Cop Out

'Winter's Bone' Director Debra Granik Making 'Pippi Longstocking' Reminds Us Of Other Unlikely Follow-Ups

Posted 1/11/11 3:25 pm EST by Terri Schwartz in Commentary, News

Pippi Longstocking The two feature films director Debra Granik has made are markedly similar in many ways. There's "Winter's Bone," a likely Oscar contender this year, that follows a 17-year-old Ozark Mountain girl who has to track down her meth-dealing father to protect the lives of her depressed mother and her siblings. And then there's "Down to the Bone," released in 2004, that follows a working class, cocaine-using mother of two who checks into rehab and has to try to resist the temptations of drugs and deal with an affair she's having with her nurse.

So when The Los Angeles Times reported that Granik's next planned film is a reboot of "Pippi Longstocking" (pictured), were were just a wee bit surprised. But as the Times goes on to point out, the transition makes perfect sense. Longstocking is one of "fiction's original tomboys," and the choice to make a film about her continues Granik's streak of creating strong female heroines who rise above the tropes of typical Hollywood roles for women.

Still, Granik isn't the first director to follow up one film with another that's drastically different in both tone and theme. After the jump, see five other directors who've done just that -- to varying results.

What Was The Worst Movie Of 2010? [POLL]

Posted 12/27/10 10:55 am EST by Terri Schwartz in Poll

Every year has its share of great movies (check out our top 10 films of the year here and vote for your fave here) and not-so-great movies... and 2010 was no exception. There were the sure-fire winners that totally failed with critics, like "The Tourist" and the reboot of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and there were the films that never had a chance, like "Case 39" and "Furry Vengeance"... as well as, apparently, anything with Katherine Heigl and/or Josh Duhamel.

It's kind of mean to kick these flicks while they're down, so we decided to go to an outside source for some hard data. In other words, we checked out RottenTomatoes to see which flicks were the 25 lowest rated of 2010. Then we made a convenient little poll out of the 25 films to see which one you decide is the worst. Hit the jump to vote in the poll, and let us know in the comments or on Twitter which films you thought were the bottom of the barrel in 2010 (and feel free to yell at me if you disagree)!

'Alice In Wonderland' Performs Wonderfully In The Sunday Box Office Report

Posted 3/7/10 5:05 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Box Office

1. "Alice in Wonderland" ($116.3 million)
2. "Brooklyn's Finest" $13.5 million)
3. "Shutter Island" ($13.3 million)
4. "Cop Out" ($9.1 million)
5. Avatar" ($7.7 million)

The vast majority of moviegoers traveled through the looking glass and into theaters to see "Alice in Wonderland" this weekend, Disney and director Tim Burton's 3-D exploration of the classic Lewis Carroll tale that debuted at the box office with a decisive first place finish. Read More...

Tags alice in wonderland, avatar, brooklyns finest, Cop Out, shutter island

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'Alice In Wonderland' Beheads The Competition In The Saturday Box Office Report

Posted 3/6/10 4:47 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Box Office

1. "Alice in Wonderland" ($41 million)
2. "Brooklyn's Finest" $4.7 million)
3. "Shutter Island" ($4 million)
4. "Cop Out" ($2.8 million)
5. The Crazies" ($2.3 million)

Moviegoers opted to take a trip down the rabbit hole in a very big way on Friday, as director Tim Burton's unique version of "Alice in Wonderland" claimed the top spot at the box office with an impressive $41 million haul. Read More...

Tags alice in wonderland, brooklyns finest, Cop Out, shutter island, the crazies

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'Shutter Island' Wins Again In The Sunday Box Office Report

Posted 2/28/10 2:22 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Box Office

1. "Shutter Island" ($22.2 million)
2. "Cop Out" ($18.6 million)
3. "The Crazies" ($16.5 million)
4. "Avatar" ($14 million)
5. "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" ($9.8 million)

The ghosts of "Shutter Island" continued to haunt the box office this weekend with another first place finish. Having already won the top spot last weekend and on Friday, director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio's most recent collaboration remained in front of the pack by Sunday's conclusion with $22.2 million. With a domestic gross of $75 million and a foreign intake of $4.6 million after two weeks in theaters, Paramount's latest thriller is a stone's throw away from earning back its $80 million production budget. Read More...

Tags avatar, Cop Out, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, shutter island, the crazies

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'Shutter Island' Keeps The Lead In The Saturday Box Office Report

Posted 2/27/10 3:50 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Box Office

1. "Shutter Island" ($6.7 million)
2. "Cop Out" ($5.975 million)
3. "The Crazies" ($5.97 million)
4. "Avatar" ($3.1 million)
5. "Valentine's Day" ($2.9 million)

Friday initiated a relatively quiet start to the weekend as director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio's "Shutter Island" continued its first place lead at the box office with $6.7 million. With Friday's intake, Paramount's latest thriller now boasts a cumulative total of $59.5 million from domestic ticket sales and an additional $4.6 million at the foreign box office. It's likely that "Shutter Island" will recoup its production budget of $80 million by the weekend's conclusion. Read More...

Tags avatar, Cop Out, shutter island, the crazies, Valentine's Day

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The Many Cops Of 'Cop Out' Star Bruce Willis

Posted 2/26/10 5:00 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Commentary

DESC In Kevin Smith's "Cop Out," Bruce Willis plays a law enforcement official. Again. And I'm not just calling back to John McClane of the "Die Hard" franchise – while that's undoubtedly Willis' most famous cop role of them all, the actor has worn plenty of other badges in his day.

But don't take that as a slight against Willis and his career choices – although he's embodied the same crime-busting occupation a number of times, he almost always manages to deliver a uniquely badass performance with each subsequent role.

After the jump, we've got the rundown on some of the less discussed but no less terrific cops Willis has portrayed over the years. Read More...

Tags bruce willis, Cop Out

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Cheer Up, Bruce Willis!

Posted 2/23/10 3:00 pm EST by Jocelyn Vena in Humor

We are a little worried about "Cop Out" star Bruce Willis. In the last few days we've noticed that he seems to be a little down about something. MTV News has had the opportunity to meet up with Willis several times recently, as he's been promoting his new Kevin Smith-directed buddy comedy, "Cop Out." And with each interview it becomes clearer that Bruce seems to be going through some existential crisis.

When MTV News caught up with Willis at the junket for "Cop Out" he revealed that John McClane isn't actually a real human being. This was in some ways like having your mom and dad tell you that both Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren't real.

At least, the script for "Cop Out" made Willis laugh. We were worried that nothing did anymore. Cheer up, Bruce! We still love you! And we still believe John McClane is real! Yippee-ki-yay, motherf***er!

Tags bruce willis, Cop Out, Video

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'The Crazies' And 'Despicable Me' Are Among Those Charged In This Week's Promo Police

Posted 2/19/10 3:30 pm EST by MTV Movies Team in Uncategorized

by Perri Nemiroff

Now that the candy is gone and the flowers have wilted, Promo Police is going to spread a little love by sparing you from suffering through unwarranted advertising.

Just picture a heart-shaped box of chocolates, but with the following inside instead: “The Crazies,” “Defendor,” “The Killer Inside Me,” “Kick-Ass,” “Despicable Me,” “Cop Out,” “Wall Street 2” and “Why Did I Get Married Too.” Now, imagine the beauty of not having to sift through that box blindly and bite into something that’s filled with something unexpectedly awful. Lemon buttercream, perhaps? The force has mapped out the sweet and the bitter, for your promo pleasure. Read More...

Tags Cop Out, Defendor, Despicable Me, Kickass, the crazies, the killer inside me, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Why Did I Get Married Too

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'A Couple Of Dicks' Name Change To 'Cop Out' Is, In Fact, A Clever Cop Out

Posted 12/14/09 3:00 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in News

A few months ago, we learned that a name change for director Kevin Smith's upcoming "A Couple of Dicks" was imminent due to studio pressures. Apparently that title is just a little too suggestively racy; the "Dicks" in this case is a reference to the detectives at the center of the story, played by Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.

Well Willis and Morgan may be playing a couple of dicks, but that's no longer the title that will greet you in theaters when you see the movie. The fine folks at The Film Stage noticed the name change while browsing the Warner Bros.' website (via The Playlist); a trailer will run attached to "Sherlock Holmes" for a movie called "Cop Out." Smith has already said that the "Dicks" trailer would run in front of "Holmes," so "Cop Out" is apparently the new title. Read More...

Tags A Couple of Dicks, Cop Out, kevin smith

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