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Yoo-Hoo! Mrs. Goldberg's Hitting the Big Screen

9 July 2009 4:03 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Did you know that Lucille Ball was not the first woman of sitcom television land? In fact, there was another who not only came before the famous redhead, but who should also be counted as one of the pioneers behind the screen? No? I didn't either.

Enter Gertrude Berg, who is the focus of Aviva Kempner's new documentary Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, which is hitting theaters this week in New York City before heading to DC on the 17th and La on the 24th. This isn't your heart-tugging, dramatic art doc, but rather a straight-forward account of someone we should know because, frankly, her success was impressive. (That picture to the right -- that's Berg with her scripts.)

Turns out that before I Love Lucy, there was a show radio show that hit television called The Goldbergs. It was Berg's own creation -- a brainchild she shopped around herself, wrote,

(more)

Monika Bartyzel

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Analyst Who Was Down On "Up" Is Now Up On "Up"

9 July 2009 12:41 PM, PDT | From Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news

Pali Research media analyst Richard Greenfield has admitted that he was "dead wrong" in his assessment of Disney/Pixar's Up, which he predicted would fail to become a big hit for the studio. In particular Greenfield had claimed that the film's hero, a cranky 78-year-old voiced by Ed Asner, was not the sort of character that would attract Disney's core audience, young boys, and would be nearly impossible to merchandise. (At the time, Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook responded, "I think we've all learned that a great story, no matter what it is, told well and with great characters is going to find a big audience. ... Time and again people tend to stereotype movies; they'll say 'pirates never work,' or 'older protagonists' never work, and each time, the marketplace tells you differently." In a research note sent to clients on Wednesday, Greenfield said, "The recent success of Pixar's Up (well ahead of our forecasts) has renewed investor confidence in Disney's creative capabilities." After six weeks, the movie has earned more than $265 million, making it Disney's second-highest grossing film ever domestically, after Finding Nemo. Today's (Thursday) New York Times observed that other analysts have been praising Disney "for allowing its Pixar unit to pursue Up despite the film's obvious commercial risk."

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Box Office Beat Down: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Owns the Weekend with Another $112 Million

28 June 2009 8:22 AM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

Weekend Box Office

1) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $112 million

2) The Proposal $18.4 million

3) The Hangover $17.2 million

4) Up $13 million

5) My Sister's Keeper $12 million

6) Year One $5.8 million

7) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 $5.4 million

8) Star Trek $3.6 million

9) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $3.5 million

10) Away We Go $1.6 million

As most suspected, Michael Bay's giant robot sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen owned the weekend, earning a little over $112 million. Though it broke many new records, it failed to live up to studio expectations, becoming only the seventh highest grossing opener in cinematic history. Clearly, it was no match for the The Dark Knight, which took in $158 million when it opened in July of last year. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had the second highest opening day earnings of all time with $60.6 million. The Dark Knight still holds the record with $67 million. As for firsts, Bay's latest action extravaganza, which stars Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox,

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Box Office Beat Down: The Proposal Engages Audiences with $34 Million in First Place

21 June 2009 3:09 PM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

Weekend Box Office:

1) The Proposal $34.1 million

2) The Hangover $26.8 million

3) Up $21.3 million

4) Year One $20.2 million

5) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 $11.3 million

6) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $7.3 million

7) Star Trek $4.7

8) Land of the Lost $3.9 million

9) Imagine That $3.1 million

10) Terminator Salvation $3 million

Walt Disney's The Proposal got on its knees this weekend and asked: Will you see me? Audiences said "yes", turning Anne Fletcher's deportation rom-com into the number one film of the weekend. Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a pair of mismatched romantics trying to save their jobs, the hilarious comedy pulled in $34.1 million. Not bad considering it opened on Father's Day weekend, a time usually reserved for macho action films and sci-fi extravaganzas.

Todd Phillip's surprise hit of the summer The Hangover fell to second place in its third week of release. The R rated comedy, which stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zack Galifianakis as

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Box Office Beat Down: The Hangover Hangs in at Number One with $33.4 Million

14 June 2009 7:17 PM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

Weekend Box Office:

1) The Hangover $33.4 million

2) Up $30.5 million

3) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 $25 million

4) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $9.6 million

5) Land of the Lost $9.1 million

6) Imagine That $5.7 million

7) Star Trek $5.6 million

8) Terminator Salvation $4.6 million

9) Angels & Demons $4.2 million

10) Drag Me to Hell $3.8 million

Todd Phillip's surprise hit of the summer The Hangover held its first place position for a second straight week in a row. The R rated comedy, which stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zack Galifianakis as three friends searching for their groom the day after the bachelor party, scored an impressive $33.4 million, pushing its cumulative take past the hundred million dollar mark. Having earned $105.3 million, The Hangover has surpassed most other second week grosses this year.

Coming in with a strong second place finish was Disney/Pixar's Up, which pulled in another $30.5 million. The film, which follows a 78-year-old balloon salesman named Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner

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The Hangover Hurls To Number One At U.S. Box Office

14 June 2009 4:15 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

New comedy The Hangover has hurled itself to the top spot at the U.S. box office with second weekend ticket sales totalling $33.4 million (£22.3 million).

The tale of a Vegas bachelor party gone wrong - starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha - has raised an impressive total of $105.4 million (£70.3 million) after 10 days in American theatres.

Ed Asner's animated comedy Up went down to second with $30.5 million (£20.3 million) in earnings, lifting its two-week total to $187.2 million (£124.8 million).

Meanwhile, John Travolta and Denzel Washington's action movie The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 debuted in third place, with $25 million (£16.7 million).

Rounding out the top five are Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Land of the Lost, taking in $9.6 million (£6.4 million) and $9.2 million (£6.1 million) respectively.

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Up – Disney Digital 3D

12 June 2009 1:00 AM, PDT | From The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news

Quickcard Review

Up – Disney Digital 3D

Directed by: Pete Docter

Cast: (Voices) Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer

Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins

Rating: PG

Release Date: May 29, 2009

Click here For Megan Lehar’s complete Scorecard Review of Up

Click here for the He Said – She Said of Up

Plot: Carl Fredricksen (Asner) is a widower about to lose his home to developers, so instead of giving it away, he takes off (literally) with thousands of balloons attached to his house. He attemps to go to South America, but a wilderness scout named Russell (Nagai) accidentally comes along.

Who’s It For? Who doesn’t love Pixar? This is a perfect family film, and the elderly have another character to fall in love with since Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.

Overall

Perfection is easy to spot. You just know it when you see it, and then you’re able to explain why later.

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Jeff Bayer

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‘Up’ Director Reveals Secret Deleted Subplot - And the Egg on Carl’s Face

11 June 2009 1:30 PM, PDT | From MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news

Pixar has another instant classic on its hands with its latest cartoon offering. As big a fan as you may be — and as much as you may think you know what’s up with “Up” — there is a deleted plotline that may surprise you.

When MTV News visited the Pixar headquarters in Emeryville, CA recently we couldn’t help but notice that there were early sketches on the walls of Carl (Ed Asner) — the 78 year old man who flies his house to South America in “Up.” In these pictures we saw, he was constantly holding a giant egg. It wasn’t his breakfast either, but instead the spawn of his rare, hunted bird friend Kevin.

“That was early on,” director Pete Docter explained of a subplot that focused on a fountain of youth. “We had the bird give birth to this egg, and Carl then felt like he needed to

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Larry Carroll

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The Real Star Of ‘The Hangover’ Is … Phil Collins?

8 June 2009 11:33 AM, PDT | From MTV Newsroom | See recent MTV Newsroom news

Over the weekend, Todd Phillips’ Las Vegas super-comedy “The Hangover” narrowly missed becoming the top movie in the country (it was edged out by crotchety animated Ed Asner and “Up”) (Update: Looks like it prevailed after all!). The movie is a fantastically hilarious trip through a bachelor party gone horribly, horribly wrong and features guest appearances by a baby, a tiger and Mike Tyson, who plays air drums along with Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” It’s yet another instance where somehow, some way, Phil Collins has been given a gold medal in the cool Olympics.

The oft-maligned Collins has had a rough time of it in the mainstream, selling millions of records but mostly getting dismissed as either “the guy who ruined Genesis” (not true) or “the guy who wrote those stupid songs for Disney’s ‘Tarzan’” (unfortunately true). But it seems like you can’t flick a

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Kyle Anderson

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'Hangover' Beats 'Up' In Box-Office Recount

8 June 2009 7:51 AM, PDT | From MTV Movie News | See recent MTV Movie News news

Will Ferrell's 'Land of the Lost' will likely go down as one of summer's biggest flops.

By Elisabeth Rappe

Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner) in "Up"

Photo: Disney/Pixar

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "The Hangover" ($45 million)

#2 "Up" ($44.3 million)

#3 "Land of the Lost" ($19.5 million)

#4 "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" ($14.7 million)

#5 "Star Trek" ($8.4 million)

The box office enjoyed a photo finish this weekend. As of Sunday night, "Up" was widely being reported as having held its top spot with $44.3 million, the first film of the summer to hold #1 two weeks in a row.

But never discount an R-rated raunchfest, or a late Sunday-night surge. "The Hangover" had enough of a drunken buzz to overtake "Up," and once the numbers were recounted, it was found to have brought in an impressive $45 million, exceeding industry predictions of a $20 million opening and becoming a personal best for director Todd Phillips.

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Animated Hit Goes Up, Up And Away

7 June 2009 6:35 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Animated comedy Up has stormed to the top of the U.S. box office, landing $44.5 million (£29.6 million) in ticket sales in its sophomore weekend.

The movie, starring Ed Asner as an elderly man who travels the world on a homemade balloon craft, narrowly beat out new release The Hangover, which defied critics' expectations with earnings of $43.27 million (£28.8 million).

Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost was the big weekend loser, taking a disappointing $19.5 million (£13 million) in its first weekend.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Star Trek round out the top five.

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Killer Hangover Can't Quite Take Down Up

7 June 2009 11:00 AM, PDT | From E! Online | See recent E! Online news

Who does Zach Galifianakis think he is—Ed Asner? The box-office year of Kevin James (alternately titled "Movie Stars Not Necessarily Required") continued unabated this weekend, with the Galifianakis, um, graced The Hangover very nearly unseating the Asner-voiced Up with a killer $43.3 million, per studio estimates. Asner being Asner and not, say, Russell Crowe, remained on top, with his Pixar pic scoring another $44.2 million. Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost, the weekend's lone new star-vehicle entry, sputtered like one: third-place finish, disastrous $19.5 million take. Drilling down into the numbers: • The Hangover's debut was bigger than Wedding...

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Box Office Beat Down: Up Still Tops at the Box Office with $44.2 Million

7 June 2009 10:10 AM, PDT | From MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news

Weekend Box Office

1) Up $44.2 million

2) The Hangover $43.2 million

3) Land of the Lost $19.5 million

4) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $14.6 million

5) Star Trek $8.4 million

6) Terminator Salvation $8.1 million

7) Drag Me to Hell $7.3 million

8) Angels & Demons $6.5 million

9) My Life in Ruins $3.2 million

10) Dance Flick $2 million

Disney/Pixar's Up remained at the top of the box office charts this weekend, pulling in another $44.2 million. The film, which follows a 78-year-old balloon salesman named Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) as he fulfils his lifelong dream of visiting the wilds of South America, has now earned $137 million, making it a certified hit. Coming in at number ten on the all-time best box office earnings score chart for a Pixar film, Up still has a long road to hoe before it beats Finding Nemo's number one status. Pixar's popular fish tale managed to earn $339 million back in 2003.

The race for second and third place was an effortless beat down.

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"Up" barely escapes a "Hangover." "Land of the Lost" tamed in third.

7 June 2009 | From Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news

Disney/Pixar’s animated family adventure “Up” stayed on for a top spot-holding $44.2 million estimate in its sophomore run. Film starring Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Delroy Lindo  almost fell victim to the craved-for “The Hangover” comedy which debuted a hefty $43.2 million from $3,269; a strong $13,237.99 per theatre average. Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Rachael Harris, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham star in “Hangover” w...

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"Up" barely escapes a "Hangover." "Land of the Lost" tamed in third.

7 June 2009 | From Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news

Disney/Pixar’s animated family adventure “Up” stayed on for a top spot-holding $44.2 million estimate in its sophomore run. Film starring Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Delroy Lindo  almost fell victim to the craved-for “The Hangover” comedy which debuted a hefty $43.2 million from $3,269; a strong $13,237.99 per theatre average. Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Rachael Harris, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham star in “Hangover” w...

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Up (review)

4 June 2009 3:51 PM, PDT | From SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news

Up Directed by Pete Docter Co-directed by Bob Peterson Those waiting for animation powerhouse Pixar to slip up are going to have to wait a little longer, as their third straight unmitigated success comes courtesy of Up, the latest effort to be directed by Pete Docter, who previously helmed Monsters, Inc. Up may not be quite the cultural phenom Wall-e turned out to be, and its flights of fancy not quite as daring as that film's dialogue-free opening gambit, but it is nevertheless a lovely final entry in this phase of Pixar's exitence - the next two years, disappointingly, will be taken up with sequels (Toy Story 3 and Cars 2). Until then, though, let's be happy that our screens have been graced with a stunning hat trick of original features that began with Brad Bird's Ratatouille. Where that film starred a strikingly realistic rat, and Wall-e was a diminuitive trash compactor,

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Simon

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Up Review

3 June 2009 9:59 PM, PDT | From newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news

We’re nearing the halfway point of the year now, but as 2009 winds down in December and cinephiles start to compile their “Best Films” lists the discussion will likely turn to why Up should be on top.  It clearly floats above the year’s best so far and belongs among the favorites at the always reliable Pixar Studios.  It’s truly a remarkable film.

Unfortunately when lists and nominations are compiled every year, they often overlook the realm of children’s movies that continually inspire generations of future film lovers.  This sweet story is an exceptional piece of storytelling that just happens to be animated, a component that should be seen as one of the many reasons why Up is so special.  The craftsmanship in Pixar’s first 3-D venture tops even their usual lofty ambitions, bringing their attention to detail to new heights.

Their latest is uniquely great, meaning

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Jeff Leins

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Up Flies Over All

1 June 2009 1:18 PM, PDT | From Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news

What turned out to be a not-so-surprising end result, Disney/Pixar’s Up dominated the weekend box office. Raking in 68.2 Million, it jumps into the top three biggest opening Pixar movies (behind Finding Nemo & The Incredibles). Up, featuring the voices of Edward Asner and Jordan Nagai, was a film that definitely filled up the seats in a theater and cracked open the water works for those who know what this reporter is referring to.

"What are you freaked out for Russell? Were above everyone else."

Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell tried to drag the horror fans out to the best of it’s abilities, but fell a little short by wrangling up 16 million, landing in fourth underneath the Ben Stiller starring film Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and McG’s Terminator Salvation. Wrangling in tons of mixed reviews did not help the film’s case either,

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Melissa

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Up, Up and Away! Pixar's Latest Tops Box Office

1 June 2009 7:59 AM, PDT | From TVGuide - Breaking News | See recent TVGuide.com - Breaking News news

Up</i>" style="margin:0 5px 5px" />Up floated to the top of the box office in its opening weekend, filling its balloons with $68.2 million. That's good enough for No.3 on the animation giant Pixar's all-time list, trailing only Finding Nemo (which opened with $70 mil) and The Incredibles.

Up was unanimously trumpeted by reviewers, and rightfully so. The action-comedy, about an elderly man (voiced by Ed Asner) who sets his house aloft on a journey to South America, was truly wonderful, remarkably original and teeming with ...

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Matt Mitovich

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'Up' flies into first place in Us

1 June 2009 2:59 AM, PDT | From Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news

Pixar's latest offering Up has topped the Us box office on its first weekend on release. The CG animation, Pixar's first to be released in 3D, takes in $$68 million to knock Night At The Museum 2 from the chart summit. It is the third highest opening for the studio, behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. Featuring the voices of Christopher Plummer and Edward Asner, Up centres on a 78-year-old man who ties balloons to his home and flies off on an adventure to South America. Sam Raimi's return to horror Drag Me To Hell is the only other (more)

By Simon Reynolds

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | 2004 | 2002 | 1997

1-20 of 178 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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