While we hope you’re reading as many Shockya.com articles as you can, we know you’re busy. Sometimes, there’s just not enough time to keep up-to-date on all the latest movie news. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just get a quick crash course in just the most pertinent information without having to sort through all the casting rumors, international poster releases and promotional clips? Of course it would! Well, welcome to the Movie News Cheat Sheet.
Every Sunday evening, the Movie News Cheat Sheet will give you what you need to know so you’re prepared to tackle the latest topics at school, at the bar or around the water cooler – if offices even have water coolers anymore. Ready for your very first weekly digest? Here we go …
1. Tomb Raider Reboot: The Tomb Raider film franchise is up and running again courtesy of Graham King’s GK Films. There’s a brand new Tomb Raider videogame set to hit stores in December that focuses on Lara Croft’s origin story and this new film will follow suit chronicling the heroine’s pre-Angelina Jolie years. Should the film hit theaters in 2013 as planned, we will have had a 10-year break since the last Tomb Raider film, The Cradle of Life. But even with that decade long hiatus, is anyone even craving another Lara Croft movie? (via Deadline)
2. Johnny Knoxville in The Three Stooges: While this isn’t exactly new news, it is the sole story to actually confirm that Knoxville has been offered the role of Moe in the Farrelly Brothers’ The Three Stooges. This is clearly a push to have the film appeal to younger audiences. Originally, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Jim Carrey had their eyes on the leading roles, so going with Knoxville means a major change in tone for the piece. Or, does it just mean the directing duo simply can’t solidify top talent anymore? After Hall Pass, that’s certainly a possibility. (via Variety)
3. The Chemical Brother’s Soundtrack for Hanna Available Online: Can’t wait for Hanna to hit theaters on April 8th? Well, here’s something that might hold you over, The Chemical Brothers’ soundtrack. Why should you care? While I can’t spoil anything just yet, I will tell you it makes quite the impact on the film. Plus, you can listen to all 20 tracks for free on The Chemical Brother’s MySpace page; the only downside is the 30-second commercials between each song, but hey, the guys have to make a buck with their work, right? (via The Chemical Brothers on MySpace)
3. SXSW: Just three days in, we’ve already got a must-see film, Joe Cornish’s horror comedy Attack the Block. The Playlist calls it “an intense, entertaining alien invasion pic” while Hey U Guys gave it five out of five stars. As for the latest from Ti West, The Innkeepers, he seems to have stuck with the suspense building technique he used in House of the Devil, however, this time around, not everyone is feeling it. The Examiner went as far as to name the film “the first truly boring movie at SXSW” and slap it with a dismal D-. Then, of course, there was festival opener, Moon director Duncan Jones’ second feature, Source Code. According to Thompson on Hollywood’s day one recap, “the movie played well, without earning raves.”
4. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games: And so the casting saga continues. After months of speculation it seems as though director Gary Ross has narrowed his focus and is considering offering Winter’s Bone’s Jennifer Lawrence the lead role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. An offer has yet to be made, but should this pan out, it will dictate the casting of the film’s other lead roles. Should the 20-year-old Lawrence snag the part, her leading men will certainly be played by 20-something actors. On the other hand, should a younger contender sneak up and snatch it away like, let’s say Hailee Steinfeld, younger actors will be needed for the roles of Peeta and Gale so as to complement the 14-year-old actress. The odds of that happening? Who knows? But between Lawrence’s recent Oscar nomination, her rather young look and top-notch talent, my money’s on her deal panning out. (via THR)
5. The Dark Knight Rises Updates: As both Battle: Los Angeles and Red Riding Hood hit theaters this weekend, tons of The Dark Knight Rises buzz hit the Internet. First, Gary Oldman revealed he’s yet to read the script, but claims the story is great. Oldman also reaffirmed director Christopher Nolan’s statement that the third film will be the last of this Batman film franchise. Then there’s Aaron Eckhart who’s been busy talking Two-Face. When asked about his involvement in the third film, Eckhart smiled, but tried to keep it cryptically cool saying, “I could not possibly say.” What does this mean? Your guess is as good as mine. (via MTV and CBS)
6. Peter Pan Begins: Peter Pan’s film history is quite expansive going way back to the 1924 silent film to the 1953 Disney version of the tale up to 1991’s Hook and then, to the most recent Pan film, 2003’s Peter Pan, but still, there’s room for more. Sony Pictures went for a pitch including Billy Ray to write, Joe Roth to produce and Channing Tatum to star in a prequel to J.M. Barrie’s classic tale, a Pan origin story. Tatum came up with the concept alongside Reid Carolin and Eric Bromberg and then Ray and Roth helped them take it to another level, developing a story idea that would make Pan and Captain Hook brothers. (via THR)
7. Alec Baldwin in Rock of Ages: The musical-turned-movie adds yet another famous face to its already impressive cast. Alec Baldwin is the latest to join Adam Shankman’s production, which already includes Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, Julianne Hough as Sherrie Christian, Mary J. Blige as Justice and possibly Russell Brand as Lonny. Baldwin is coming on board to play Dennis Dupree, the bar owner who employees Sherrie, a small town girl coming to the big city to be a star. A key role yet to be cast is the male lead, Drew Bowie, played on Broadway by American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis. (via Adam Shankman on Twitter)
8. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Movie: If we can have movies about board games like Monopoly and Battleship, why not a film about a famous parade? Producers Scott Glassgold and Raymond Brothers have gotten the okay to make a film about New York’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The plan is to do this four-quadrant style, appealing to men over 25, men under 25, women over 25 and women under 25; basically, it’ll be for everyone and anyone, just like the iconic holiday event. (via THR)
9. The Week’s Top Trailer: A bunch of noteworthy trailers dropped this week including Bad Teacher, The Smurfs, Fast Five and Conan the Barbarian, but it’s the one for J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 that tops them all. Not only is the trailer fantastic, but Paramount’s entire presentation of the film, too. The studio is giving us just enough to keep the intrigued somewhat satisfied, but not too much as to extinguish the desperation for more. Even with the film’s new trailer and official synopsis, so many questions still remain unanswered. Abrams certainly knows what he’s doing when it comes to keeping the details of his projects top secret, so we’ll certainly be waiting until June 10th to find out what exactly is going on in that small Ohio town.
10. Box Office: Alien invasion movies continue to be guilty pleasures. Despite poor reviews, Battle: Los Angeles still snagged the top spot at the box office with $36 million and an impressive $10,536 per theater average. It’s still got a ways to go to earn back its $70 million budget, but it looks to cross over into the green by week three for sure. The second spot went to Rango, which fell a modest 39.5% and took in $23.1 million in its second week. The third spot went to newcomer Red Riding Hood, which banked $14.1 million, but with a less impressive $4,665 per theater average. (via Box Office Mojo)
By Perri Nemiroff