MTV Movies Blog › Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Calling all "Percy Jackson" fans: if you were worried that his big screen adventures would end with "The Lightning Thief," start getting excited -- it looks like our hero is swimming towards a sea of monsters very soon.

The Los Angeles Times has learned that Fox 2000 is planning a follow-up to "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief." The first film was a modest hit that did a bit better overseas than it did in the States, but the Times is saying Fox is banking on the book series' massive fanbase in creating the next adaptation.

According to the report, the plan is to get production underway by the summer, with leading cast members like Logan Lerman returning to the series. That being said, the film is in very early stages and doesn't even have a director attached (Chris Columbus isn't expected to return), but the film could be a good way to fill the void post-"Harry Potter" and "Twilight."

Read more...

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As awesome as fight scenes often look on film, much less when they're intense enough to earn a nomination for Best Fight at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, it turns out that they're not always as exciting on set as they ending up looking on the silver screen. Describing the process of putting together his scuffle with Jake Abel in "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," Percy Jackson himself, Logan Lerman explained that shooting the scene was occasionally a little uncomfortable.

"It was awkward," Lerman admitted in an interview with MTV News."I felt really stupid doing it. You've got to put your mind outside of the room and embarrass yourself a little bit and feel comfortable to be in the moment." Read more...

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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...

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1. "Shutter Island" ($40.2 million)
2. "Valentine's Day" ($17.2 million)
3. "Avatar" ($16.1 million)
4. "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" ($15.3 million)
5. "The Wolfman" ($9.8 million)

This weekend, the romance of "Valentine's Day" succumbed to the horror of "Shutter Island," Paramount's newest thriller from director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio. "Shutter Island" easily took the box office's first place prize with a $40.2 million haul, but DiCaprio and Scorsese didn't just top the other box office competitors — they also topped themselves. Read more...

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FROM SPLASH PAGE: "Percy Jackson & The Olympians" didn't quite wield the power of the gods when it arrived in theaters this weekend and came in second at the box office to "Valentine's Day," so what does that mean for its star, Logan Lerman, and rumors that he's up for the lead role in Marc Webb's "Spider-Man"?

As regular readers are already aware, Lerman set the 'Net on fire recently when he mentioned in passing that he was in talks to play Peter Parker. Even though Lerman backed off that statement a bit in a subsequent interview with MTV News, we pondered exactly what might be at stake when Lerman makes his debut in "Percy Jackson" — and now it's time to figure out whether playing a god means he'll be playing a superhero.

Continue reading What Does The 'Percy Jackson' Opening Weekend Mean For Logan Lerman's 'Spider-Man' Chances?

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FROM SPLASH PAGE: Let the record show that "Spider-Man" is one franchise that you should never count out, even when the odds are stacked against it. After pulling the plug on "Spider-Man 4" and dropping director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire, Sony Pictures quickly recruited a new director and set a new 3-D release date for the film.

While things are clearly getting back on track for the Marvel property, fans are still in the dark on the identity of the next Peter Parker. Earlier this month, "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" star Logan Lerman was said to be "in talks" to star as Spider-Man, but the actor has since clarified the news as a misunderstanding.

But even if he isn't the definitive frontrunner, should we discount Lerman from the casting pool? Definitely not – not until we've seen "Percy Jackson," at least.

Continue reading Will 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians' Make Or Break Logan Lerman's 'Spider-Man' Chances?

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1. "Valentine's Day" ($52.4 million)
2. "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" ($31.1 million)
3. "The Wolfman" ($30.6 million)
4. "Avatar" ($22 million)
5. "Dear John" ($15.3 million)

Love is in the air everywhere you look around, largely thanks to the recent performance of Garry Marshall's "Valentine's Day," the weekend's clear-cut box office champion. Without so much as a single bonbon bribery, "Valentine's Day" swept the competition with its $52.4 million haul over the course of three days. Read more...

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Welcome to #NowPlaying, a new weekly video feature highlighting the week's big movie releases... as seen through the lens of Twitter. We're always looking for ways to include you readers in the ongoing dialogue here at MTV.com. So each week, tweet us with some thoughts on your most-anticipated weekend releases; just make sure to include #nowplaying in each tweet. We'll go through them all and pick out a select few to shout to every Friday. Enjoy the video, and let us know what you think in the comments below or via e-mail at tips@mtvmoviesblog.com!

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FROM MTV.COM: Knowing that Chris Columbus directed the first two Harry Potter films, you may find his new movie — "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," to give it its full, galumphing title — to be jarringly familiar. It concerns three kids — one stalwart boy, one feisty girl, one comical sidekick — who have special powers and are sent to a special place (Camp Half-Blood!) for training under the mentorship of a wise older protector; there's a secretly fiendish teacher and also a quest on which our heroes are guided by a magical map. Too bad there's no Voldemort figure, although we do get Steve Coogan in fiery demon drag — which unfortunately is nowhere near the same thing.

Like the book on which it's based — the first in Rick Riordan's best-selling series of young-adult novels — the movie is heavily infested with the gods of ancient Greek mythology, which may prove confusing to those who've forgotten their Olympian arcana. The story begins with two of the top gods, Zeus (Sean Bean) and Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), meeting on the top deck of the Empire State Building. Zeus is angry that someone has stolen his trademark lightning bolt, and he suspects it was Poseidon's half-human son, Perseus, who lives down below in New York with his all-human mother, Sally (Catherine Keener). Poseidon's been out of touch, but says he'll see what he can do.

Continue reading 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians': Demigod Squad, By Kurt Loder

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