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Czech Biz Encourages Incentives
30 June 2013 4:05 PM, PDT
Czech industryites say they are worried that the slowly returning tide of foreign productions could fall off again if politicos don’t pony up more coin for incentives.
A rare bright spot amid the Eurozone crisis has been Prague shoots of projects such as “Child 44” and BBC skein “Musketeers” (above) but the Audiovisual Producers Association revealed at the Karlovy Vary fest on Sunday that unless Czech incentives rise to $40 million annually, business could well be lost to Hungary, where there’s no cap on the kitty.
The Czech system differs from Hungary’s, offering cash back on spends rather than tax breaks, and proponents have been grappling with how to handle multi-year productions such as cable series “Borgia,” now in its third season at Barrandov, repping a 10-month shoot that started in May. With the annual incentives pot currently at $25 million with much of next year’s total likely to »
- Will Tizard
Karlovy Vary Film Review: ‘Killing Season’
30 June 2013 3:32 PM, PDT
The sight of Robert De Niro and John Travolta sharing the screen for the first time reps the one and only selling point of “Killing Season,” a cartoonishly violent drama routinely helmed by Mark Steven Johnson (“Daredevil”). The actors play troubled vets of the Balkan wars — De Niro a U.S. colonel, Travolta a member of the infamous Serbian Scorpions — who find that a literal and metaphorical spilling of guts is just the thing to exorcise their war demons. Millennium Entertainment will hedge its bets for this gory, arrow-in-cheek actioner with a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release Stateside on July 12.
Given that offensiveness massively outweighs entertainment in this two-hander, replete with graphically and gleefully depicted torture, it seems odd that the project attracted two stars of this caliber. Perhaps to justify his choice of a darker role, Travolta has been gamely supporting the pic with pre-release personal appearances in a variety of prestige venues, »
- Alissa Simon
Why ‘White House Down’ Doesn’t Measure Up for Channing Tatum
30 June 2013 12:29 PM, PDT
The pretty-boy image of Channing Tatum may have gotten its first major box office blemish.
“White House Down,” Sony’s big-budget action film from helmer Roland Emmerich, starring Tatum and Jamie Foxx, failed to excite audiences this weekend, grossing just $25.7 million from 3,222 domestic locations. That’s a troubling start considering the film cost upwards of $150 million (not including worldwide marketing).
See More: ‘White House Down’ Can’t Stand ‘The Heat,’ But ‘Monsters U’ Wins
But it’s an especially tough pill to swallow for Tatum, who has had a string of recent hits, including “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “21 Jump Street,” “The Vow” and “Magic Mike.” In fact, every major studio film that Tatum has toplined since 2011 has gone on to gross more than $100 million at the domestic box office.
It seems “White House Down” may end that streak for the hunky star.
In order for “White House Down” to reach nine »
- Andrew Stewart
Graham Rogers, Brett Davern Join Brian Wilson Movie (Exclusive)
30 June 2013 10:46 AM, PDT
Graham Rogers (“Revolution”) and Brett Davern (“Awkward”) have joined “Love & Mercy: The Lives, Times and Music of Brian Wilson” as members of the Beach Boys.
Rogers will portray Al Jardine, and Davern will play Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson’s younger brother. The surf rock band formed in 1961 and became hugely successful by the mid ’60s.
John Wells Prods. and River Road Entertainment are producing with River Road’s Bill Pohlad directing from Oren Moverman’s script. Paul Dano is starring as the young Brian Wilson, with John Cusack playing the older version. Paul Giamatti and Elizabeth Banks also star.
Lensing began this week in Los Angeles.
Rogers’ recent credits include “Careful What You Wish For,” while Davern recently wrapped the indie feature “Born to Race 2.” Rogers is repped by Apa and Management 360. Davern is repped by Apa and Alchemy Entertainment. »
- Dave McNary
Orlando Bloom Finishes Legolas Scenes for ‘Hobbit’
30 June 2013 10:26 AM, PDT
Orlando Bloom has completed his work as Legolas on Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy.
Jackson acknowledged the event on his Facebook page by posting a minute-long video of a clearly amused Bloom singing along with Erwin Beekveld’s 2006 music video “They’re Taking the Hobbits to Isengard” — assembled from clips from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
“A day after saying goodbye to Gandalf and Tauriel, it was time to farewell Legolas. What a great day it was, with Orlando battling a serious Orc for all 12 hours of shooting – part of the Battle of the 5 Armies for the third Hobbit movie,” Jackson wrote. “When we finally got the day done, we said goodbye to Orlando, had a couple of beers … and couldn’t resist doing this!”
See More: Ian McKellen Shoots Final Gandalf Scenes for ‘The Hobbit’
On Friday, Jackson had issued a similar farewell by posting a photo »
- Dave McNary
‘White House Down’ Can’t Stand ‘The Heat,’ But ‘Monsters U’ Wins
30 June 2013 9:10 AM, PDT
Fox’s estrogen-infused buddy comedy “The Heat,” which estimated a strong $40 million opening, easily won the arm-wrestling match with Sony’s bro actioner “White House Down” as it sputtered with a projected $25.7 million. However, neither film was able to pin down Disney/Pixar’s family holdover “Monsters University,” which fell just 44% in its second frame for an estimated $46.2 million.
See More: Film Review: ‘The Heat’
“Monsters University” reached a stellar $171 million Stateside through Sunday, with just north of $300 million worldwide, including nearly $130 million from 37 overseas territories.
See More: Film Review: ‘White House Down’
Despite the underperformance from “White House Down,” the domestic weekend box office was down year-over-year for only the fourth time this summer. This weekend trailed last year by roughly 10%, though overall summer totals (from May 3-June 30) still are up over 2012 by nearly the same percentage.
Helping boost weekend totals, Paramount’s big-budget risk “World War Z” continues to prove its mettle, »
- Andrew Stewart
‘White House Down’ Tanks as ‘The Heat,’ ‘Monsters U’ Lead Box Office
29 June 2013 8:58 AM, PDT
A sophomore “Monsters University” is schooling newcomers “The Heat” and “White House Down” this weekend with $14.3 million Friday and a projected three-day total in the high $40 millions.
Though that’s not to say Fox’s “Heat” is off to a bad start. The R-rated laffer bowed to $13.6 million Friday for second, where it ought to stay through Sunday. Pic is expected to earn close to $40 million this frame, about twice as much as the season’s last adult-skewing comedy “This Is the End.”
Sony’s “White House Down,” however, isn’t looking so hot. Equally toplining star talent — swap Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy for Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx — the actioner is expected to open in fourth this frame with $9 million from Friday and a three-day haul just north of $20 million.
This reps one of the softer openings for an action film this year, behind fellow White House thriller »
- Michael Sullivan
Karlovy Vary Opens with Travolta on Thesping, Gondry’s Strange Tale
28 June 2013 11:55 PM, PDT
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which is Central and Eastern Europe’s leading sprocket opera, opened Friday with a tribute to John Travolta, who received the fest’s Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema, and a screening of Michel Gondry’s whimsical fantasy ”Mood Indigo.”
In acknowledging the career tribute, Travolta spoke about the craft of acting.
“Being an actor is such an interesting journey, because we are asked to reflect humanity. We are asked to reflect mankind. It is our own personal interpretation of that, and it doesn’t mean you are going to agree with that interpretation, or even like it, but I’m so trilled that you agree with my interpretations,” he said.
“I’ve said this before, but the truth is to be or not to be, and I’m glad that you allow me to be.”
Gondry began his introduction to “Mood »
- Leo Barraclough
Film Review: ‘Mystery Road’
28 June 2013 6:38 PM, PDT
Writer-director-lenser-editor-composer Ivan Sen’s “Mystery Road” is an impressively crafted, immensely satisfying contempo thriller that astutely grafts Western and film-noir elements onto the hot-button issue of tensions between indigenous and European Australians. Set to roll out in Oz in October under the Dark Matter banner formed by Sen, producer David Jowsey and exec producer Michael Wrenn, the pic has been snapped up for an early 2014 Stateside release by Well Go USA Entertainment; in the interim, the fest road stretches to the horizon.
In his remote outback hometown under the endless sky (the pic was shot in western Queensland), Aboriginal detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) has returned after several years away in the “Big Smoke” — presumably Sydney — to rejoin the all-white police force. Bearing the brunt of the casual, institutional racism therein, Swan is also looked askance at by his own people, who are wary of authority; even the dark-skinned security »
- Eddie Cockrell
Film Review: ‘Badges of Fury’
28 June 2013 5:57 PM, PDT
As a vehicle for Jet Li and rising Chinese thesp Wen Zhang to show off their kung fu and comedy chops, respectively, “Badges of Fury” narrowly passes muster as a silly time-killer, souped up with some wackily conceived action. Mainland-produced but helmed by Hong Kong newcomer Wong Tsz-ming, the film — pairing Li and Wen as bickering cops cracking a serial murder case — coasts along on gags and slapstick, with multiple star cameos the icing on this unnourishing cake. Pic opened strong domestically before being overshadowed by “Man of Steel,” and should have ancillary legs in genre markets.
“Badges” has all the trappings of a film typically released over a Chinese holiday period: a rambling hodgepodge of genres and movie parodies featuring dozens of stars in blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em cameos. Produced by Beijing Enlight Pictures, the company that released China’s biggest domestic hit, “Lost in Thailand,” the film may be dominated by mainland stars, »
- Maggie Lee
Hollywood’s Latest Bomb? ‘White House Down’ Struggling at the Box Office
28 June 2013 5:25 PM, PDT
Less than a month after Will Smith’s “After Earth” crashed at the box office, Sony finds itself in another predicament with Roland Emmerich’s “White House Down.”
The $150 million action thriller, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, is the studio’s most expensive film of the summer but may debut as poorly as fourth place this weekend with a projected $27 million.
Not only are the early estimates soft for a project Sony bought in a record spec deal for $3 million in 2012, it’s actually worse than this year’s other White House thriller, “Olympus Has Fallen,” which opened to $30.8 million for FilmDistrict on a much smaller budget ($70 million).
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy’s “The Heat,” meanwhile, is sizzling in second place with approximately $40 million this weekend. The R-rated comedy, produced for $43 million, marks another hit for McCarthy and “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig.
Still the No. 1 movie, Disney’s »
- Stuart Oldham
3D Dead? Don’t Count It Out Just Yet
28 June 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
The recent announcement that Espn is shuttering its 3D sports network has triggered another round of “3D is dead” articles.
But 3D isn’t dead. I do think, though, it has plateaued and is going to be stuck at about this level until the technology improves.
3D fans take heart, though: That improved tech is already on the way.
James Cameron has argued that once 3D TV catches on with viewers, studio slates will go all-3D, just as they had to go all-color after the TV networks did. But so far, 3D TV isn’t catching on. Steve Schklair of 3D tech supplier 3ality admitted pangs of doubt after the Espn announcement. “3D television in the U.S., for many reasons, is just not going to happen in the current climate,” he said. “The audience is not being built.”
Vince Pace, James Cameron’s partner in Cameron-Pace Group (and »
- David S. Cohen
Film Composer Gustavo Santaolalla’s Oscar-Worthy Music Studio
28 June 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
For a self-taught musician who admits he still doesn’t read or write music, Argentine transplant Gustavo Santaolalla, a two-time Oscar-winning composer (“Babel,” “Brokeback Mountain”), appears to master any instrument he picks up. His studio, in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, is jammed with instruments mostly of the string variety, including his signature churangos, ronrocos and ouds. But for Santaolalla, who shares the studio with producing partner Anibal Kerpel, virtually anything that emits a sound is part of the sonic arsenal, including plastic Pvc pipes used for construction, one of which he demonstrated by producing a range of effects from a didgeridoo-like sound to the clarion call of a buffalo horn to the high pitch of a pan flute.
Although Santaolalla travels six to seven months out of the year — whether touring with his band Bajofondo, working on film projects or attending festivals — when he is in town, »
- Steve Chagollan
Mark Isham: Sound Investment Starts at Home
28 June 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
Eighteen years ago, film composer and jazz artist Mark Isham (“Crash,” “42″) was writing music in his Benedict Canyon garage. When he and his wife Donna went looking for property that would provide them with an upgrade in space, having room to construct a comfortable studio was also on the checklist.
They found the ideal location — a green, hilly two-acre parcel that already boasted a house, guest house and horse stables — in Hidden Hills in the western San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles. It was less expensive to build a new studio than convert the stables, Isham discovered. Wet Dog Studios, named for their late, beloved golden retriever, who loved to do laps in the pool, was finished and opened in 1997.
Comfort is a high priority, not only because Isham does all of his writing and some of his recording here, but also because directors and producers frequently visit to preview scores in progress. »
- Jon Burlingame
Mixed Media Artist Andy Summers Treats Studio Space Like a Salon
28 June 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
Police guitarist Andy Summers’ recording studio, located just a block from the ocean, is housed in an airy, multilevel building with a storied history. Once home to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (“You can still see some of his paint splatters on the floor” says Summers) and Madonna, the landmark structure was designed and built by architect Robert Mangurian and his firm Studio Works in the early ’80s, and acquired by the guitarist from art dealer Larry Gagosian in ’85.
Combining functional areas with unexpected architectural details, Mangurian based the layout on that of a Renaissance house in Padua, Italy, reports the musician. “It’s very interesting as it has this inner courtyard — a long rectangle, double floors — and you can never quite figure out exactly where it is if you’re walking under. It’s got this Escher effect.”
Appropriately enough, the space — an unusual mix of high-tech recording studio and comfy »
- Iain Blair
Consumers to Play Cowboys and Indians with ‘Lone Ranger’
28 June 2013 1:12 PM, PDT
It’s time for kids to play cowboys and indians again.
For “The Lone Ranger,” Disney Consumer Products has been able to line up a number of licensees to create merchandise tied to the film, that gallops into theaters July 3. Partners include Lego, Neca, Theodora & Callum, Rotenier and Will Leather Goods who are creating everything from toys, action figures and playsets to high-end accessories and hand-crafted leather goods.
Typically products tied to summer tentpoles rely heavily on superheroes and transforming robots. But with “The Lone Ranger,” Disney’s been able to get partners to rally around the iconic image of the masked man as a new kind of superhero for kids, while also making products that tap into the nostalgic factor for adults who were fans of the character during his run on TV.
See Also: Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer See ‘Lone Ranger’ as New Genre-Bending Superhero
“The product assortment for »
- Marc Graser
Hugh Jackman’s ‘Prisoners’ Gets New Trailer
28 June 2013 1:08 PM, PDT
Warner Bros. is stressing dramatic intensity with its second trailer for Alcon Entertainment’s “Prisoners,” an abduction thriller starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano and Melissa Leo.
“Prisoners,” directed by Denis Villeneuve from Aaron Guzikowski’s Black List script, centers around a carpenter — portrayed by Jackman – whose young daughter is kidnapped along with her best friend.
The studio’s marketing pitch: “The desperate father will do whatever it takes to find the girls, but in doing so, may lose himself, begging the question: When do you cross the line between seeking justice and becoming a vigilante?”
Billed as a “parent’s worst nightmare,” early “Prisoners” footage received positive exhibitor response in April at CinemaCon. Studio has set a Sept. 20 release date, which could portend a premiere at the Toronto International film Festival. »
- Dave McNary
Michael Pena, Djimon Hounsou, Dougray Scott On ‘The Vatican Tapes’
28 June 2013 12:47 PM, PDT
Michael Pena, Djimon Hounsou and Dougray Scott are starring in Lakeshore Entertainment’s demonic possession drama “The Vatican Tapes.”
Kathleen Robertson, Peter Andersson, Olivia Dudley, John Patrick Amedori and Alex Sparrow also star with Lionsgate on board to release the film domestically.
Lakeshore’s Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi are producing with Chris Cowles. Lakeshore and Sierra-Affinity sold all foreign territories at Cannes. Shooting will begin in July.
Mark Neveldine, whose credits include “Crank” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” came on board to direct in February.
Dudley will portray a 27-year-old woman who begins to have a devastating effect on anyone who gets close to her. Pena will play the local priest who believes she is possessed, while Hounsou and Andersson will play Vatican officials called in to exorcise the demon. Scott will portray her father.
Script is based on an original story by Christopher Borrelli and Chris Morgan »
- Dave McNary
Michael Bay Reveals Freightliner Truck For ‘Transformers 4′
28 June 2013 12:04 PM, PDT
Michael Bay has unveiled the Freightliner truck he’s using for “Transformers 4,” the eighth vehicle tapped for the tentpole.
The director, who began shooting the movie last month, revealed the vehicle on his website, writing “The adventure continues to transform with a very different offering from Daimler Trucks North America … the imposing 2014 Argosy cab-over truck by Freightliner.”
Bay has already disclosed a Western star truck as the Optimus Prime character, a 1967 Camaro SS that will be the Bumblebee character, a Pagani Huayra sports car, a Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse and a C7 Corvette Stingray.
“Transformers 4″ stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Sophia Myles and Li Bingbing. Paramount has set a June 27, 2014 release date. »
- Dave McNary
Ian McKellen Shoots Final Gandalf Scenes for ‘The Hobbit’
28 June 2013 11:45 AM, PDT
Ian McKellen has completed his work on Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy.
“Seconds ago we finished our last shot with Gandalf,” Jackson said in a post on his Facebook page on Friday from New Zealand. “The end of an incredible adventure that began in 1999. I’m feeling very sad right now.”
Jackson posted a photo himself looking downcast next to McKellan in costume.
McKellan starred as Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which began shooting 14 years ago. McKellen is now 74.
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second film in Peter’s “Hobbit” trilogy, will be released Dec. 13. “The Hobbit: There And Back Again” had been set to open on Dec. 17, 2014.
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” has grossed over $1 billion worldwide since it opened last Dec. 14. »
- Dave McNary
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