For the past several months, we've been following a developing story around the "Terminator" franchise. Despite the solid box office performance of 2009's "Terminator Salvation," license-holder Halcyon Holding Corp. was forced to file for bankruptcy in the latter half of last year. The killer robot franchise has been up on the auction block for awhile, with studio frontrunners Lionsgate and Sony leading the charge.
We knew as of last week that the auction was scheduled for yesterday, and that the winner would become the new owner of all things "Terminator" moving forward: movies, TV, games, books, toys, etc. In an odd twist, it seems that the winner is neither Lionsgate nor Sony. It's not even a movie studio! The new owner of the "Terminator" franchise is hedge fund Pacificor, Nikki Finke reports for Deadline Hollywood. Wait though... this news gets even wackier. Read more...
Steven Soderbergh is a Terminator. No, that's not some tricky wordplay stating that he's directing the next "Terminator" films or anything — he's not. I'm simply hypothesizing that Soderbergh is a machine from the future sent back through time to protect us all with crazy amounts of film work. Honestly, the director goes from project to project so quickly that it's almost as second nature as breathing for the guy. So it's not much of a surprise, though still wild to hear, that he'll follow up his currently shooting ensemble action flick "Knockout" with yet another ensemble thriller, "Contagion."
The Playlist identifies Soderbergh as the director for the much buzzed action-thriller from screenwriter Scott Z. Burns. Actors Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard and frequent Soderbergh collaborator Matt Damon are all closing deals for the film, presenting an all-star cast that gives "Knockout" a run for its money. Read more...
Rats, spiders, sharks? Bring ‘em on. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t possess a lot of fears, phobias or terrors. But there is one thing I am deathly afraid of, something that has literally kept me up at night: The new “Three Stooges” movie.
As I’ve written before, I’m a lifelong Stoogemaniac who can’t help but feel that the Farrelly Brothers’ planned reboot is a bad, bad idea. So, when I caught up with Benicio Del Toro over the weekend at the press junket for this week's "The Wolfman," I just had to hear it from his own mouth: They’re seriously going to make this thing?
“Well, we’re not there yet,” explained the “Traffic” Oscar-winner, who is planning to play Moe Howard. “But the idea is still alive.” Read more...
Is Jigsaw finally going to die? I mean, really really die? No more flashbacks, no more traps, no more gangly bear trap masks? Well, probably not, but the screenwriter behind the upcoming "Saw VII" seems to think that the end of the franchise is nigh.
Latino Review transcribed an interview between screenwriter Patrick Melton and radio station Demon FM where the writer discussed the possibility that "Saw VII" — currently being called "Saw: Endgame" — could be the final chapter of the horror franchise. Read more...
This past Sunday, more than 106 million viewers tuned in to watch the New Orleans Saints best the Indianapolis Colts for their first-ever Super Bowl win. One of the key players responsible for the Saints' 31-17 victory over the Colts was Reggie Bush, star running back and significant other of celebutante Kim Kardashian.
As you might expect, the happy couple had much to celebrate about on Sunday night. And they invited a few friends along to join in the festivities. No one big. Only Lennox Lewis, former undisputed World heavyweight champion and Scottie Pippen, who with (and later without) Michael Jordan, led the Chicago Bulls to NBA championship wins six times over. Real bit players, right? Read more...
In the pantheon of spy TV series', "24" has a well-earned place among the best of them. The ever-growing legion of fans will happily tell you, at great length, that the Kiefer Sutherland-starring action/drama serves up intense plot developments on a week-to-week basis. There's also the cool real-time gimmick: every episode unfolds across a single hour in the story's timeline.
It's that last fact which makes the series so perfectly suited to the episodic development of the story. It's also why I'm baffled by today's news that a big screen adaptation is something that may well happen, and soon. We first heard rumblings of "24" movie plans way back in April 2006, when Sutherland told MTV that a script was in development. Then, in 2007, we spoke with D.B. Woodside (President Wayne Palmer on the show), who told us that the new plan was to shoot a movie after the series wrapped up, in "one or two more years." It's almost three years later now, but it looks like the basic framework -- to shoot after "24" closes -- remains. Read more...
Not too long ago, we interviewed Peter Jackson and he broke the news that he was planning to bring back only three key “Lord of the Rings” actors for his upcoming “Hobbit” films: the stars who played Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond. Over the weekend, we caught up with the veteran actor who portrays one of the beloved Tolkien three, and he told us how he’ll fit into the high-profile films.
“Elrond is in ‘The Hobbit,’ in the book,” explained Hugo Weaving, the “Matrix” breakout actor who portrayed the Lord of Rivendell and ancient, wise elf in Jackson’s three “LotR” films. “And yeah, I would love to work on that, with Guillermo del Toro directing.” Read more...
If you still felt distanced from New Orleans watching Super Bowl XLIV on your TV last night, you need look no further than Kim Kardashian, Jim Carrey and Shannon Elizabeth's Twitter feeds from last night. All three were much closer to the Saints' historic win that were, and one of them got to hang out with Lennox Lewis and Scottie Pippen while they were there.
If you were able to collect yourself after being brought to tears by Google's Super Bowl commercial like one "Twilight" actress was, you may have caught a glimpse of the "Dante's Inferno" advertisement or skipped over to the Puppy Bowl as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Feig did. You can find out what they thought and see what your office may look like after Spike Jonze uses it to film "Where the Wild Things Are" after the jump. It's all retweeted in Twitter-Wood for February 8, 2010. Read more...
If you're a fan of celebrity culture and you have HBO, chance are you're a fan of "Entourage." The half-hour comedy series follows the exploits of fictional movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier, from his formative days as an up-and-comer through his first big break (complete with many amusing James Cameron cameos) and on through his first flirtations with the business side of Hollywood. We learned last year that there are currently plans for an "Entourage" movie to follow the series, so when MTV's Eric Ditzian spoke to Grenier at Sundance in January, he had to ask for some update on what's developing there.
For his part, Grenier doesn't really know much yet. "I'm just waiting for them to tell me when to show up, what's my call time," he explained. "I can't wait." Read more...
Marc Guggenheim was the first showrunner to depart ABC's "FlashForward," but he wasn't the last, as David Goyer — the show's co-creator and most recent showrunner — has also abandoned the post.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goyer is stepping away from his role as the showrunner of "FlashForward." While he'll still be "involved" with the series, an unidentified talent will take over the hands-on job. Read more...
