SUMMER SLUMP? Will Smith’s ‘MIB3′ Slows To $70M Memorial Weekend; Fifth Major Movie To Disappoint While ‘The Avengers’ Sets New $500M Domestic Speed Record

By NIKKI FINKE | Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 9:45pm PDTTags: Box Office, Chernobyl Diaries, Men In Black 3, The Avengers

SUNDAY PM, 5TH UPDATE: My sources report a single-digit drop from Saturday to Sunday as Sony hoped (right now -8%). So Men In Black 3 domestic projections of $55M three-day weekend and $70M four-day Memorial Holiday may stand. Although rival studios say the numbers are $54.5M/$68M. That’s not anywhere close to the $90M where Hollywood thought this popular franchise could open its threequel, or the $80M which Sony expected. Even not adjusted for the 3D premium, or higher ticket pricesm or inflation, MIB3 couldn’t beat Will Smith’s I Am Legend ($77M in 2007) or Hancock ($62M in 2008). Problem is that MIB3 was very expensive to make. (more below…)

SUNDAY AM, 4TH UPDATE: A lot was riding on this weekend’s worldwide totals for Will Smith (back at cineplexes after a 4-year hiatus) and Sony (reviving a costly Columbia Pictures franchise that was dormant for a decade). But Memorial Weekend newcomer Men In Black 3 is now the 5th major studio release that has underperformed domestically at the start of Summer 2012. Plus, demonstrating more trouble for Hollywood, overall moviegoing of $190M is down a huge -32% from last year’s record. Overseas, MIB3 was off to a better start, and Sony is projecting it to take in an estimated $202M worldwide total during its first few days of release in 106 territories. Of that, IMAX sales contributed approximately $12M to the global cume, which is 20% higher than the previous record for a worldwide Memorial Day release because of aggressive IMAX building overseas. Sony said MIB3 was #1 in 104 countries. In this country, yes, MIB3 finally vanquished three-time #1  Marvel’s The Avengers which was starting its 4th week in domestic release. Even so there’s continuing good news for Disney’s 3D superhero assembly: it crossed $500M on Saturday, reaching the mark in just 23 days which is setting a new speed record (better than Avatarwhich took 32 days). In 3,918 theaters, it’s a solid #2 with about a $36.9M three-day weekend and a $48.5M Memorial Holiday. It is currently the #4 film of all time globally and domestically and is currently the #5 film of all time internationally, passing Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($771M) this weekend. Even if Avengers weren’t sucking the air out of North American box office, trust me when I say the movie moguls are worried what lies ahead for their films in June after a dismal domestic May… READ MORE »

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Cannes Finale: The Jury Talks And Hammond’s Analysis Of The Winners

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 3:21pm PDTTags: Amour, Cannes Film Festival, Carlos Reygados, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael Haneke, Palme d'Or
Pete Hammond

It’s all over now, and really all over at Cannes for the American contingent of five competition entries plus English-language films like Walter Salles’ On The Road and David Cronenberg’s not-well-received Robert Pattinson starrer Cosmopolis. The Cannes Jury led by italian actor-director Nanni Moretti has spoken and Americans hoping for a repeat of last year when the single U.S. entry, The Tree Of Life actually won the Palme d’Or, are crying in their french onion soup. At the post-awards press conference American jury member Alexander Payne was asked if he thought the ‘Americannes’ snub said anything about the overall quality of the country’s movies. He snapped back that one festival does not speak for the state of cinema in any one country.

Related: Michael Haneke’s ‘Amour’ Takes Palme d’Or; ‘Beyond The Hills’ Wins Screenplay, Actress Nods

The closest thing to a film American audiences won’t need subtitles for is Ken Loach’s wonderful The Angels Share which is set in Glasgow and features accents so thick the filmmaker decided to add English subtitles. It is also the only comedy to take a prize as the jury mainly favored some of the more dour, serious-minded films in the race. Cannes juries often do that. Backstage Loach was elegant when he said his film shows solidarity with all those in Europe who resist austerity and believe “another world, a better world is possible”.

Related: ‘Mud’: Did Cannes Save One Of The Best For Last?

There’s also one head-scratcher just about every year and this year it’s a beheaded scratcher, Post Tenebras Lux from Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas in which a man rather remarkably manages to twist off his head using only his hands. There’s also a pointless orgy scene thrown in but even its defenders are hard-pressed to say what this film is about. So of course they gave him a major prize, Best Director. At the press conference at least two of the jurors strongly defended the film. They were so convincing they had me believing that I must have seen a different film. Read More »

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CANNES: Michael Haneke’s ‘Amour’ Takes Palme d’Or; ‘Beyond The Hills’ Wins Screenplay, Actress Nods

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 10:28am PDTTags: Amour, Cannes, Cannes Film Festival, Palme d'Or
Pete Hammond

Michael Haneke’s Amour today took the Palme d’Or prize for Best Film at the finale to this year’s Cannes Film Festival. A hugely popular win at today’s ceremony as well as its premiere, the intimate drama about an elderly couple … Read More »

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Sundance Selects Acquires ‘Like Someone In Love’: Cannes

By MIKE FLEMING | Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 6:48am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Like Someone In Love, Sundance Selects
Mike Fleming

CANNES, FRANCE (May 27, 2012) – Sundance Selects announced today from the 2012 Cannes Film Festival that the company is acquiring all US rights to LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE directed and written by former Palme d’Or winner Abbas Kiarostami (CERTIFIED COPY, THE TASTE OF CHERRY). The film is an MK2 and Eurospace Production. It stars Rin Takanashi, Tadashi Okuno and Ryo Kase. It was produced by Marin Karmitz (MK2) and Kenzo Horikoshi (Eurospace), and associate produced by Nathanael Karmitz and Charles Gillibert. LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE made its world premiere in competition earlier in the week at the Cannes Film Festival.

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Nicole Kidman Speaks Out On Taking Risks, Roles And Taking Over Cannes: Interview

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 6:28am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Grace Kelly, HBO, Hemingway And Gellhorn, Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Pete Hammond

With two movies premiering in  the Official Selection on successive nights and big worldwide market pre-sales announced for an upcoming film in which she plays Grace Kelly, Nicole Kidman ruled the Croisette in the second half of the Cannes Film … Read More »

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Indomina Rolls With ‘Holy Motors’ For U.S.

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 1:28am PDTTags: Holy Motors, Indomnia, Leos Carax

The Indomina Group has acquired US distribution rights to Leos Carax’s Cannes competition title, Holy Motors. The film enjoyed a robust reception when it premiered here last week to mark Carax’s first time in competition since 1999’s Pola X. Some … Read More »

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Oscilloscope Takes U.S. Rights To ‘Reality’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday May 26, 2012 @ 1:21pm PDTTags: Matteo Garrone, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Reality

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired U.S. rights to Matteo Garrone’s Cannes competition film Reality, his first feature since 2008’s critically acclaimed and award-winning Gomorrah. Oscilloscope will take the film to additional festivals this fall with a theatrical, DVD, and digital release … Read More »

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IFC Midnight Buys ‘Taste Of Money’: Cannes

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday May 26, 2012 @ 11:26am PDTTags: IFC Midnight, Im Sang-Soo, The Taste Of Money

CANNES (May 25, 2012) – IFC Midnight announced today from the 2012 Cannes Film Festival that the company is acquiring North American rights to THE TASTE OF MONEY directed by Im Sang-Soo (THE HOUSEMAID). The film, also with a screenplay by Sang-Soo, stars Kim Kang-Woo, Baek Yoon-Sik, Youn Yuh-Jung and Kim Hyo-Jin. Son Kwang-Ik and Kim Won-Kuk served as executive producers while Lee Nam-Hee and Seo Jung-Hun produced. The film had its world premiere earlier in the week in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

In THE TASTE OF MONEY, Korea’s greatest provocateur Im Sang-Soo takes us inside Korea’s most privileged family. Joo Young-Jak is the private male secretary of Baek Geum-Ok, middle-aged heiress and wife of a rich chaebol. Baek covets Joo’s young body, and he has already sold his pride for money a long time ago. What tangles up their relationship is the appearance of Baek’s daughter Na-Mi, a girl so different than her wealth obsessed parents. When romantic feelings begin to develop between the two, Baek is challenged with his conflicting desires for money and love.

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Cannes Un Certain Regard: Michel Franco’s ‘Despues De Lucia’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday May 26, 2012 @ 11:03am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Despues De Lucia, Michel Franco, Un Certain Regard

Mexico director Michel Franco’s Despues De Lucia (After Lucia) took the top prize today in the Un Certain Regard sidebar to the Cannes Film Festival. There was a tie for best actress for Emilie Dequenne for Joachim LaFosse’s A Perdre La Raison … Read More »

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‘Mud’: Did Cannes Save One Of The Best For Last? McConaughey, Witherspoon Speak Up

By PETE HAMMOND | Saturday May 26, 2012 @ 7:16am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Matthew McConaughey, Mud, Paul Newman, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan
Pete Hammond

Judging from the bad buzz that has haunted it since a 2PM buyers screening on May 16, the first day of the 65th Cannes Film Festival, you might have thought FilmNation’s and Everest Entertainment’s  Mud was as appealing at its … Read More »

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Cannes Podcast: Pete Hammond On ‘Lawless’, ‘Rust And Bone’ And More

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 8:57pm PDTTags: Brad Pitt, Cannes Film Festival, Garrett Hedlund, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman

Deadline’s Pete Hammond talks about hot festival movies such as (clockwise from top left) the superb Prohibition-era shoot-’em-up Lawless with Tom Hardy and Shia LeBeouf; Rust And Bone, with an awards-worthy star turn by Marion Cotillard, … Read More »

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Hot Trailer: ‘Take This Waltz’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 4:53pm PDTTags: Michelle Williams, Sarah Polley, Take This Trailer

Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby and Seth Rogen star Take This Waltz, a romantic triangle written and directed by Sarah Polley. From Magnolia Pictures.

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Aussie Pay-TV Shakeup Impacts Hollywood

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 3:49pm PDTTags: Foxtel, Premium Movie Partnership, The Movie Network

Freelance journalist Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney.

Australia’s Foxtel is poised to tighten its control of the nation’s pay-TV industry after the takeover of the other significant provider Austar, which may result in a restructuring of movie deals with Hollywood studios. The $A1.9 billion deal creates … Read More »

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FCC Adds WGAW To Open Internet Panel

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 12:41pm PDTTags: Open Internet Advisory Committee, WGAW

The Writers Guild of America West has been selected by the Federal Communications Commission to participate in the commission’s first Open Internet Advisory Committee. It will assist in tracking and evaluating the FCC’s Open Internet rules. WGAW assistant … Read More »

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Cannes Directors Fortnight Prizes ‘No’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 11:54am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Directors' Fortnight, No

The Cannes sidebar event Directors Fortnight today honored Pablo Larrain’s No, which stars Gael Garcia Bernal as the young advertising executive who engineered the advertising campaign that toppled Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in a 1988 referendum. The well-received movie was … Read More »

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Interview: Philip Kaufman At Cannes With ‘Hemingway And Gellhorn’ HBO Premiere

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 10:52am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Clive Owen, HBO, Hemingway And Gellhorn, Nicole Kidman, Philip Kaufman
Pete Hammond

Unlike last year when three entries in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival went on to grab Oscar nominations for Best Picture (and The Artist even won) this year it’s different, at least going into the final weekend.  Cannes doesn’t seem to have even one sure candidate for Oscar’s big prize. But in a real twist the world’s most famous film fest is launching a surefire Emmy contender: HBO’s Hemingway And Gellhorn which premieres here tonight with a Red Carpet gala at the Grand Theatre Lumiere three days before debuting on HBO May 28. Movie stars Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen will be giving the paparazzi lots to shoot and 75-year-old director Philip Kaufman – whose career includes such acclaimed works as The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, The Wanderers, The White Dawn, Henry And June and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers in addition to writing Raiders Of The Lost Ark - will be ascending those famous stairs for the first time. And how ironic this quintessential filmmaker is doing it for a TV movie, albeit one on HBO. But this movie about the tempestuous marriage of Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn has the look and feel of an epic spanning the Spanish Civil War, the conflict between the Soviets and Finland, the Japanese occupation of China and World War II.

Related: Cannes Biz Climate Shines Despite The Wind And Rain

Kaufman knows people will see it on TV but he’s hoping critics watch it first on a big screen. I watched it on my 61-inch set at home before heading here as it was sent out a few weeks ago in HBO’s Emmy For Your Consideration box. He wanted them to hold it back but HBO was intent on getting it to the voters. He is very excited to see how it will look on the giant Grand Theatre Lumiere screen.

Despite making the kinds of films Cannes seems to love, Kaufman has had very little contact with the Festival. 48 years ago he was here and awarded  the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique (the Young Critics award) for his first film, Goldstein (tying with a very young Bernardo Bertolucci who is also back in Cannes with his new film Me And You). When we talked this week at an outdoor cafe overlooking the beach Kaufman told me he has only been back a couple of times to raise money for films he was trying to make. TV movie or not, Cannes was anxious to give him the full treatment (although the film is out of competition). “I don’t think they have ever done this with an American movie before. There was Carlos which was a miniseries made for French TV but Olivier Assayas is Cahiers Du Cinema and this is a French film festival. What an honor for me for a movie made for television to be selected here. I know HBO is thrilled.”
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R.I.P. Television Mogul Lee Rich

By NIKKI FINKE | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 10:29am PDTTags: Dallas, Hollywood moguls, Lee Rich, Lorimar, MGM-UA, TV executives

2ND UPDATE: Lee Rich, the powerful TV mogul responsible for some of the medium’s most popular programming like The Waltons, Dallas, and Eight Is Enough, Lee Rich Deaddied on Thursday. He was 93, according to Warner Bros. (Even though the birthdate on his official biography would make him only 85). Recognized inside and outside the television industry for his extrardinarily successful career spanning six decades, he helped found and became chairman of Lorimar in its heyday (where he was nominated for 5 Emmys and won Best Drama Series for The Waltons) and later took over MGM-UA. His death comes just as Warner Bros Television next month unveils its next generation Dallasdrama series on TNT.

“Lee’s passion for television, his business acumen, and his love of the creative process made him an extraordinary mentor for all of us who had the good fortune to work for him,” said Bruce Rosenblum, President Warner Bros. Television Group and Chairman & CEO, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.  “Lee was a creative force who established the gold standard for independent production companies, and the Lorimar/Warner Bros merger was transformational for Warner Bros. Television.” Said CBS Corp chief Les Moonves: “Lee Rich was a giant in the television industry who produced some of the most iconic series in the history of the medium and influenced audiences worldwide. He also served as an early mentor to me while I was at Lorimar, providing valuable guidance for which I will forever be appreciative.” TV icon Norman Lear called Rich “one of the greatest producers to ever come out of advertising and he knew talent better than anyone else.”

“Lee Rich was an indelible talent who helped to shape the television landscape,” said Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairmen and CEOs of MGM. “We are incredibly proud that MGM is a part of his legacy. Lee’s role as Chairman and CEO of MGM/UA and the prolific body of work he created throughout his career continue to inspire the work we do today.”

Rich started his media career at Benton & Bowles advertising agency where he packaged and sold such seminal sitcoms as The Dick Van Dyke Show for Procter & Gamble and The Danny Thomas Show and The Andy Griffith Show, both for General Foods. In those early days of television, admen like Rich enjoyed almost total control over programming, and Rich ultimately headed the television programming and media departments. He left the agency as SVP in 1965 to form his own production company, Mirisch-Rich Productions which produced Rat Patrol and one of the first Garry Marshall/Jerry Belson shows, Hey, Landlord. Rich returned to advertising to run the Leo Burnett Agency. But then he left again to form the indie Lorimar Productions (later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution) with Irwin Molasky and Merv Adelson. Here is a wonderful 1999 interview done with Rich by the Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences (obit continues below):

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Cannes Biz Shines Despite Wind & Rain

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE AND MIKE FLEMING | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 8:35am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Market, The Paperboy

The dealmaking story of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival was succinctly summed up this way by Inferno’s Bill Johnson: “Worst weather I’ve ever seen in Cannes, no big headlines, but a solid market with nice product, but probably too much of it. The good news is that distributors around the world opened their wallets, there are plenty of private equity and high net worth investors.”

Last year’s Cannes saw domestic and foreign buyers plunking down big sums to acquire films based on little more than sizzle reels. And for drama, you had Lars von Trier’s bizarre application to the Nazi party, and the wonder of Terrence Malick’s return to directing with Palme D’Or winner and eventual Best Picture Oscar nominee Tree Of Life.

This year, the most widely hyped competition film has been Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy, mostly for the graphic, depraved sexual exploits perpetrated by Nicole Kidman’s death row groupie. Then there’s all the free-love doled out by Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund in Walter Salles’ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. Neither film drew raves. Despite a 16-minute standing ovation for Paperboy at its festival screening and enthusiasm in the market, the biggest record set at this festival was for rainfall – and contents of the pockets of those guys selling $50 umbrellas along the Croisette.

Related: Cannes Conflicted Over ‘The Paperboy’ As All-Star Cast Hits Town

That doesn’t mean this wasn’t a very successful festival that demonstrated vibrancy of film around the world. Despite the struggling economies in European countries, sellers all week reported surprisingly strong sales, with Italy and Greece the exceptions. Japan was pre-buying again and the importance of China is growing. These territories weren’t shy about making deals for films that have no domestic deals.
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Sony Seeks ‘Revenge For Jolly!’ With Domestic Acquisition

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Friday May 25, 2012 @ 2:12am PDTTags: Atlas Independent, Kristen Wiig, Revenge For Jolly!

LOS ANGELES, CA, MAY 25, 2012 – Atlas Independent announced today Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired Revenge for Jolly!, for distribution in the U.S. and Canada. The acquisition marks the first for the newly-formed affiliate company of Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment. A unique dark comedy that examines the moral ambiguity of revenge, the film most recently premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. The deal was negotiated by Sony with UTA Independent Film Group.

Directed by Chadd Harbold and written by Brian Petsos, Revenge for Jolly! stars Petsos and Oscar Isaac, with special cameos by Elijah Wood, Adam Brody, Ryan Phillippe, and Kristen Wiig among others. The film follows a man (Petsos) who, with the help of his cousin (Isaac), seeks to avenge the death of his beloved dog, who was killed under confusing and suspicious circumstances. The two men follow a series of clues in an attempt to track down the dog’s murderer, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

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