As a new week begins, we wave goodbye to two big movie-packed conventions, CinemaCon and WonderCon. While the flood of news and updates is certainly exciting, it made it particularly difficult to pare down this week’s Movie News Cheat Sheet to just ten items.
Between these two west coast conventions and our usual fare of big screen information, the Movie News Cheat Sheet is sure to come in handy more so than ever this week. Not only can you find some isolated noteworthy moments from both events, but the top new trailers of the week, a box office recap and, of course, a few other tidbits necessary for any film fan to be aware of.
Get ready because here comes your weekly dose of must-known news:
1. Post-Dark Knight Rises Batman Reboot: And you thought the industry was quick to reboot the Spider-Man franchise. The last film of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy has yet to hit theaters, but Warner Bros. is already planning for more. Studio executive Jeff Robinov explained, “We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman … Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.” On top of the news of a Batman reboot, Robinov also revealed plans to finally move ahead with the long-talked-about Justice League movie, suggesting it could arrive as soon as 2013. (via LA Times)
2. CinemaCon: From March 28th to the 31st, the movie convention/trade show hybrid invaded Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. There was a ton of promotion going down for everything from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to Horrible Bosses and Real Steal. There’s certainly a slew of news worthy of catching up on, but of the lot, there were a few stories that caught my eye. Big news for Monsters Inc. fans; Monsters Inc. 2 is happening and it’s called Monsters University. The sequel will focus on Mike and Sully’s younger years, a time when the soon-to-be team to beat on the scare floor didn’t quite get along. The ladies of The Help were also on hand to show off a sizzle reel of clips for their upcoming film and the footage impressed big time. And how about a Harry Potter update? While there was talk about The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 being converted to 3D, the idea was eventually abandoned. Well, that’s not the case this time around. Harry, Ron and Hermione will bow out in 3D when The Deathly Hallows Part: 2 hits this summer.
3. WonderCon: Just as CinemaCon wrapped up, WonderCon began. This one started on April 1st and wraps up today. It’s basically a smaller version of San Diego’s Comic Con that’s held in San Francisco, however, just because it’s smaller, doesn’t mean it lacks the big screen heavy hitters. This one boasted titles like Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens and more. What should you know? Paramount and Marvel kicked off a viral campaign involving S.H.I.E.L.D., the law enforcement agency in the Marvel Universe. Apparently folks staying in the hotels near the convention center got a video message from Nick Fury. There was also a S.H.I.E.L.D. recruitment center and an armed S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle in the area. We also have a slew of new posters – helmet posters. First are the dueling forces of Thor, Thor and Loki. Immortals also debuted five new posters, not all of them featuring helmets, but the three that do certainly put the Thor designs to shame.
4. Hailee Steinfeld is Sleeping Beauty: Hailee Steinfeld isn’t Katniss Everdeen in ‘The Hunger Games,’ but you don’t get an Academy Award nomination and walk away empty handed. It looks as though Steinfeld’s next project is Sleeping Beauty. The piece is a spec package from writer Lindsay Devlin currently on the hunt for buyers. While Steinfeld would be playing the lead character should the film take off, she certainly won’t be sleeping through the piece. Devlin is going Inception on us and telling this story from the sleeper’s prospective as Sleeping Beauty tries to make her way out of the dream world. (via Deadline)
5. First Five Minutes of Sucker Punch: Okay, so Sucker Punch tanked, but that doesn’t mean the entire thing isn’t worth watching. In fact, my favorite part of the film is now available online, Sucker Punch’s opening sequence. In true Zack Snyder fashion, the imagery is impeccable, but what makes this portion of the film stand out from the rest is the incredible amount of information relayed without any dialogue, not to mention it’s backed by Emily Browning’s stellar rendition of Annie Lennox’s “Sweet Dreams.” If you’re not planning to catch the film in its entirety, which is certainly understandable, at least check out the first five minutes. (via Moviefone)
6. Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon Pictures: Michael Bay clearly revealed his plan to redeem himself from Revenge of the Fallen with the impressive Dark Side of the Moon trailer and now he’s continuing the fight to regain fans’ respect through some stills. Three brand new images from the film have hit and they’re some pretty fantastic Kodak moments. First up is a shot of Josh Duhamel and his troops evading a fireball, the second of Shia LaBeouf in the midst of a mad dash and the third LaBeouf with his new leading lady, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. The only one that raises some concern is that third photo. First, I’ve got no problem with Megan Fox being long gone, but it’ll be key to make an adequate transition from Mikaela to Carly. Second, why are LaBeouf and the set super dirty and Huntington-Whiteley and her pretty white coat spotless? (via Collider)
7. Piranha 3DD Update: As a non-fan of Piranha 3D it’s quite odd to find myself intrigued by the plans for the sequel. Rather than have more unsuspecting partygoers make their way to Lake Victoria only to get ripped apart, this time around, the man-eating fishies are out and about at a water park called Wilderness Waters. Vicious piranha invade a water park? Now that’s high concept to the max and it works. Who are the main players at Wilderness Waters We’ve got Barry, the super smart hacker, the sequel’s Elisabeth Shue, Maddy, the airhead sisters, Ashley and Shelby, and the sleazy local cop Kyle. (via Bloody Disgusting and Moviehole)
8. Chloe Moretz for Dark Shadows: After telling MTV about a new “huge project,” most assumed Moretz finally nailed a role in The Hunger Games. Well, it turns out that Moretz is putting The Hunger Games behind her for Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows. Moretz snagged the role of Carolyn, the daughter of Michelle Pfeiffer’s character, Collins Stoddard. The cast also includes Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard and Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis. (via Deadline)
9. Trailers: Sick of Will Ferrell’s same old goofy shtick? Well, don’t write him off completely because she’s shaking his style up a bit with Everything Must Go. Yes it’s a comedy, but not only does it have Ferrell playing a more realistic character, but one with a great deal of heart, too. Sticking with the genre, we’ve also finally got the first full theatrical trailer for the highly anticipated sequel The Hangover II. Yes, it clearly reveals that The Hangover II is really just The Hangover all over again but in Thailand, but who’s going to argue with that?
10. Box Office: Apparently Patrick Wilson and Jake Gyllenhaal are no match for a rabbit that poops jellybeans. Hop easily trumped the competition, pulling in a whopping $38 million its first weekend out. Trailing far behind are the weekend’s other two newcomers, Source Code and Insidious. Source Code pulled in a decent $15 million while Insidious took $13 million. Nothing spectacular, but both adequate openings. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules fell hard, but that was expected. It still made enough to hold onto the 4th position with $10 million. On the other hand, Sucker Punch plummeted, big time. It lost a massive 68% of its week one earnings, sliding right on past Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer only claiming the seventh position on the top ten. (via Box Office Mojo)
By Perri Nemiroff
