Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
FINAL MGM BIDS DUE FRIDAY: So Who's In And … 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
BBC Drama Unfreezes Development Money; … 
Lionsgate Board Rejects Icahn's $6/Share 
Is Betting On Box Office Good For Films? 
Marvel Still Looking For Captain America 
'Sopranos' Creator To Film Rock Drama 
LIVE-SNARKING THE 82ND OSCARS... 
'ALICE' IS A MONSTER! $116.3M Blows Past … 
Oscar Not-So-Thriller: Diller Mogul Picnic 
'Precious' Sweeps 25th Indie Spirit Awards 
Howard Stern Won't Be Next 'Idol' Judge 
Justin Theroux Readying 'Zoolander 2' For … Warner Bros is moving The Losers from April 9th to June 4th, one week before Fox's A-Team.
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Universal Sets 'Cowboys & Aliens' For 2011
UPDATES TOLDJA! Daniel Craig Bonds To Alien West
UPDATES Daniel Craig Saddles Up For Old West Alien Invasion
DreamWorks Studios’ and Universal Pictures’ Cowboys & Aliens will be released domestically by Universal Pictures on July 29, 2011. Paramount has international distribution on the film. Jon Favreau will direct and Daniel Craig will star in the live-action adaptation of the Platinum Studios graphic novel.
'Battleship' Moves To Memorial Day 2012
Universal is moving the release of its epic Hasbro action-adventure Battleship to May 25, anchoring 2012's Memorial Day weekend. Originally slated for release in July 2011, the film was moved "to give it the time and resources to thoroughly realize its huge-scale ambitions and position it," the studio announced tonight. “Universal has put all the elements in place to successfully launch our classic Hasbro brands on the big screen,” said Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro, praising the, Inc. “Giving Pete Berg and the filmmakers the extra time and resources to make Battleship an even bigger summer blockbuster, is sure to pay dividends when the film is released in 2012.” Read More »
Why Karma Is A Bitch For Marc Shmuger
So I predict that when the announcement is made, and trust me it must be, everyone atop Universal and NBCU will try to play kissy face. I even bet the media will be given some fictional account that this was Marc Shmuger's and David Linde's own decision to step down. Poor Linde: he's just collateral damage since he came in as a tag team with Shmuger and will exit with him as well. But the truth is Marc kept clinging to his moguldom until the very last minute even when he was just embarrassing himself, and now he's bitter as hell at being ousted. But what choice did Ron Meyer have? Especially when so many people inside and outside the company detested Shmuger (who had become known simply as "The Schmuck"). Case in point: "We're all hoping," Brian Grazer kept replying as Hollywood kept asking when Shmuger would get the boot.
I've always considered Shmuger’s biggest problem was that he thinks he plays well with others when, in fact, he treats people badly and then is blind to the fact they hate his guts. He considers himself a political pro but really is just a polarizing asshole. Which is why he deserves to be kicked to the curb as much for his own behavior as for the infighting he instigated ... Read More »
Michael Bay Speaks Up: "I Don't Condone Crew Letter Or Megan Fox's Quotes"
UPDATES Michael Bay's Crew Bitchslaps Megan Fox
Now Michael Bay has personally updated his website with this message:
The Crew Letter
09/12/2009 11:32 PM
I don’t condone the crew letter to Megan. And I don’t condone Megan’s outlandish quotes. But her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm. The fact of the matter I still love working with her, and I know we still get along. I even expect more crazy quotes from her on Transformers 3.
Michael
Michael Bay's Crew Bitchslaps Megan Fox
Michael Bay Speaks Up: "I Don't Condone Crew Letter Or Megan Fox Quotes"
Three of Michael Bay's crew members asked his website last night to post their response to Megan Fox's recent insults of the director made to a magazine for her upcoming Jennifer's Body. (She accused Bay of wanting to "be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for.") Now the crew get even and detail why she's the nightmare. I love when there's honesty in Hollywood. Remember what the crew did to Bruce Willis way back when?:
This is an open letter to all Michael Bay fans. We are three crew members that have worked with Michael for the past ten years. Last week we read the terrible article with inflammatory, truly trashing quotes by the Ms. Fox about Michael Bay. This letter is to set a few things straight.
Yes, Megan has great eyes, a tight stomach we spray with glycerin, and an awful silly Marilyn Monroe tattoo plastered on her arm that we cover up to keep the moms happy.
Michael found this shy, inexperienced girl, plucked her out of total obscurity thus giving her the biggest shot of any young actresses' life. He told everyone around to just trust him on his choice. He granted her the starring role in Transformers, a franchise that forever changed her life; she became one of
... Read More »
Top Pics Work Overtime Labor Day Wkd; 'Final Destination' #1, 'All About Steve' #3
MONDAY AM: Sony pickup District 9 hit $100M domestic Sunday, the 5th Wingnut Film production in a row from Peter Jackson's company to do that. It also opened #1 in the UK this weekend. And, on Saturday, Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen, passed $400M domestic.
Labor Day weekend is traditionally a slow moviegoing holiday. So Friday's and Saturday's numbers were only so-so. But Warner Bros' horror holdover The Final Destination 3-D ended the weekend a clear winner with $3.57M (-67%) Friday and $4.4M Saturday from 3,121 theaters. It's 3-day weekend was $12.3M, and its 4-day holiday was $15.4M for a new cume of $50.5M. On Friday, it narowly edged out Fox's romantic comedy All About Steve which opened to $3.50M Friday, and $3.9M Saturday in 2,251 venues. The Sandra Bullock (she also produced) and Bradley Cooper laffer did better than expected because it had one of the lowest Rotten Tomatoes scores I've ever seen: 6% positive reviews. It also had the bigger per screen average. But the pic couldn't begin to match those actors' big summer hits (The Proposal, The Hangover) as the season comes to a close. But by today, All About Steve fell to No. 3 behind Quentin Tarantino's holdover Inglourious Basterds from The Weinstein Company and Universal which moved up to No. 2. All About Steve ended up with $11.2M for the 3-day weekend and $13.9M for the 4-day ... Read More »
Unhappy 'Halloween': Weinstein Co Layoffs
I'm told about 10 people were axed this week at The Weinstein Company. Its Hong Kong office is closing. And its UK office will be down to one person. Even though Inglourious Basterds has been doing better than expected at the box office, TWC still has to share the worldwide revenues 50-50 with Universal. At one point, Uni was nervous whether The Weinstein Company even had the $30M necessary to adequately release IB domestically. Because TWC had depleted all its cash reserves, taken out a $75M bridge loan from Ziff Brothers Investment, and put all of its other movie releases on hold. True, Basterds gave Quentin Tarantino his biggest opening ever, thus erasing Harv’s fears this would be a Grindhouse-like flop. But Basterds had a negative cost of $72M and a humongous first-dollar gross participation — as much as 25% — for Tarantino and Brad Pitt.
Then there's The Weinstein Company’s release of its 100%–owned Halloween II one week later. The first in the Rob Zombie rebooted franchise opened with a solid $26.3M weekend back on August 31, 2007 -- promising a newly invigorated franchise. Didn't happen. Last weekend, Zombie's fan-repelling Halloween II managed only a $16.3M debut weekend, which was a huge disappointment. Not just to Harv, but to others. Because several TWC filmmakers were told that the Weinsteins have to see how Halloween II opens before they decide how many movies they can open for the rest of 2009. Mind you, not how ... Read More »
"Arthur": Bottom Lining 'Brüno'
Arthur's work is his own and does not necessarily reflect my views. Creative license.
SUMMER MOVIES START WITH A HOWL: 'Wolverine' Opens Big To $87M Weekend; 'Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past' Only $15.3M
SUNDAY AM: Here are Fox's final figures for the franchise prequel X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- $35M on Friday (including $5 million in midnight shows), $29.7M on Saturday, and an estimated $22.2M for Sunday. That makes for an $87M weekend -- better than the 1st and 2nd installments in the X-Men franchise, but well behind the 3rd. That's certainly good enough to warrant another Wolverine.
In 2nd place, New Line/Warner Bros' Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past debuted to a less-than-satisfying $15.3M weekend.
Here's the Top 10:
1. Wolverine (Fox) OPENER [4,099 Theaters] $87M Wkd
2. Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past (NL/WB) OPENER [3,175] $15.3 Wkd
3. Obsessed (SG/Sony) [2,514] WEEK 2, $12.2M Wkd (-57%), Cume $47M
4. 17 Again (NL/WB) [3,255] WEEK 3, $6.3M Wkd, Cume $48.4M
5. Monsters v Aliens (DWA/Par) WEEK 6, [2,626] $5.8M Wkd, Cume $182.4M
6. The Soloist (DW/Par) [2,033] WEEK 2, $5.6M Wkd (-42%), Cume $18.1M
7. Earth (Disney) [1,804] WEEK 2, $4.1M Wkd (-53%), Cume $21.8M
8. Fighting (Rogue/Uni) [2,312] WEEK 2, $4.1M Wkd (-62%), Cume $17.5M
9. Hannah Montana (Disney) [2,819] WEEK 4, $4M Wkd, Cume $70.8M
10. State of Play [2,445] WEEK 3, $3.6M Wkd, Cume $30.8M
SATURDAY 9 PM: Sources tell me that Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine made about $31 million Saturday so the weekend should top out at $89M. In 2nd place, New Line/Warner Bros' Ghosts of Girlfriends Past earned $6.2M Saturday for a $16M weekend. And No. 3 goes to Screen Gems / Sony's Obsessed with $5.7M Saturday for a $13M weekend and new cume of $47.5M.
SATURDAY AM: Even rival studios are saying it's possible for the ... Read More »
Google Will Sell NBC Uni Cable TV Ads
NBC Universal and Google entered into a multi-year partnership in which Google will broker TV advertising on some NBC cable channels. The deal, set to go into effect in coming months, covers advertising inventory through Google TV Ads service on Sci Fi, Oxygen, MSNBC, CNBC, Sleuth, and Chiller, and maybe more. Google and NBC will split the revenue and collaborate on marketing and research. The Google TV Ads service can report second-by-second TV usage data allowing more precise measurement of ad viewership. For NBC, this pact is a way to target ads at specific audiences and attract new advertisers.
R.I.P. Don LaFontaine
The entertainment industry's most ubiquitous voiceover king has died. If you know the name, no doubt it's from the Geico commercials he did recently. But you know the voice because he was a veteran of thousands upon thousands of television spots and movie trailers.
Sony's Gargotta Upped, Goldstine Moved
Just came back from a meeting to find that Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted Tommy Gargotta to president of worldwide creative advertising, replacing Josh Goldstine who'll now work on a few Columbia titles a year as a senior creative exec. (See my previous, More Hollywood Title Inflation Coming...)
So What Was All The Fuss About? Marvel Locks In Jon Favreau For 'Iron Man 2'
EXCLUSIVE: It's not officially announced yet, but I'm told that Marvel Studios and Iron Man director Jon Favreau have reached a deal for him to helm the sequel, due out in 2010. (Robert Downey Jr had a sequel clause in his contract so he's on board.) Marvel Studios boss David Maisel was quick to put out a "definitely" richer offer to Favreau, but not quick enough for Jon -- who used the Internet and other media to rile up the movie's many fans who spread nonsense that Marvel was dragging its feet and then lowballing him. Granted Maisel is no day at the beach himself, but couldn't Favreau have refrained from negotiating in public and left the bargaining to his powerful agency CAA? (FYI, I earlier posted that he acted like an asshole, but he's not...)
Will Smith Owns July 4th Again: 'Hancock' His Best Holiday Wkd Opening At $107M; Worldwide Total $185M In 50 Territories
SUNDAY AM: North American numbers show that, thanks to big weekend bounces in 3,965 theaters, Sony Pictures' No. 1 Hancock scored its first 3-day weekend with $66 mil and gave star Will Smith his biggest Independent Day holiday opening ever with a 5 1/2-day cume of $107.3 mil. The PG-13 pic went up 9% from Thursday to Friday for $18.8M, and up 39% from Friday to Saturday for $26.1M. The dark comedy about an unhappy superhero mustered the momentum despite receiving only 33% positive reviews from top critics and only so-so buzz. But Will Smith has traditionally owned the July 4th long weekend based on the past performance of his movies which opened on that holiday like Independence Day, Men In Black, Men In Black 2, and Wild Wild West. All went on to earn $442+M in worldwide gross. Hancock is the 5th film he has opened #1 during the Fourh of July holiday and his 8th #1 opening in a row and his 8th film to gross over $100M in a row since July 2002. Will has 12 #1 films throughout his career and has opened 9 films to opening weekend grosses higher than $40M. Because of that impressive track record from the one actor whom Hollywood considers able to reliably open a movie these days., Sony feels Hancock's franchise hopes are alive because "there is a huge disconnect between audiences and critics when you have big numbers added to the world's most bankable movie star." Demographics were fairly balanced with 52%/48% of the audience male/female, and 52%/48% under age ... Read More »
Will Smith's 'Hancock' Ups Its Fast Pace: Dramedy Speeds To $60.1M In 3.5 Days; Predicted $105M High For July 4th Wkd
SATURDAY AM: Sony Pictures' Hancock received the bounce it needed, up 9% from Thursday, to make $18.8 million on Fourth of July Friday from 3,965 theaters. 
That gives the Will Smith dramedy $60.1M from its first 3 1/2 days. The studio expects a 3-day weekend in the low $60sM to put Hancock "comfortably over 100" for the 5 days -- around $105M. But the buzz is bad on the pic that cost $150M. Yet the studio feels Hancock's franchise hopes are still alive because "there is a huge disconnect between audiences and critics when you have big numbers added to the world's most bankable movie star."
Meanwhile, Picturehouse made a huge mistake by only platforming Kit Kittredge: An American Girl 10 days before Wall-E opened, and then waited for a wider release until July 2nd after the Disney/Pixar toon was a blockbuster. As an insider explained, "They had the right date all along: the momentum was there, the reviews were there, and Wall-E was not! But then Picturehouse put Kit Kittredge down in the middle of freeway. Suicide." After making $857K Friday in 1,843 theaters , the Picturehouse pic that opened so promisingly was #8 for what should only be a FSS of $3.3M and cume of $6M.
Other films: #2 Disney/Pixar's Wall-E made $9.1M Friday (-61% from its opening day) from 3,992 venues. It should make $38M for FSS and a cume of $133M. #3 Universal's Wanted $5.3M (-72% from its opening) Friday in 3,185 runs, $22M FSS, cume $92M. #4 Warner Bros' Get Smart $3M Friday from 3,574 plays, $12M FSS, cume ... Read More »
A Meaningless L.A. Times Film Survey...
UPDATE: I warned you the article was going to be a waste of time, and it was. Especially regarding actors, directors, or writers who recently left their talent agencies. Because the old tenpercentery that booked the job, and therefore gets the money, should get the credit. Not the new agency which doesn't have a financial stake. Duh...
Hollywood agencies have been wondering why the Los Angeles Times is suddenly surrounding itself in secrecy for a story about their biz. 
So I'll tell you what's going on. The newspaper's Calendar writer John Horn is all hush-hush because he's surveying the 25 major summer releases and toting up which tenpercenteries represent the most top actors, directors and writers. Exactly what this is supposed to reveal new about the agencies I can't fathom, especially since everyone already knows that CAA has far and away the dominant market share of "A" and "B" list talent, with probably Endeavor and UTA doing well considering their boutique status, and giants William Morris and ICM somewhere lower on the list. But it's also just one season. What a meaningless waste of a tree set to publish Thursday. But why all the secrecy? Because the agencies make reporters' lives miserable whenever we try to do these kinds of metrics. For instance, after the TV upfronts in May, I tried to do a schematic showing which agency had the most pilot pickups. Oh, the tenpercentery shrieking! Worse, no agency could agree on across-the-board figures, either. (But Endeavor was #1.)
Warner Bros Will Embrace 'The Women'
EXCLUSIVE: I'm told that Warner Bros will now aggressively push Diane English's remake of The Women skedded for release September 12th with wider distribution and bigger marketing in the wake of the success of Sex And The City. This is an about-face from the studio's earlier decision to leave plans intact for about-to-shutter Picturehouse to debut the chick flick in limited release and with a small P&A. But after weeks of hemming and hawing, Warner Bros now believes that the low budget $16.5M remake could make money. 
I'm told that as a result The Women's marketing budget has moved north from a planned $7M-$8M to $25M-$30M. Back on June 2nd, I criticized Warner Bros for sitting on a pic written, directed and produced by one of the biz's best women comedy writers (of seminal Murphy Brown fame), and starring a quality cast of Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Debi Mazur, Joanna Gleason, Carrie Fisher, Lynn Whitfield and Cloris Leachman. Forget about the merits of the movie: there's potential for box office moolah stirred up by some savvy Sex-exploiting, Even if the movie is no good, it could reach SATC's two-quadrant audience with ad slogans like: "If you loved Sex And The City, then you need to see The Women who started it all." After I posted, a top Warner Bros exec phoned me and said, "We should give it another look." And the studio did. I bet women eager for another pic about female friendships and upscale ... Read More »
Filmgoers Wild For 'Wall-E' And 'Wanted': Angelina Jolie Posts Best Opening Ever; Lonely Droid Debut Is Pixar's 3rd Biggest
SUNDAY AM: North American box office numbers show that No. 1 Disney / Pixar's futuristic Wall-E blasted off with a $23.1 million Friday and $22 million Saturday from 3,992 theaters for what was a $62.5 million opening weekend. This means arty Wall-E is big and transcended from a kids movie into a four-quadrant hit. But it wasn't quite the $70+M record breaker everyone thought it would be. Still, it was the 3rd biggest Pixar opening (behind The Incredibles at $70.5M and Finding Nemo at $70.2M, but equal to Monsters Inc. at $62.5M) and the 7th all-time animated opening. And its opening day gross was the biggest of all nine Pixar titles ($23.1M, which passed The Incredibles' $20.5 million of 2004) and its opening weekend the 2nd best overall for June (behind Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban's $93.7M). Disney is looking for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the computer-generated G-rated toon, very possible with 97% great reviews from top critics and even rival studio bigwigs gushing: "It's just adorable and smart and interesting. It has more character development and emotion than any movie I've seen this year." One wrinkle in Wall-E's marketing was that the 1 hour, 37 minute pic has no dialogue for the first 40 or so minutes. And it can be hard to find something funny to say from a character who doesn't talk.
More and more, films with different ratings and different genres can happily coexist at the box office -- Alvin And The Chipmunks and I Am Legend, American Gangster and Bee Movie. So Wanted, Universal's Angelina Jolie/James McAvoy starrer, debuted to ... Read More »
Wkd Prediction: Robot $70M, Angie $40M
I'm told that not only is Pixar/Disney internally hoping for a $70+ million dollar opening for Wall-E, but also a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the L'il Robot. 
It's possible with 100% great reviews from top critics and even rival studios bigwigs gushing about the pic: "I saw it on Wednesday and it's just adorable and smart and interesting. It has more character development and emotion than any movie I've seen this year." My box office gurus are projecting a $65M to $70M opening, and maybe more from 3,992 theaters. Clearly it'll be another giant box office since Universal's Angelina Jolie / James McAvoy starrer Wanted now looks like an all-round date movie instead of just a guyfest.
Universal is hoping for at least $35M and maybe even $40M from 3,175 venues for Wanted's Fri/Sat/Sun total. My box office gurus are projecting $40M to $42M. "In terms of comps, that would be an extraordinary result for an R-rated summer action movie," a source tells me. "So anything above $35M is absolutely a franchise." 
The appeal for well-reviewed Wanted is a surprise: women want to see it as almost as much as men, young and old are coming in nearly even, and relative newcomer McAvoy is almost as much of a draw for the film as veteran Jolie.
Wall-E and Wanted will compete for older females. But it won't matter. "All the Wall-E reviews have been extraordinary. And Pixar is a brand that has earned the complete and total trust of the public," ... Read More »
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