Posted 5/23/10 2:49 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Box Office
1. "Shrek Forever After" ($71.3 million)
2. "Iron Man 2" ($26.6 million)
3. "Robin Hood" ($18.7 million)
4. "Letters to Juliet" ($9.1 million)
5. "Just Wright" ($4.2 million)
It's game ogre for Tony Stark this weekend, as Marvel Studios' premiere superhero franchise finally surrendered the first place spot to DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek Forever After," the fourth installment in the fan-favorite fantasy franchise. Read More...
Posted 5/22/10 4:00 pm EST by Josh Wigler in Box Office
1. "Shrek Forever After" ($20.8 million)
2. "Iron Man 2" ($7.5 million)
3. "Robin Hood" ($5.6 million)
4. "Letters to Juliet" ($3 million)
5. "MacGruber" ($1.6 million)
Although Jon Favreau's "Iron Man 2" proved itself a more powerful force than Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" could handle last weekend, the red-and-gold armored superhero expended enough energy to ensure its loss against the big green ogre of "Shrek Forever After," which debuted this Friday in first place — though not as decisively as many anticipated. Read More...
Posted 5/21/10 2:32 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in News
"Saturday Night Live" spin-off "MacGruber" is in theaters today, a goofy send-up of the undeniably campy '80s action TV series "MacGyver." New Line apparently started developing a big screen return for the ever-resourceful secret agent (played originally by Richard Dean Anderson) back in March, and the news today is that they've hired a screenwriter: "Swing Vote" and "Bad Company" scribe Jason Richman. That's about the extent of what's revealed, though Dino De Laurentiis is executive producing. To check out the full story, head over to The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog.
Posted 5/19/10 10:11 am EST by Josh Horowitz in Humor
A few months ago I did a foolish thing and showed off my creepily spot on Jar Jar Binks impression for Ewan McGregor. I'm pretty sure in that one moment I reminded him why taking the "Star Wars" films is not all ewok dances and Chewbacca hugs.
I'm not exactly ready for a Vegas show but I do have one or two other strange voices in my vocal range. So when I sat down with "MacGruber" star Val Kilmer the other day I knew it was now or never. Exit Josh Horowitz. Enter Willow Ufgood. Would Val strike me? Embrace me? Proclaim that he is still the greatest swordsman who ever lived? Watch and see.
Posted 5/11/10 1:13 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in Commentary, Poll
"Iron Man 2" opened last Friday, earning more than $130 million in box office sales over the weekend. Enough to land the movie in position #5 for all-time top-grossing opening weekends. It's a big movie and, by most accounts, a great sequel; few expected anything less. Now that it's out, as is always the case during the summer blockbuster season, it's time for us to start thinking about what might top it.
Summer blockbuster season is a tough time to maintain box office dominance. In the long history of film, only one summer release has a place in the top 10 consecutive #1 box office weekends: "Back to the Future," released 7/3/85, spent 8 weeks in a row at #1. "Ghostbusters," released 6/8/84, comes after that in the #11 spot with 7 weeks on top. Make no mistake: "Iron Man 2" will be usurped. The question is, when? Read More...
Posted 3/19/10 3:00 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in News
Ryan Phillippe was down at South By Southwest last weekend to promote "MacGruber," in which he plays a relatively straight role to Will Forte's MacGyver-like running joke. While chatting MTV's Josh Horowitz up with fellow star Kristen Wiig about the film, Phillippe mentioned another project that he'll soon get started on.
"I think I'm doing a Western in May, with Susan Sarandon, Billy Bob Thornton, Richard Dreyfuss [and] Bruce Dern," he said. "It's called 'The Big Valley,' which was a [television] series in the '60s, and so it's sort of based on that." Read More...
Posted 3/18/10 11:00 am EST by Adam Rosenberg in Video
It's been a decade since the last "Saturday Night Live" spin-off movie, the Tim Meadows-starring "The Ladies Man" (which is actually a lot better than people give it credit for). It's a shorter gap than there was between "The Blues Brothers" and "Wayne's World" -- 12 years there -- but still a significant amount of time. The break worked out way back when, and if early reports from South By Southwest are accurate, it will be equally beneficial for "MacGruber," the latest "SNL" spin-off.
"MacGruber" is a spoof of classic TV action hero "MacGyver," a man who could get out of any jam given enough common household items to work with. MTV's Josh Horowitz spoke with the comedy sketch's creator (and the spin-off's director) Jorma Taccone as well as MacGruber himself, Will Forte, at SXSW about the difficulties of translating a series of brief parody sketches for the big screen and the differences between the two.
"It's much, much longer," Taccone said. "That's the biggest difference-- it's much, much longer." Read More...
Posted 2/4/10 11:00 am EST by Adam Rosenberg in News
Most people (rightfully) associate the annual South by Southwest with music, but film has been an integral component of the festivities since 1994. This year's event kicks off in March, with the film portion running from March 12 through March 20. And the lineup is now officially announced.
There are a smattering of Sundance 2010 favorites here, including the Jonah Hill-starring comedy "Cyrus," the Bill Murray/Robert Duvall/Lucas Black-led indie "Get Low" and the Kristen Stewart/Dakota Fanning-led music biopic "The Runaways." There are also a bunch of world premieres, including several which are sure to be popular across a wide range of viewers. The most noteworthy of those is probably the documentary "Saturday Night," which marks the directorial debut for former "Spider-Man" star and recent "General Hospital" guest James Franco." More details after the break. Read More...
Posted 1/22/10 5:00 pm EST by MTV Movies Team in Promo Police
by Perri Nemiroff
For every film that hits theaters, we get at least one trailer, one poster, two clips and four stills. Let’s say two films hit theaters every weekend. That’s about 64 pieces of promotional material a month. Of course that’s only a rough estimate, but it’s clear we’re being bombarded by massive amounts of advertising. Have no fear, Promo Police is here.
In this inaugural article, “MacGruber,” “Kick-Ass,” the kids of “Frozen,” “Tron”’s yellow cycle and the partnership between Adidas and “Star Wars” are all under investigation. Are these suspects transgressors of poor promotion or are they model citizens? Check out the details on their rap sheets. Read More...
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'MacGruber' Gets Us Thinking About Other 'SNL' Sketches That Should Be Movies
Posted 5/21/10 3:01 pm EST by Kevin Mahadeo in Commentary, Humor
If the existence of the "MacGruber" movie teaches me anything, it's you can turn absolutely any "Saturday Night Live" sketch—no matter how short and how much they always end with the title character (presumably) dying in a huge explosion—into a full-fledged film. It certainly isn't the first time a movie came out based on an "SNL" concept; previous outings include "Blue Brothers," "Wayne's World," "Superstar" "A Night at the Roxbury" and "The Ladies Man."
With "MacGruber" exploding his way into theaters everywhere today, I took a look at five other relatively recent "SNL" sketches that could work as feature films.
LIVE FROM MTV.COM IT'S FRIDAY AFTERNOON! ... Always wanted to say that... close enough. Read More...
Tags alec baldwin, jason sudeikis, kristen wiig, MacGruber, saturday night live, steve martin, The Lonely Island