Everyone have a good weekend? Of course it’s a bummer that it’s back to work or school tomorrow, but at least you’ll have a healthy dose of movie news to take with you to brighten up your day.
We’ve got a little of everything from Gotti: Three Generations casting news to a brand new set of posters for The Hangover Part II. And how about a tour of the set of The Hobbit courtesy of director Peter Jackson? And, of course, we’ve got the latest in new trailers and the results of the battle of the box office.
Check it all out below in your weekly movie news cheat sheet.
1. Gotti: Three Generations Press Conference: This week Fiore Films held a press conference in New York City during which John Gotti Jr., director Nick Cassavetes and star John Travolta were all on hand to talk about their upcoming film Gotti: Three Generations. Not only did the production company announce their decision to finance the piece themselves and their plan to begin filming in October for a late 2012 release, but producer Marc Fiore also revealed that Joe Pesci signed on to play John Gotti Sr.’s deputy, Angelo Ruggiero. In addition, Fiore confirmed Lindsay Lohan is in talks for the role of Victoria Gotti and that they hope to cast Gotti Jr. “within the next week or two.” (via Deadline)
2. Woody Allen Loads Up The Cast For His Next Film: In true Woody Allen fashion, the director is keeping the details of his next film under wraps. While we may not have any plot details to divulge what we do know is rather big. Not only has Allen lined up Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz to star, but Jesse Eisenberg and Ellen Page, too. The group will convene this summer in Rome to begin filming the currently untitled film. (via Variety)
3. The Hangover Part II Character Posters: There’s been quite a bit of talk about how The Hangover Part II is basically just The Hangover all over again, but in Bangkok. Six new character posters have arrived and, well, they prove just that. The posters feature our main foursome, Phil, Alan, Stu and Doug, as well as Mr. Chow and their new monkey pal. The images are basically the same as the character posters from the first film, plus a more appropriately scenic background. Clearly the formula was successful the first time around, so why mess with a good thing, right? (via Obsessed with Film)
4. Michael C. Hall Follows The Creator of Dexter to The Big Screen: Fan of Dexter? You should keep an eye on the upcoming film Love, Scotch and Death. Not only does it star Dexter himself, Michael C. Hall, but it’ll be directed by the show’s creator, James Manos Jr. The film is about a character based on Manos focusing on the time when he discovered his parents both passed of natural causes together in bed. Hall will star as that character as he tries to deal with an “unsympathetic funeral director, his bewildered children and manic wife, an eccentric priest and some over-sexed neighbors.” Vera Farmiga will also join the guys on set when filming begins in November. (via Deadline)
5. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Video Blog: Dying to know more about Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit? Why not hear about pre-production straight from the director himself? Jackson posted a 10-minute video blog packed with tons of on-set visuals including a look at Rivendell, Andy Serkis donning his motion capture gear, battle training, props and much more. The piece is really quite extensive and makes for quite the treat. Even behind-the-scenes pieces on DVD bonus feature menus don’t go to this extent. Even better? This video blog will be one of many. Jackson plans to continue posting these pieces regularly over the next two to three years. (via Peter Jackson)
6. First Image for Shark Night 3D: Will Shark Night 3D be Piranha 3D all over again? Well, considering the film is about a group of college kids who have a run in with a shark while spending the weekend at a lake house, it’s quite possible. In fact, take this very first image from the film and replace that bloody-mouthed shark with some man-eating piranha and what’s the difference? Actually Sara Paxton vs. Jessica Szohr is a pretty big difference and one that’ll likely put Shark Night 3D in a better light at that. (via Coming Soon)
7. Nestor Carbonell in The Dark Knight Rises: What’s Gotham City without its mayor? Nestor Carbonell is the latest to officially join the cast of The Dark Knight Rises. Carbonell will reprise his role as Mayor Garcia. He’ll join franchise vets Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman as well as newcomers Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Marion Cotillard and Daniel Sunjata. The whole group is set to convene later this summer when shooting begins in Pittsburgh. Warner Bros. will release the film on July 20th, 2012. (via Variety)
8. Ryan Gosling for The Lone Ranger: Ryan Gosling is reportedly in talks to star alongside Johnny Depp in Disney’s The Lone Ranger. Should the deal go through, Gosling would star as the masked Texas Ranger who, with the help of his Native American pal Tonto (Depp), battles injustice in the old west. While this does sound like an excellent pairing, don’t get carried away just yet; Gosling did just sign on to star in the remake of Logan’s Run, which could conflict with the filming of The Lone Ranger. Then again, neither director Gore Verbinski nor producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed The Lone Ranger’s potential start date, so perhaps they’ll work the shooting schedule around their talent’s availability. Regardless, they’ve got their eye on a 2014 release. (via The Wrap)
9. Trailers: Passion Play, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Abduction, Sleeping Beauty: It’s a little tough to take Passion Play seriously after Mickey Rourke himself called the film “terrible.” Further leading me to disregard the trailer and the film entirely? Reviews like the one over at JoBlo from the Toronto International Film Festival. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, on the other hand looks surprisingly good, boasting a great deal of tension and impressive imagery. As for Abduction, while the story itself is interesting, it seems as though Lautner is still playing Jacob Black minus the ability to turn all fuzzy. If you’re looking for a film starring a member of young Hollywood with some serious talent, check out the twisted trailer for Sleeping Beauty instead. Emily Browning took a low blow courtesy of Sucker Punch, but Sleeping Beauty looks like an appropriately thoughtful follow-up.
10. Box Office: The coming of Scream 4 might have been a major milestone for franchise fans, but it looks as though Scream diehards don’t make up as much of the population as we thought. Many box office predictions, including my own, had Scream 4 taking the top spot and hovering around the $40 million mark. Not only did Rio snag #1 with a $40 million opening, but Scream 4 didn’t even accumulate half of that; it only banked $19.3 million. Hop continues to perform, adding another $11.2 million to its pot in week three while Soul Surfer saw the smallest drop of the two-week vets, only losing 30.2% of its week one profits, making another $7.4 million. Following close behind is Hanna with $7.3 million. (via Box Office Mojo)
By Perri Nemiroff