Last week's poll was strange, as it did not really reflect this weekend's box office. The bulk of you picked "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," which saw an 8th place weekend finish and only $6.3 million in ticket sales. "Saw VI" was a close second, and that at least performed well in the number two spot with $14.8 million earned. But the big weekend winner was the low-budg horror flick "Paranormal Activity," directed by Oren Peli, which nabbed $22 million.
The success of this movie has been nothing short of staggering. Last week, with less than 1000 screens running "Paranormal Activity," the movie finished out the weekend at number three with $20 million in ticket sales. Peli's got some stiff competition this week however, as you'll learn soon enough in this week's Box Office Poll. Can found footage ghosts hope to topple a fond farewell to fallen pop star Michael Jackson? Read more...
The below video is an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at "Gentlemen Broncos," the third feature from "Napoleon Dynamite" director Jared Hess. The story -- involving a teenager and aspiring author whose idea is stolen by a noted writer -- is absent here; the focus instead is on the handling of a deadly weapon. A dart gun might not seem so dangerous, but coat one of those projectiles with poison and you've got a silent-but-deadly alternative to too-loud handguns, rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc.
Michael Bay could learn a thing or two from this kind of subtlety.
Jared Hess has a thing for weird-looking outcasts. He directed and co-wrote (with his wife, Jerusha) "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Nacho Libre," and now he's back for more oddball comedy with "Gentlemen Broncos," which hits theaters in October. The story follows a high school student (Michael Angarano) whose idea is ripped off by an acclaimed sci-fi writer (Jemaine Clement) who is short on ideas.
Hit the jump for a brief look behind the scenes at the making of the film and then head over to MTV.com to check out Eric Ditzian's interview with Hess. And of course, as part of our Fall Preview week, click the exclusive image below to be zapped over to the associated stills gallery.
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Sam Rockwell has played silly before (think "Galaxy Quest"), but nothing compares to his performance in the upcoming "Gentlemen Broncos," the MTV favorite laughed.
Actually, make that performances, Rockwell said, revealing that he'll be playing double roles in the film. Or rather, double roles in the film within the film. Or rather, the same role but differently named.
You know what? We'll just let Rockwell take it from here.
"The protagonist [of the film] is Michael Angarano and he's an aspiring screenplay writer. He goes to a writer's camp and a famous sci-fi author comes to visit. [The author] is kind of a hack writer and hasn't had a hit in a long time. He's judging all the screenplays at the camp and he plagiarizes Michael's story which is a Flash Gordon-like story called "Bronco, the Yeast Lords.' He changes the names and makes it into a character called Brutus," Rockwell said of the film's set-up. "I play both characters when they are reenacted on the big screen. I play Brutus AND Bronco." Read more...
