2. Spirit Award Nominations:<\/FONT><\/B> Awards season commences with the unveiling of the nominees for the Film Independent Spirit Awards. In the Best Feature category, \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d will go up against \u201cAll Is Lost,\u201d \u201cFrances Ha,\u201d \u201cInside Llewyn Davis,\u201d and \u201cNebraska.\u201d \u201cAll Is Lost,\u201d \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d and \u201cNebraska\u201d also snagged nominations in the Best Director category along with Shane Carruth for \u201cUpstream Color\u201d and Jeff Nichols for \u201cMud.\u201d Brie Larson of \u201cShort Term 12\u201d will have to fend off Cate Blanchett of \u201cBlue Jasmine,\u201d Julie Delpy of \u201cBefore Midnight,\u201d Shailene Woodley of \u201cThe Spectacular Now\u201d and surprise entry, Gaby Hoffmann of \u201cCrystal Fairy,\u201d for the Best Female Lead honor while Chiwetel Ejiofor will be up against Bruce Dern for \u201cNebraska,\u201d Oscar Isaac for \u201cInside Llewyn Davis,\u201d Michael B. Jordan for \u201cFruitvale Station,\u201d Matthew McConaughey for \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d and Robert Redford for \u201cAll Is Lost\u201d for Best Male Lead. Click here<\/a><\/strong> to check out the full list of nominees and then find out who comes out on top during the ceremony on March 1, 2014.<\/p>\n 3. \u201cAmazing Spider-Man 2\u201d Poster with Electro, Rhino & More:<\/FONT><\/B> We aren\u2019t due for our first official look at \u201cThe Amazing Spider-Man 2\u201d until the teaser trailer arrives on December 5th, but while at the Red Rock casino in Las Vegas, Jeser Piedra found a banner for the film and shared the piece on Twitter<\/a>. Not only does the design rock the tagline, \u201cHis Greatest Battle Begins,\u201d but it also shows off Jamie Foxx\u2019s Electro, Paul Giamatti\u2019s Rhino and what looks to be the Green Goblin on a hoverboard begging the question, is that Dane DeHaan\u2019s Harry Osborn or Chris Cooper\u2019s Norman Osborn in the suit? Cooper recently told MTV<\/a>, \u201c\u2018[Amazing] Spider-Man 2\u2019 was an introduction to Norman, and \u2014 you’ll see \u2014 an extremely odd introduction, which apparently will lead to something more.” Perhaps that \u201cextremely odd introduction\u201d will involve some sort of transformation, but many still insist that the scene from the footage screened at San Diego Comic Con during which we see a character\u2019s legs as a crumbling green substance drops down around him is Dane DeHaan. Hopefully the opportunity to dissect the trailer on December 5th will clarify, but if that is the case, we\u2019ll have our answer.<\/p>\n 4. \u201cWolf of Wall Street\u201d No Longer 3+ Hours or NC-17:<\/FONT><\/B> After bringing a three-hour+ cut of \u201cWolf of Wall Street\u201d to the MPAA, Martin Scorsese got slapped with an NC-17 rating. Not a bankable combination for a wannabe moneymaker starring Leonardo DiCaprio that drops on Christmas Day and cost more than $100 million to make. However, now, according to THR<\/a>, after shaving the film down to just less than three hours, which included the elimination of some nudity and sex scenes, \u201cWolf\u201d secured the necessary R-rating. The film adaptation of Jordan Belfort\u2019s memoir chronicles the rise and fall of his brokerage firm and includes loads of sexual exploits and drug binges along the way. Scorsese\u2019s longest film ever, clocking in at two hours and 59 minutes with credits, will have its wide release on December 25th, just in time to give it a chance to be an awards season contender.<\/p>\n 5. Scarlett Johansson Can\u2019t Get a Golden Globe Nomination for \u201cHer:\u201d<\/FONT><\/B> Even though Scarlett Johansson is never seen in Spike Jonez\u2019s \u201cHer,\u201d her work in the film is making a significant impact because many are dubbing her voice-only performance award worthy. Trouble is, according to The Wrap<\/a>, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has a rule that voice work is ineligible for acting awards at the Golden Globes. Even though Johansson\u2019s performance as an advanced and intuitive operating system who dubs herself Samantha won\u2019t be up for an honor there, she still could score a nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Oscars.<\/p>\n 6. Christoph Waltz & Rebecca Hall May Join \u201cPirates of the Caribbean 5:\u201d<\/FONT><\/B> With \u201cPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales\u201d heading towards a 2016 release, it\u2019s time to start casting up. Johnny Depp will return to play Captain Jack Sparrow and it looks as though he may be joined by \u201cPirates\u201d alums Keith Richards and Geoffrey Rush, and newcomers Christoph Waltz and Rebecca Hall, too. As reported by The Daily Mail<\/a>, Richards is locked to bring back Captain Teague who popped up in \u201cAt World\u2019s End\u201d and \u201cOn Stranger Tides\u201d while Waltz may play the fifth installment\u2019s villain, Captain Brand. Considering there\u2019s no confirmation from Disney and The Daily Mail continuously calls Waltz, Christopher Waltz, it seems as though we shouldn\u2019t take any of this as fact just yet. Bleeding Cool<\/a> recently noted, \u201cThe Waltz part is nothing like a done deal,\u201d but also pointed out, \u201cThe plot details they offer are far more solid.\u201d The Daily Mail wrote that \u201cDead Men Tell No Tales\u201d will involve Jack and co. looking for The Trident while Sparrow\u2019s adversary, the ghost Captain Brand, tries to get it for himself so he can get back at Jack for turning his brother Eric into a pirate, a development that lead to his own death. Captain Barbosa\u2019 daughter pops in the narrative as well and Bleeding Cool says that Rebecca Hall is a top choice for the role. Should she get the offer and then strike a deal, she\u2019d play Jack\u2019s love interest, Carina Smyth, \u201cA beautiful woman in her late 30s who is called a witch by some but is really an adept astronomer.\u201d Again, tread lightly with this one, but considering two outlets have confirmed some of the same material, there is a chance a portion of this report could be proven accurate soon.<\/p>\n 7. New \u201cJurassic World\u201d Details:<\/FONT><\/B> There\u2019s still an abundance of rumors circulating regarding what \u201cJurassic World\u201d might be about, but now we\u2019ve got a new confirmed narrative element to throw into the mix. When asked whether or not the franchise\u2019s fourth installment is a reboot on Twitter, director Colin Trevorrow replied<\/a>, \u201cReboot is a strong word. This is a new sci-fi terror adventure set 22 years after the horrific events of Jurassic Park.\u201d Considering we also know that part of \u201cJurassic World\u201d will take place on Isla Nublar, the location from \u201cJurassic Park\u201d (not \u201cThe Lost World\u201d or \u201cJurassic Park III\u201d), that could bring us back to the details from an older version of the script that leaked about five months ago. That story was set in present day and returned to Isla Nublar where John Hammond\u2019s dream theme park was actually up and running. We know Trevorrow and screenwriter Derek Connolly have made significant changes to that draft, but considering present day would mean 22 years after the events of the first film, it\u2019s certainly possible that the functional Jurassic Park scenario could remain intact.<\/p>\n 8. Release Date Updates:<\/FONT><\/B> With 2013 coming to a close, a number of studios are making big changes to ensure they\u2019re ready to roll into 2014, 2015 and beyond. Universal set a number of new dates, giving Michael Man\u2019s untitled thriller starring Chris Hemsworth the January 16, 2015 slot and the new \u201cMummy\u201d movie an April 22, 2016 debut. The studio also uprooted \u201cWarcraft\u201d from its December 18, 2015 date and put it back down on March 11, 2016 while \u201cSeventh Son\u201d got hit with a delay too, moving from January 17, 2014 to February 6, 2015. Paramount officially announced that the next installment of the \u201cFriday the 13th\u201d franchise will arrive on March 13, 2015 where it will go up against Ron Howard\u2019s \u201cHeart of the Sea.\u201d Lionsgate did quite a bit of shuffling this week, too, pushing up \u201cTyler Perry\u2019s Single Moms Club\u201d and bumping back the release of \u201cAddicted.\u201d \u201cAddicted\u201d vacated the March 14, 2014 spot and took September 5, 2014 instead while \u201cSingle Moms Club\u201d ditched its May 9, 2014 debut to take that vacated March 14, 2014 position. (via Box Office Mojo<\/a>)<\/p>\n 9. Trailers: \u201cEnemies Closer,\u201d \u201cThe Boxtrolls,\u201d \u201cGimme Shelter:\u201d<\/FONT><\/B> It\u2019s a little tough to believe one guy can go from preparing to execute a man to changing his mind and agreeing to work together for a common cause, but the first trailer for \u201cEnemies Closer<\/a>\u201d rocks so much outrageous B-movie action, one-liners and fight sequences that even a big logic flaw can\u2019t suck the fun and adrenalin out of this one. We also got a standout new trailer for \u201cThe Boxtrolls<\/a>\u201d and just like the Boxtrolls themselves, this promo is like nothing you\u2019ve ever seen before. Rather than run with a standard narrative-driven format, this piece offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the stop-motion animated film and not only is the process extraordinary, but the finished footage becomes even more inspiring thanks to the added insight. Last up is the first trailer for the Vanessa Hudgens-starrer, \u201cGimme Shelter<\/a>.\u201d Hudgens hasn\u2019t really done anything wrong per se, but she certainly hasn\u2019t proved herself as a leading lady yet. However, based on her work in this trailer, \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d could be the one to change that.<\/p>\n 10. Box Office:<\/FONT><\/B> A colossal opening is great, but typically, more money means a bigger weekend one to two decline. However, even though \u201cThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire\u201d opened with a monumental $158 million haul, it still managed to retain nearly half of its opening earnings for a highly impressive $74.5 million second weekend out. Even though \u201cCatching Fire\u201d continued to dominate, \u201cFrozen\u201d still managed to set some records of its own. That film\u2019s $66.7 million start made it the second-highest weekend ever for a movie that didn\u2019t open in first place and the highest three and five-day Thanksgiving opening. Thanks to the holiday crowd, both \u201cThor: The Dark World\u201d and \u201cBest Man Holiday\u201d managed to maintain a significant amount of their profits. \u201cThor\u201d dipped just 21.8% and took another $11.1 million to the bank while \u201cBest Man Holiday\u201d lost 32% for an $8.5 million third weekend out. Newcomer \u201cHomefront\u201d barely edged out \u201cDelivery Man\u201d for the #5 spot, but a $6.9 million opening on a $2,712 per theater average is still a disappointing start. But what\u2019s even more disappointing is \u201cOldboy.\u201d Even after so much talk and hype, the film didn\u2019t even crack the million-dollar mark. It did only open in 583 theaters, so you can\u2019t compare its opening grand total to the other wide releases, but you can compare its per theater average and the fact that the film only managed to post $1,458 per theater is weak no matter how limited or wide the opening. (via Box Office Mojo<\/a>)<\/p>\n
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