Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
Universal Makes Seven-Figure Deal For ‘The School For … 
Steven Soderbergh Will Interrupt Retirement To Direct And … 
Cannes: EOne Announces Itself As Player In U.S. … 
Will LIN TV Stations Go Dark On Time Warner Cable? 
Very Crowded Memorial Weekend Kick-Off: ‘Hangover … 
Shareholders Quiz Time Warner Chief On Political Ties And … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Modern Family’, ‘Law … 
Hammond On Cannes: Paramount’s ‘Nebraska’ … 
Cannes: J.C. Chandor Sets Next Project ‘A Most … 
Hannibal Classics Sets Cast For Nic Cage Pic … 
Hammond On Cannes: Robert Redford’s Brave New Role … 
Hot Trailer: Jennifer Aniston And Jason Sudeikis’ … 
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Banner Promotes Jeremy Kleiner To … 
Hot Trailer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ‘Don … Universal has dropped the second trailer for Rush, the Ron Howard-directed racing pic about 1970s Formula 1 rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl star alongside Olivia Wilde and Alexandra Maria Lara. Peter Morgan wrote the script. This trailer will play ahead of Fast & Furious 6 this weekend. Rush bows on September 20. Check it out:
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Hammond On Cannes: Robert Redford’s Brave New Role Wows Fest But He Can’t Win
Robert Redford may not be eligible for any awards at Cannes this year where his new film, All Is Lost premiered to strong response out of competition on Wednesday night, but if the reaction on the Croisette was any indication, he could be headed for the Oscars. The film, in which Redford is the only actor playing a man stranded at sea when his sailboat springs a huge leak, is a tour de force for the star and it won a 9-minute standing ovation at its
debut tonight. Even the return of the rain that has plagued this festival could not put a damper on the mood of the filmmakers, Universal International (releasing overseas) and Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions (releasing domestically on October 18th). It is clearly an awards season play, not only for Redford in a role unlike any he has played but also Oscar nominated writer/director J.C. Chandor (Margin Call) who proves his first film was no fluke and shows a remarkable ability to pull off this one-man show with real filmmaking skill. Read More »
A Tale Of Two Movie Tie-In Games: ‘Star Trek’ Flops, ‘Fast & Furious 6′ Tops
The mobile gaming tie-in to Universal’s Fast & Furious 6 launched on the iTunes App Store last week and is #1 among free apps in 45 countries. Created with SF-based studio Kabam, it’s also the #1 overall game in 69 countries, the top racing game in 112 countries, and the #1 action game in 85 countries. Its iPad app version runs comparable if even wider in saturation as the top free app in 81 countries. By contrast, Paramount‘s Star Trek: The Game — tied to the release of Star Trek Into Darkness — stayed in-house and it’s doing lousy since it came out last month. According to VG Chartz, unit sales in its first three weeks are only 140K to date across PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 consoles. It’s also considered a failure because it’s very buggy despite years of development. Critics and users alike gave it poor reviews. So what happened?
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‘Family Guy’ Alum Sells ‘Buddymoon’ Pitch To Universal
Universal has bought Family Guy writer/producer Andrew Goldberg‘s comedy pitch, about a guy who gets dumped before his wedding and takes his best man on the unrefundable honeymoon his ex-fiance planned. The pitch … Read More »
Rights Battle On ‘Dungeons & Dragons’: Warner Bros and Universal/Hasbro Tangle
EXCLUSIVE: Yesterday, I broke a story about Warner Bros making big plans on a live-action feature based on the role-playing fantasy game fixture Dungeons & Dragons. Not so fast, says Hasbro, which claims that it owns the rights to D&D, and that the toymaker company has set up the project at Universal to be developed as a directing vehicle by Chris Morgan, the scribe behind the last five films in The Fast And The Furious franchise (including the upcoming Fast 6) and 47 Ronin.
Related: Warner Bros Acquires ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Rights
Well, nobody is commenting for the record at Warner Bros, but I can tell you the studio isn’t backing down from its plans to move forward on a project that already 
has a completed script by Wrath Of The Titans scribe David Leslie Johnson, with Roy Lee producing alongside Courtney Solomon. Solomon actually directed the 2000 feature based on the billion-dollar fantasy game. Hasbro spokesman Wayne Charness said that “Hasbro owns the intellectual property rights to Dungeons & Dragons, period, because of Hasbro’s acquisition of Wizards Of The Coast in 1998.” Insiders on the other project maintain this has come up before, and that in a binding arbitration decision, Solomon prevailed and was proven to hold the underlying rights necessary to make the Warner Bros movie possible. Read More »
Universal Postpones ‘Jurassic Park 4′ Release; No New Date Set
Universal had its big-budget dino sequel set for June 13, 2014. But director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) had only come aboard in March, leaving a narrow window … Read More »
Universal Hires Fox Digital’s Pete Levinsohn
EXCLUSIVE… 2ND UPDATE: I’ve learned that Pete Levinsohn, president of Fox New Media and Digital 
Distribution for News Corp, wanted more of a domain at the studio but couldn’t convince Twentieth Century Fox … Read More »
Hot Trailer: ‘Fast & Furious 6′
Universal just released a new final trailer for Fast & Furious 6 which began preselling tickets online today. The franchise sixquel opens May 24. Check it out:
Universal Moves ‘The Purge’ Back A Week
Universal now will open the Ethan Hawke-led horror pic The Purge on June 7 instead of May 31. Directed and written by James DeMonaco, the dystopian thriller stars Hawke and Game Of Thrones’ Lena … Read More »
‘Despicable Me 2′ Gets IMAX 3D Treatment As Part Of International Release
Universal and Illumination Entertainment‘s Despicable Me 2 begins its international release on June 20th in 2D and 3D theaters and in select IMAX theaters. Chris Meledandri’s sequel features a return of the Minions, plus … Read More »
CinemaCon: Universal’s Sequel Machine Pays Off With Exhibitors
It was Universal Pictures’ turn in the spotlight this morning as Chairman Adam Fogelson served up a look at the
studio’s sequel-packed summer slate and a summary of the studio’s 2012 hits and even big miss Battleship. He announced sequels in … Read More »
‘Pitch Perfect’, ‘Snow White And The Huntsman’ Sequels Planned For 2015
Universal is developing a Snow White And The Huntsman sequel eyeing a 2015 release, Universal’s Adam Fogelson announced today at CinemaCon. Meanwhile, Kay Cannon (30 Rock, Pitch Perfect) is returning to script Pitch … Read More »
Branding Blitz: Is SXSW The Next Comic-Con For Studios?
Every studio with something to push books pricey space a year or more in advance at Comic-Con, which last year packed 130,000 fans into a downtown San Diego papered with promotional branding. But this year’s SXSW saw a sign of things to come as film and television brands took that strategy to Austin, targeting the festival’s estimated 64,000 registered attendees. Universal, Warner Bros Television, A&E Network, Showtime, and Syfy jumped ahead of the pack with marketing blitzes sure to multiply by next year as other entertainment brands set their sights on the plugged-in, social media-active demographic of influencers that pour into the annual multimedia festival. This year’s edition wraps this weekend.
Growth here has accelerated rapidly in the past three years in terms of attendance and prestige, thanks to distribution deals and buzz-building debuts in the film festival portion and the hot tech conference on the Interactive side. But thanks to its unique overlap of Film and Interactive components, SXSW this year attracted the attention of studio marketers with no films in the program. All of the major companies I spoke with made their first-ever trips to SXSW in 2013 and reps tell me they’d return next year if they had the right property to promote.
Read More »
Universal Shifts ‘Oblivion’ IMAX Date
EXCLUSIVE: The Tom Cruise sci-fi tentpole will now open in IMAX and in wide release on April 19. Universal had originally planned to sneak Oblivion in IMAX on … Read More »
Universal To Release ‘R.I.P.D.’ In 3D, Moves ’2 Guns’, ‘Kick-Ass 2′ Dates
EXCLUSIVE: Universal‘s supernatural action-adventure R.I.P.D. will now be released in 3-D, the studio announced today as it made a flurry of updates to its summer schedule. However, the Dark Horse comic adaptation starring … Read More »
Hot Trailer: Russell Crowe In ‘The Man With The Iron Fists’
Russell Crowe is going in all different directions as he reengages in film starring roles. He’s playing Noah for Darren Aronofsky, is a corrupt ruthless mayor in Broken City and sings as Javert in Les Miserables. Perhaps no Crowe choice left people scratching their heads more than The … Read More »
Universal Sets Scribe For Potential ‘Safe House’ Sequel
Universal has hired scribe David Guggenheim to try drafting a sequel to Safe House, the hit drama that Daniel Espinosa directed with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. It’s far from a sure thing, as Washington isn’t really a sequels guy. … Read More »
Academy Crowd Stands And Chants ‘I Am Spartacus’ At Screening With Kirk Douglas
In what has to be a first for the normally sedate and reverential audiences at the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts & Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, members of Monday night’s packed house for the 70MM presentation of 1960’s classic epic Spartacus stood and repeatedly chanted “I Am Spartacus” shortly after its 95-year-old star Kirk Douglas was introduced to a rousing standing ovation during the pre-screening Q&A (which I moderated). Cued by Academy President Hawk Koch after his opening remarks, Douglas was clearly taken aback by the crowd’s eruption and said he’d never seen that kind of response before. Koch’s predecessor Tom Sherak remarked to me later, “Did you see Douglas’ face when we did that? Priceless.” Sherak, an unabashed Spartacus fan (the original poster hung in his Academy office during his presidency and this was a special night for him) orchestrated it all telling me he came up with the idea during a morning yoga session, planned it with Koch and then prepped the audience before Douglas entered from 
backstage. It was quite a moment, almost surreal. It was also ironic since Douglas remembers that for some strange reason director Stanley Kubrick actually wanted to cut the now-iconic scene where Spartacus’ fellow slaves all uttered the famous phrase. It’s not the only time they butted heads. Kubrick also wanted to cut Douglas’ crucifixion closeup after the actor spent a full day on the cross. Suffice to say that idea didn’t play well with the producer/star and it remains in the film. Read More »
Universal, JJ Abrams Set ‘Milk’ Scribe Dustin Lance Black For ‘Earthquake’
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winning scribe Dustin Lance Black has been set to script Earthquake, a big scale disaster film for Universal that is being produced by JJ Abrams, Bryan Burk and their Bad Robot banner. While Universal made … Read More »
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