News on the Robocop reboot getting revived, Quentin Tarantino directing a Western, Charlie Sheen's Twitter account and other madness, Bryan Singer finding his Jack the Giant Killer lead and more!
Furious Movie News 03.03.11: The Craziest Charlie Sheen Edition Yet
Charlie Sheen hits Twitter, Tarantino's latest to be a Western, Robocop re-boot back on, two actors turn director plus trailers, charts and more!
First off; big congratulations to Chad Webb and Ben Piper on tying the Oscar predictions roundtable. I had a good feeling about this year but the Academy fucking screwed me like nobodies business. Next year I shall randomly select the short film awards as that's what the Academy seems to do. I was behind both these guys by 1 point. That's a lot for a man of my intellect to take.
I really hope you've all seen Rocky III .
NEWS!
This is how Charlie Sheen tweeted his arrival.
First off; we all known Charlie Sheen is now displaying Gary Busey levels of crazy but that's what makes him news. In the latest batch of crazy Charlie's winning ways he's joined Twitter. He already has 775,000 followers, myself included (I'm deluding myself into thinking its some form of research). His tweets seem to involve bigging himself up and posting pictures of the Oscar statuette with his head superimposed on it.
In the real world Charlie's kids Max and Bob have been removed from his custody by the mother, Brooke Mueller, who claims its not a safe environment for children. Backed up by Charlie's increasingly wacky public statements where he describes epic parties going down at his house and taking an amount of drugs that would kill a normal person but that dying is for losers and he's a winner. These are all actual quotes, albeit not verbatim.
But the Sheen antics don't end there. Only two news items in one day? If you believe that I'm sure Charlie has a few words about winning for you. YOU DON'T WIN WITH JUST TWO NEWS STORIES. That's not winning. What's winning is added controversy! Brooke Mueller was back in the news claiming Sheen sent the following message to her about his former manager Mark Burg.
"I must execute mark b like the stoopid jew pig that he is."
There is a degree of anti-Semitism there. Sheen claims that his ex-wife sent the message but she claims to not been anywhere near his phone at the time. Burg was quick to defend his client (Sheen fired then re-hired him) pointing out all his legal team are Jewish, Brooke Mueller is Jewish and Sheen's kids are half Jewish by nature of their Mom being Jewish. So that one might not be true. Unless he sent the message when he was wasted, which is a possibility.
Sheen went on to cause a bit of a splash when interviewed by People magazine…
"It's not an act. Here's the good news: If I realize that I'm insane, then I'm okay with it. I'm not dangerous insane."
Oh good! I'm glad he realises how insane he sounds. But because he's hot in the celebrity world it seems crazy-loving Hangover 2 might feature him in a cameo. Originally Mel Gibson was asked to appear but the cast and crew weren't comfortable with his level of Jew-hatred. While the film is wrapped there's still a possibility of adding an extra scene and Sheen is familiar with at least one of the cast as he sent himself up on Due Date , which featured Zach Galifianakis. That was also directed by Todd Phillips. Hangover 2 is due out in May but there's still time to get an extra scene shot if Charlie is up for it. Rumour has it Todd Phillips has been trying to get him to do it for the past 2 days. So there you go, that's your daily Charlie Sheen update. Good luck to the crazy bastard. It sounds like he'll need it.
Oh you don't think any of this sounds crazy? Ok, *one* more before we wrap it up and move on to the rest of the news…
Just read this; Larry Csonka posted it earlier on 411 and I don't have the time to re-write it but suffice to say it points out just how batshit crazy this guy is.
According to TMZ, the restraining order Brooke Mueller got against Charlie Sheen alleges that Sheen wanted to kill some of his associates. Mueller also claims that Charlie "spit on my feet. He also punched me in the arm."
The documents say that Charlie allegedly told Brooke he wanted her to give him back $20,000 a month in child support payments. The papers state the following: "untraceable cash to knock off a few people because the people I hate violently are going to get severely punished."
In regards to Sheen saying that he would cut off Brooke's head off and put it in a box, Sheen reportedly stated the following: "If you are having this conversation taped, then consider it done."
Mueller further claims that on the way to the Bahamas, Charlie told people on the plane, "that he hated his ex-wife, Denise Richards, violently and he was going to have her hair shaved off."
Finally, while in the Bahamas, Sheen reportedly was yelling out "I'm untouchable! I'm Charlie Sheen! I'm more famous than Obama!"
And I'm done.
Tarantino to indulge in Italian Western?
Tarantino: pictured drinking wine from Uma Thurman's shoe.
The rumour going around town about Quentin Tarantino's next film is that he'll be paying tribute to Sergio Leone and shooting a Western in Italy. Initially reports coming out of Italy had Tarantino attached to a project called The Angel, the Bad and the Wise , which has been debunked by Ain't It Cool News (thankfully). Franco Nero had initially claimed that Tarantino had approached him about a role in said production and mentioned Keith Carradine and Treat Williams were among the co-stars.
Meanwhile Tarantino confirmed back on Sunday to Deadline that he had written a Western and that it had been "effortless". The script it due to head over to the Weinstein's soon and should they approve funding it will be Tarantino's next project. There's not much news beyond that except that, according to AICN, that Christoph Waltz has been tapped up for a part already. Waltz previously worked with Tarantino on Inglourious Basterds , which he won an Academy Award for. His first venture into Hollywood saw him as a bland bad guy in The Green Hornet though so he's clearly looking back at what brought him to the dance.
This one has been in the rumour mill for some time. I even declared it dead just this week when one of my friends asked me about it. Not so according to the latest news from Deadline and that's MGM's decision to proceed with the project. They see it as a potential money spinner and are looking at potential directors. Now this is a project that could have been helmed by Darren Aronofsky. He wanted to do it. He really did but MGM were having issues and he dropped out to make actual real movies that would happen for companies that weren't a joke. MGM has stabilised recently though and Robocop is back on the table. The name being mentioned as a potential #1 pick for MGM is Joe Padilha.
I know the name doesn't mean anything to you but Joe shot one of the best documentaries I've ever seen; Bus 174 about a criminal hijacking a bus in Rio and demanding a ransom. It became a national news sensation and Padilha dug deep into why it happened while letting the story unfold over the course of the documentary. Padilha didn't rest on his laurels and promptly wrote a movie called Elite Squad in 2007. It made considerable dollar down in Brazil and allowed a 2010 sequel called Elite Squad 2 , which made even more money. Although I've not seen either of the ES movies they've both very highly ranked on IMDB (both over 8.0) and the combination of quality and box office has gotten Joe noticed. No deal as yet but if Padilha gets the contract to shoot Robocop there's a very strong chance it'll be gritty and hard hitting.
I'm totally listening to the Robocop theme music right now. Also we riot if the music changes for the re-boot.
Two new potential directors out there as of today. The first one should probably come as no surprise. Jonah Hill has gone from bit part actor, to big time Hollywood producer (in charge of the 21 Jump Street remake) and is now on his way to being a director as well. As recently as 2006 Hill was a bit part player; getting small roles in medium sized productions like Accepted or Grandma's Boy . It wasn't until a larger role in 2007's Knocked Up , which launched Seth Rogen's career, that Hill started to be noticed. He went on to star in Superbad and then confirmed he'd moved up to the adult world by appearing alongside Russell Brand in Get Him to the Greek . Sony clearly have faith in him putting Hill alongside Brad Pitt for the upcoming Moneyball . Now he's been given a different opportunity.
His first film as a director is The Kitchen Sink . Which features a human teaming up with a vampires and zombies to ward off an alien invasion. The script comes from Oren Uziel who also wrote the forthcoming Mortal Kombat re-launch script and is getting a decent reputation around Hollywood. Sony is also behind Hill's 21 Jump Street . They must be impressed by his abilities as an ideas man.
Second actor turned director is one you might not expect. Or perhaps maybe it was fate. Bryce Dallas Howard comes from a family that's famous for actors turned directors. Her Dad, one Ron Howard, began life as a sit-com star before turning to directing in the 80s. He actually directed features while still working on Happy Days but it wasn't until Splash in 1984 that he made a career of it. He won an Oscar in 2002 for A Beautiful Mind . Bryce's mother is an actress turned writer. Bryce has been keen to take on the role, perhaps based on her father's success, since breaking into film in 2004 in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village . She's already appeared in Spider-Man 3 and Terminator: Salvation .
Back in 2009 she finished work on her first screenplay; The Originals hoping that Daddy Ron would direct. But Ron's slate was a little loaded so it was put on the back-burner. Mainly because Ron wanted to do The Dark Tower , which looks to be starring Javier Bardem and is a much bigger project. So Bryce decided she'd have a stab at directing herself. The plot sounds very John Hughes-ish with a group of Twentysomethings reunited by their teacher going into a coma. Bryce describes it as The Breakfast Club for her generation. That's a pretty big claim. If its 20-somethings shouldn't it be the St Elmo's Fire for her generation though? Oh, I have to listen to some John Parr…
Producer Joe Roth is trying to sell a movie called Peter Pan Begins , which is exactly what it sounds like; an origin story of Peter Pan. He's already convinced Channing Tatum to take the lead. Roth most recently worked as a producer on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland so fantasy literature isn't new to him.
Fresh off her Oscar Melissa Leo isn't resting on her laurels either. She's inked a deal to star in a feature length version of a short film she starred in called Predisposed . It explores a relationship between a drug-addicted mother and her college bound son. The role of the son has gone to Jesse Eisenberg. More Oscar nom's for these two next year? Possibly.
Bryan Singer has signed a lead for Jack the Giant Killer . His fairytale update had already acquired Nicolas Hoult but now he's inked a female lead in Eleanor Tomlinson. He conducted an extensive search to find her but probably should have just watched Alice in Wonderland as she appeared in that.
Miral . Heaps of controversy over this one. The Weinstein's have been bashed for funding it. It features Freida Pinto as a Palestinian orphan girl who finds herself in the middle of the first Arab-Israeli war. Julian Schnabel is the director, which means its in German.
The Hangover 2 is one of the most hotly anticipated comedies in years. The original becoming a smash hit a few years ago. Trailer doesn't give away much but I'm there.
Finally Tom Hanks must have enjoyed working with Julia Roberts on Charlie Wilson's War because he's directing and starring with her in Larry Crowne . Here's a clip after 30 seconds of Eurobabble.
NOTE: This was written, as per usual, on Sunday night so features the news that Gnomeo and Juliet is top, which after actuals were reported isn't so. Hall Pass ended up with more money.
Despite two big new releases it was Gnomeo and Juliet that finally hit top spot after 3 weeks. Of the two opening pictures Hall Pass , the Farrelly Brothers latest comedy starring Owen Wilson, did best. $13M opening weekend gives it a third of its budget back right out of the gate. The last three Farrelly Brothers movies have had poor openings and you get the feeling their fanbase isn't going to the movies as much anymore. Not since Shallow Hal have they had a big hit and they've not done blockbuster figures since Mary in 1998. But this is an ok opening for them but I'm sure Warners would have been hoping for #1 at the very least. It should turn a profit but might have to wait for DVD.
The other new opening was Drive Angry , which screamed ACTION during its teaser trailers and starred Nic Cage. Sometimes I think Nic would be better off in smaller projects where he can really let his performance flow. An example would be Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans where there was no budget but he had the chance to let the crazy out. Great movie. His last three cinematically released films have seen a steady decline. As if audiences feel they're getting burned by him again. Which is a shame because if you take Knowing, Bad Lieutenant and Kick Ass you've got three good movies in a row. It was like he was back. But there's no mistaking a $5M opening weekend. Drive Angry is a flop. Not an epic flop (it ranks #118 in worst performance for a wide release) but not good news for Nic Cage's career.
On limited release Christian movie The Grace Card starring Louis Gossett Jr performed best with a $1M weekend from 352 screens. Of Gods and Men was the one to watch if it was near you. With $22,000 per screen it was the hot ticket in the three cinemas it appeared at. If its not showing near you it might be soon, with those numbers.
Gnomeo and Juliet ; so close to top spot for two weeks takes top in week three. In modern times that doesn't happen often. The Bucket List hit top spot in its third week of release in 2008. Going back further Black Hawk Down took four weeks. Back in the 80s and 90s, when things were allowed a slightly slower burn, films could be on release for a month or two before hitting top spot. The record is 10 weeks, which is how long it took A Fish Called Wanda to take the top spot. There's Something About Mary didn't hit top spot for 8 weeks at the tail end of the 90s. But nowadays…that just doesn't happen. So coming in top after 3 weeks is impressive but speaks volumes for a lack of competition. With $75M so far its already tied Coraline and is about $10M behind middling hits Brother Bear and Open Season . Its certainly doing well for Disney though who made serious cash with Tangled only a few months back.
Unknown is already a solid hit. $42M so far and a $30M budget. Its already Dark Castle's second most successful movie (behind, urgh, Gothika ).
Just Go With It keeps holding on to audience and has squeaked up to $79M, which puts it just behind its $80M budget. Chances are it'll easily get to $100M and prove to be yet another hit for Adam Sandler in a long, long string of them. Pretty much every film he releases, that's not a drama, makes huge money. Which is why he can command such high fees. Sad as this may seem Sandler is one of *the* box office attractions of this generation. He's never touched a franchise and his movies average $81M.
I Am Number Four had a pretty solid weekend but still only has $37M and a big, big $60M budget to reclaim. Its been doing ok overseas but its really struggled to tell audiences what its about. If you've not seen it; could you explain to me what the movie is about? Which is the problem with trying to push a movie with a complex concept and a big budget. But seeing as Inception worked studios seem to think it'll work with anything now. They have to pick those fights. Hopefully we'll be talking about this again next week with The Adjustment Bureau getting released.
Bieber's movie has $62M. That's almost as much as the Hannah Montana concert film so it looks like they have comparable fanbases. Or Bieber's just don't spend any money. The King's Speech saw a spike on Oscars weekend gaining 16% on last weekend. The Academy Award winning movie now has $114M. Big Mommas saw heavy second weekend drop-off. Its about $4M shy of regaining its budget, which means it should do that during the week. Finally The Roommate is $20M into the black. Here's a fine example of low budgets paying off. If Drive Angry finishes with $35M it'll be considered a flop (and it won't get that much at all) but The Roommate is a big hit with the same back end.
The Eagle is off the ten with about $20M in the US and overseas. $25M budget will be tricky to reclaim but its done better than expected after a very slow start. The other film gone is No Strings Attached as Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her other film on release Black Swan . It did, in fact, surpass this film at the weekend. Black Swan has done so well in foreign markets that it now has a grand total of $225M pocketed. Plus is cleared up at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Four new films. Rango opens widest. Its an animated film starring Johnny Depp channelling Hunter S. Thompson as a lizard in a Wild West setting. Its directed by Gore Verbinski. While I am looking forward to that the bigger release must surely be The Adjustment Bureau ; a Matt Damon film that is aiming to see how far films can go at capturing dream-scapes ala Inception . You knew another film would come along in the same style and here it is. Also out is comedy Take Me Home Tonight a retro 80s comedy starring Topher Grace and Anna Faris. Should do well. Finally we have teen icons Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer in fantasy film Beastly .
Early predictions have Rango out front. $40M+.
What news was happening this time last year?
• Indiana Jones V was at the "ideas formulating" stage. It still is.
• There were rumours of a Gilligan's Island movie. That's gone nowhere.
• James McAvoy dropped out of I'm With Cancer , Seth Rogen's cancer comedy. It's now been re-named 50/50 and McAvoy's role went to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It'll be out this year.
• Edgar Wright was defending his changes to Scott Pilgrim Vs the World insisting writer Bryan Lee O'Malley approved. Having seen the film I can see why. It worked. Otherwise it would have been 5 hours long.
Apologies for no column last week but I couldn't compile a decent five from two games. More to choose from this week…
1. Scott Parker (West Ham). In terms of important performances there was none bigger this past weekend than Parker. Maybe overshadowed somewhat by Blues winning the Carling Cup (well played, lads). But make no mistake about it; Parker's performance against Liverpool is the kind the Irons need if they're to be a Premier League team next season. Not only did he provide the usual inspirational leadership part but he scored too. Incidentally I'd be including this regardless of the opposition. It isn't just in here because I hate Liverpool.
2. Ashley Young (Aston Villa). Big weekend for Villa too. Convincing 4-1 winners against Blackburn they can start looking up the table instead of back at the drop zone. Which is something most Midlands clubs can't say. Young was the architect and probably the best player anywhere in the league over the weekend. Parker got the top spot nod because what he did was more important but Young was class. It helped that he had good players around him playing good football but you need a creative player (as Blackpool found out) or your team can't really function. Even Stoke have Etherington. Young is Villa's star man and when he plays well it all comes right for them. Proof was there on Saturday.
3. Jermaine Beckford (Everton). He did somewhat bundle both goals over the line but its all about positioning when you're a forward player. Beckford got into those killer goalscoring positions, which he's been doing all season. The difference is that now the ball seems to be going in. Good luck to him, he's worked really hard this season. His double on Saturday sank a particularly good Sunderland side that's been on a bad run.
So, a look at where that puts us for the season…Scott Parker moves up to third place. His performances have been huge for West Ham. No doubt about it. Without him they'd be in a far worse position. Only Jarvis had scored no points coming in to this weekend so all the other points scorers moved on up. No one else endangered the top ten. Young has 7 points, Beckford 6.
Good ideas at play here but the execution is hit and miss. They rush into the horror aspects way too quickly. The first "crazy" is 3 minutes in. At least try to build some character up and establish where you are. Tim Olyphant is likeable in the lead and Radha Mitchell is too. Outside of them finding a talent is slim pickings. So yeah, nice idea but rushed and sloppy. Like this review. **1/2
If Exit Through the Gift Shop is a criticism of celebrity culture and the art world then Inside Job is operating on a completely different level. I only compare the two because the race for an Oscar is between the two films. Inside Job is less thrilling, makes me significantly angrier and yet is the better film. Charles Ferguson makes people look stupid by presenting them with very simple and straightforward facts. Not only that he has an uncanny ability to make very, very important people look like complete assholes. Like he's shooting down the entire world from the hip and when the movie culminates with "some things are worth fighting for" and he issues a rallying cry for the world to stand up to greed...that needs to be heard. This is the most important documentary in some considerable time. ****1/2
Both stunningly beautiful (visually) and powerfully mediocre (storyline). Disney sure spent a shitload of cash on the visuals and they're the focus of all the thrills and spills. But to then take those gorgeous visuals and stick this trite musical over it should be a crime. Typical of Disney who never cease trying to push their kind of movie on the rest of the world. Pixar's influence is only present in the visual side of things here, sad to say. **
I also saw The Princess and the Frog , which was even more underwhelming. There's no disguising how much Disney recycle material and how bland and child orientated it is. I guess someone has to make movies for kids but kids love Pixar films and they're awesome too. Why can't Disney just sort themselves out?
Due Date is actually worth the journey. To begin with it feels like they remade Planes, Trains and Automobiles (which has significantly more heart) but forgot which character was supposed to be the nice guy so just made them both assholes. That lasts a while with Downey Jr and Galifianakis trying hard to instill some genuine personality to the two leads. Its only when the stakes get higher and shit hits the fan that both characters start to appeal to the audience. Galifianakis' Ethan in particular has to come a long way without changing the basis of the character. In the end it works as a movie and in the end I actually want both parties to get where they want to go. Its just a bit too uneven in the early going as they struggle to establish anyone to root for. ***1/2
One for the road. Do we need anything?
Better do what the man says.
Until next time I'm Arnold Furious and you're not.
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