change "How to Train Your Dragon" brings to the cartoon world: The creatures are not all that cute, and they do not speak a word.

DreamWorks Animation has been at the head of the pack for adorable, fast-talking critters with such movies as "Over the Hedge," "Kung Fu Panda" and the "Madagascar" series.

With "How to Train Your Dragon," the filmmakers tone down the glib factor and tell a pretty good action yarn, a boy-and-his-dragon story filled with fiery Viking battles, swordplay and dazzling aerial imagery aboard the flying reptiles.

For small children, the movie may not rate as high on the laugh and sight-gag meter as some of those earlier, more slapstick-y DreamWorks tales. After a slow, rather droning start, though, "How to Train Your Dragon" takes off on an exhilarating ride through the ancient Norse world, the hardscrabble landscape also a pleasant change from the softer realms of other cartoons.

Based on Cressida Cowell's children's book, the movie follows the adventures of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), the scrawny, misfit son of Viking chief and master dragon-slayer Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler).

A disappointment to his dad and a joke to his community, Hiccup is determined to make up for his lack of brawn by using his wits to bring down a Night Fury, the fiercest breed among the dragons that besiege his island village.

He actually succeeds, but finds he lacks the hard heart it takes to finish off the dragon. Instead, Hiccup feeds and nurses the wounded dragon, which he names Toothless.

A shrewd observer, Hiccup picks up on the finer points of dragon behavior from his new pet, which he applies to his dragon-slaying lessons run by blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson).

With his skills as a dragon whisperer, Hiccup becomes a local hero among the villagers and a rival for fierce classmate Astrid (America Ferrera).

Inevitably, Hiccup must prove his worth in battle, banding with his fellow trainees (played by a voice cast that includes Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) in an assault against a colossal dragon that would send a T-Rex scurrying for cover.

The voice work among the cast is a bit uneven, Baruchel's nasally monotone threatening to whine the movie to death early on.

DreamWorks has gotten good mileage out of a Scottish accent in the "Shrek" movies, so the filmmakers let Scotsmen Butler and Ferguson go to town with boisterous brogues that liven up the dialogue. But their voices also beg the question, why do the adults speak in Scottish accents and the youths in American ones? No biggie, just wondering.

In Cowell's book, the dragons also spoke in their own language. The filmmakers, including writer-directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois ("Lilo & Stitch"), wisely dispense with the talking reptiles.

The creatures are more fierce and mysterious in attack mode — and more comical when they fall under Hiccup's spell — without opening their yaps to chew the fat.

"How to Train Your Dragon" really soars in the visual department, the animators presenting a 3-D world of bleak, mythical beauty in the island's crags and mists. Some of the flying scenes are gorgeous, Toothless the dragon hovering above pillowy clouds against a shimmering night sky.

And to clarify an earlier point: While these dragons are not all that cute, Toothless, like any faithful pet, proves utterly endearing by the end.

"How to Train Your Dragon," a DreamWorks Animation release distributed by Paramount, is rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language. Running time: 98 minutes. Three stars out of four.

___

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.

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