Month: November 2012

Categories
Star Wars

He might be okay.

In the Works: Vaughn Rumored for New ‘Star Wars’ Installment; Ford Interested in Revisiting Han Solo

One of the exciting prospects for veteran Spielberg poducer Kathleen Kennedy as the new president at Disney-owned Lucasfilm is that she is more than capable of developing a strong script and luring gifted filmmakers to the planned “Star Wars” franchise reboot. Even without a script on hand, directors are lining up.

Director Matthew Vaughn (“Kick Ass,” “Layer Cake” and “X-Men: First Class”) is rumored to be in talks to direct the newly announced “Star Wars: Episode VII,” having recently dropped out of the next “X-Men” installment (old hand Bryan Singer is taking the reins). The news of “Episode VII” came last week during Disney’s announcement of the major purchase of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.

Meanwhile, Harrison Ford says he is open to the idea of playing Han Solo again in “Episode VII,” which reportedly takes up decades after 1983’s “Episode VI” left off. Presumably the older trio would hand off the story to a younger generation, a tried-and-true approach to rebooting a franchise, much as a senior Spock (Leonard Nimoy) did in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek.”

EW reports that not only Ford, but “all three”–including Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia–are interested in being involved with the upcoming Star Wars film. EW speculates that if Ford were to draw up a new contract, it would involve a mandatory death scene for Solo. The character was originally meant to die in “Return of the Jedi,” but according to Ford, his bankability as an action figure kept Solo alive.

Categories
People

I am sure the we all wish them both well!!

The Civil Wars cancel tour using divorce language

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars have canceled their upcoming tour dates, citing irreconcilable differences.

The folk-pop duo Joy Williams and John Paul White released a statement Tuesday announcing that because of “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition” they were unable to “continue as a touring entity at this time.”

Although they used the language of divorce, the duo added, “Our sincere hope is to have new music for you in 2013.”

Williams and White are both married, but to other people. Williams had a baby this summer with husband Nate Yetton, the duo’s manager.

Earlier this year the pair canceled part of their European tour.

The duo found unexpected success with their 2011 debut album, “Barton Hollow.” With backgrounds in gospel and rock, they met when they were both asked to contribute to a country project and found chemistry.

Back then, the pair framed their partnership in terms of courting. White told The Associated Press that after two songwriting sessions, “I finally got up the nerve to ask her out, as it were.”

“In a musical way,” Williams said.

Categories
Movies

Less than a week until SKYFALL!!!!

Box office report: ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ wins with $49.1M; ‘Flight’ takes off at No. 2; ‘Skyfall’ scores $156M overseas

Doom may have flopped, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World may have been all buzz and no buck, but Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph proved that there is a place for videogame-themed movies at the box office this weekend.

The $165 million animated film topped the chart with $49.1 million out of 3,752 theaters — the strongest debut ever for a Walt Disney Animation production (i.e. not including Pixar titles). Disney’s Tangled opened with a whopping $48.8 million over the more lucrative Thanksgiving weekend in 2010, so Wreck-It Ralph‘s slightly larger bow (and its hefty $13,086 per theater average) should be viewed as a major victory for the Mouse House.

Now the studio is looking ahead not only to Thanksgiving, but Christmas as well, both huge moviegoing seasons since kids are out of school and parents off of work. “There really are few things for families in the time between now and then,” says Dave Hollis, Disney’s Executive Vice President of Domestic Distribution, who cites DreamWorks’ Rise of the Guardians and Disney’s own 3D re-release of Monsters, Inc. as the only animated competition for the rest of 2012. “[We] have great word-of-mouth and a story that resonates,” Hollis says, “we feel really good about where we’re headed for the rest of this run.”

Disney has every right to feel good. Wreck-It Ralph earned an “A” CinemaScore grade from polled audiences, and very positive reactions will help the film hold up even better than a typical family film would anyway.

The Robert Zemeckis-directed drama Flight soared in second place with $25.0 million from just 1,884 theaters, giving the $31 million Paramount film the strongest per theater average in the Top 20, with $13,275.

For star Denzel Washington, one of the few actors working today who can legitimately be called a box office draw, Flight marks his second hit of 2012. His last picture, Safe House, opened in February with $40.2 million on the way to a $126.2 million finish. While it remains to be seen whether Flight will fly that high, a finish above $100 million certainly seems likely given the film’s strong reviews, awards buzz, and “A-” CinemaScore grade. Fellow adult-targeting drama Argo opened substantially lower (with $19.8 million) in substantially more theaters (3,232 to be exact), and, as you’ll read in a moment, is headed past the $100 million mark thanks to slim declines. With better per theater averages and room for expansion, Flight should enjoy a similar fate.

Speaking of Argo, the Ben Affleck-helmed thriller finished in third place in its fourth weekend, dropping only 15 percent to $10.2 million (anytime a film is still in double digits after four frames, you know it’s clicking with crowds), which lifts its total to $75.9 million. Warner Bros.’ $45 million investment is proving to have been a smart one — the film is earning massive Oscar buzz and will pass the $100 million mark in the next few weeks. That last Ben Affleck vehicle to gross $100 million was 2003′s Daredevil, which earned $102.5 million. Welcome back, Affleck!

The martial arts picture The Man with the Iron Fists debuted in fourth place with $8.2 million — certainly not a knockout result, but in line with studio expectations considering American audiences have never consistently taken to flying daggers and karate chops. Fortunately, Universal spent only $15 million on the film, which was directed by RZA. The studio boasted producer Quentin Tarantino’s name heavily in advertising, but audiences, which were 64 percent male and 53 percent below the age of 30, didn’t take the bait. Those that did see the film weren’t especially enthusiastic and issued Fists a “C+” CinemaScore grade.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Taken 2 , which fell 22 percent in its fifth frame to $6.0 million and has now grossed $125.7 million in North America. Though Fox’s $45 million sequel will finish a tad below the original Taken‘s $145 million domestic finish, it has more than made up for that fact overseas, where Taken 2 has grossed $210.8 million (the original Taken found $81.0 million internationally). All told, the Liam Neeson picture has grossed a tremendous $336.6 million worldwide.

1. Wreck-It Ralph – $49.1 million
2. Flight – $25.0 million
3. Argo – $10.2 million
4. The Man with the Iron Fists – $8.2 million
5. Taken 2 – $6.0 million

The biggest story at the box office this weekend, however, doesn’t have anything to do with the domestic chart. Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond picture, grossed an incredible $156 million this weekend internationally, giving it a remarkable 10-day total of $287 million — by far the best ever initial numbers for the Bond franchise. For perspective, Quantum of Solace, which finished with $417 million internationally, didn’t achieve that total until its fourth week of release.

Skyfall‘s best market was once again the United Kingdom, where it fell only 21 percent in its second frame to $25.7 million, good for an $85.8 million total. The film’s top new market was Germany, where it earned $23.9 million — the best opening of 2012 in that country. Skyfall debuts in the U.S. next weekend, and taking into account how engaged the rest of the world seems to be by the film (and taking into account its glowing reviews), it’s looking increasingly likely that Skyfall will score the best debut ever for a Bond film — perhaps in the $80 million range.

Categories
Administration

Please help if you can.

THUNDER’S ROLLING DOWN THIS TRACK #SANDYHELP

Friday night’s Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, a telethon broadcast live on NBC and affiliated networks, raised funds for the American Red Cross, the money going directly to hurricane relief. Matt Lauer hosted the hour-long, commercial-free benefit. Staten Island’s Christina Aguilera, New Jersey’s Jon Bon Jovi, and Long Island’s Billy Joel all performed before Bruce Springsteen made his first appearance. Twenty minutes in, he was there to play acoustic guitar and sing backup for Jimmy Fallon on “Under the Boardwalk,” sharing a mic wth Joel’s sax man Mark Rivera. There were several other overqualified backing musicians onstage, too. As Jon Stewart said afterward, “Jimmy Fallon is a bold man to take the lead from Bruce Springsteen, Steven Tyler, and Billy Joel!”

Of course, that wasn’t the only performance from Bruce. The E Street Band was billed, and the E Street we got, as they closed the telethon in full force — no Patti, but E Street Horns and Choir present and accounted for. Stewart teamed up with Brian Williams to make the introduction, as two Jersey boys… who finally decided they could use a third. “We’re gonna send this out to the people of NY and NJ,” Springsteen said, “and to all those who put their lives on the line with their service this week. This is ‘Land of Hope and Dreams.'” A five-and-a-half minute version, with blaring horns and the “People Get Ready” outro, concluded with Bruce calling out, “God bless New York, God bless the Jersey Shore!”

To donate, visit RedCross.org or iTunes.com/redcross; call 1-800-HELPNOW or 1-800-RED-CROSS; or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

The weekend is here…how about a movie review?!

The Couch Potato Report – November 3rd, 2012

Inside this week’s Couch Potato Report safety is not guaranteed, but I do guarantee that I’ll recommend THE PRINCESS BRIDE.

Sometimes, it is my complete pleasure here on The Report to shine the spotlight on a smaller film, one that you might not even notice and certainly wouldn’t watch unless someone pointed it out to you.

This is one of those times and so, ahead of the big studio comedy THE CAMPAIGN starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, I would like to tell you about a movie called SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.

Aubrey Plaza from the television show PARKS & RECREATION stars here as one of three magazine employees who are assigned to do a story on a man who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.

And safety is not guaranteed.

As I watched SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED I really enjoyed the characters and their backstories, and felt empathy for them…and also had more than a few laughs. I especially enjoyed the fact that the film made it seem as if I was watching real people on screen, and not just movie characters.

I also hoped that the ending would serve the rest of the film well and not be a let down…and I am happy to say that I was not let down at all.

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED isn’t perfect, but it is an odd and quirky and fun little movie that I really enjoyed.

Search it out, I think you’ll enjoy it too.

As is true with big budget films, not all small films are created equal. Sometimes low budget, odd and quirky don’t work. That is the definitely the case with one called RUBY SPARKS.

This is the story of a once successful novelist who has writer’s block and just can’t seem to come up with any ideas for his long overdue second book. He is also struggling with finding love.

One night, after dreaming about a woman in the park, he begins to write about her…and she turns up in his house.

The writer manages to create a character named Ruby Sparks that will love him…thus solving his writer’s block temporarily…and when there is something he doesn’t like about her, he changes her.

Yes, this is a tale about being careful what you wish for…unless you can re-write your wish.

Now everything about RUBY SPARKS, to me, including the fact that it is from the same directors who gave us LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE back in 2006, set it up to be a nice surprise of a film…but it isn’t odd and quirky in a good way. And at one point, the writer is actually mean to Ruby…and that scene didn’t work for me at all.

RUBY SPARKS isn’t a bad movie, but it isn’t necessarily good either. I can’t honestly say I disliked it, so let me give it a very mild recommendation.

I will also give the big-budget comedy THE CAMPAIGN starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis a mild recommendation, because while the film does have some HUGE laughs…it doesn’t have enough of them.

Will Ferrell stars here as a long serving U.S. congressman who is a starting to get too comfortable in his position and is rubbing some of his rich constituents the wrong way, and so they recruit Galifianakis’ naïve man-child – who just wants to make his father proud of him – to run as the opponent.

And as I said, there are some HUGE laughs, especially in the scene where Ferrell is asked to recite the Lord’s Prayer.

Almost every scene that Ferrell and Galifianakis are great, but THE CAMPAIGN doesn’t work as well when they are apart.

This isn’t a classic comedy, but it is worth the price of a rental as you will laugh. I sure did!

I didn’t laugh while watching director Tim Burton’s big screen version of the 1970s soap DARK SHADOWS, starring Johnny Depp.

I also wasn’t scared. I wasn’t anything, for although the film has a spectacular cast and great production values, it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a comedy? A drama? A horror film? A fish-out-of-water tale? It has no idea, and as I result, I just didn’t care.

Depp plays a vampire who is set free after being buried for two-hundred years to discover out that his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection. The cast also includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Lee and even Alice Cooper.

Great cast, bad movie.

No, DARK SHADOWS isn’t the worst film that I have seen this year, but it is in the top ten. Skip it, you don’t need to waste your time on it.

So far, the 2012-2013 television season hasn’t provided me with too many new shows to watch, which is too bad as I like to watch television shows, to see how characters and storylines develop over a multi-episode and multi-season arcs.

NASHVILLE is about the only new show that I am hooked on…and that is actually okay as had I had more new stuff to watch, I wouldn’t have been able to re-watch – and completely enjoy – the entire fifth season of MAD MEN over the past couple of weeks.

And enjoy it I did!!

MAD MEN is the Emmy winning show about an advertising agency in the 1960s, and it’s unique cast of characters, most notably the mysterious but extremely talented ad executive Donald Draper.

In SEASON FIVE of MAD MEN, the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce agency continues to survive, and even thrive at times, as the staff adapt to changing times.

Whenever I watch MAD MEN I constantly wish that all television, all forms of entertainment could be this good. The writing is spectacular, the acting superb, and the attention to detail in the sixties set pieces and props is amazing!!

This world exists, these people exist and if you aren’t watching this show yet, I highly recommend that you do.

MAD MEN – SEASON FIVE is as good as entertainment gets!!

For four of the last five years MAD MEN was named the winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and going into Emmy Night, back on September 23rd, there was no reason to believe that it wouldn’t win a fifth straight trophy.

Yet, somehow, it didn’t.

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series this year went to a new show called HOMELAND…and while that too is an exceptional show, I don’t think it is anywhere near as good as MAD MEN.

But it is an exceptional show.

HOMELAND is a tense, well written show with some great performances from Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin.

It is about a Marine Sergeant who returns home eight years after going missing in Iraq and the manic, driven and bipolar CIA officer who suspects that this new national hero might actually be plotting an attack on America.

At first her superiors believe her, but then they start to think that maybe she is “working too hard”. Eventually she puts herself in a compromising position and has to be removed from the case…but she never actually gives up.

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of HOMELAND features a tremendous storyline that unfolds over the course of the show’s twelve episodes and I really, really enjoyed it and can highly recommend it.

After re-watching it all again, I still don’t think that it is better than MAD MEN…but they are both exceptional, and that is good enough for me.

Not exceptional is the two part television re-make of the 1978 film COMA…not exceptional in any way…this thing is pointless!!

Even if there had never been that 1978 original – starring Montreal’s Geneviève Bujold and Michael Douglas – this new version would still be boring, I just truly did not care and I wanted it to end!!

COMA is about a young medical student who discovers that something sinister seems to be going on in her hospital.

Healthy patients are slipping into comas on the operating table after routine procedures…and you won’t care.

This new version is slow moving and boring, it is poorly written and the acting is sub-par.

Skip the remake of COMA at all costs…there are better things that originated on television to watch…like HOMELAND or MAD MEN.

Finally this week, let’s go back to September 25th, 1987, for that was the release date of what would become a modern day classic…THE PRINCESS BRIDE.

Based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman THE PRINCESS BRIDE combines romance, comedy, adventure, and fantasy with more instantly quotable lines and phrases than you’d expect from one movie.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE is about a kidnapped princess and Westley, her true love, his search to find her, and the people he meets along the way.

The 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION blu-ray of THE PRINCESS BRIDE offers this beautiful film up in a pristine way, and it also has a wealth of special features, new and old. Here’s director Rob Reiner along with stars Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, reunited and in conversation.

I love this movie, and think it is one that should be shared with everyone…young and old alike. So if you have never seen it, that seems:

Pick it up and enjoy!!

THE 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of Rob Reiner’s modern day classic THE PRINCESS BRIDE, the pointless remake of COMA, THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the Emmy Award winning series HOMELAND, SEASON FIVE of the still amazing show MAD MEN, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s pointless big screen version of DARK SHADOWS, the not spectacular, but funny enough comedy THE CAMPAIGN, the okay little movie RUBY SPARKS and the very enjoyable small film SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Coming up inside the next Couch Potato Report

SEASON ONE of the made-in-Toronto television series BOMB GIRLS, the reboot THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, the 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, and I will also talk about the 6 disc set CAROL’S FAVOURITES from THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW…including the classic skit WENT WITH THE WIND!

I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

Categories
Jodie Foster

Well deserved!!

Jodie Foster to get lifetime achievement award at Golden Globes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Double-Oscar winner Jodie Foster will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes ceremony in January, recognizing her 40-year career as an actress, director and movie producer, organizers said on Thursday.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which organizes the annual Golden Globe awards, said Foster will join the likes of past winners Lucille Ball, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman and Judy Garland, and become the 2013 recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille award.

“Jodie is a multifaceted woman that has achieved immeasurable amounts of success and will continue to do so in her career,” HFPA president Aida Takla-O’Reilly said in a statement.

“Her ambition, exuberance and grace have helped pave the way for budding artists in this business. She’s truly one of a kind,” she added.

Foster, 49, began her career filming commercials at the age of three and won international fame with her role as a streetwise teen in the 1976 film “Taxi Driver.”

She has since appeared in more than 40 movies, winning best actress Oscars for her role as a rape victim in “The Accused” and as the FBI agent in 1991 thriller “The Silence of The Lambs.”

Foster also branched out into directing (“Little Man Tate”) and producing for both film and television through her production company Egg Pictures.

Foster will be presented with her award at the Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills on January 13, where the HFPA will also announce its picks for the best films and performances in film and television of 2012.

Categories
Television

Woo hoo!!!

Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Renner to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’

Saturday Night Live is welcoming two Oscar nominees in November.

Anne Hathaway, starring in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, will take the stage for the third time on the Nov. 10 episode. She will be joined by musical guest Rihanna, back for her fourth time and readying her seventh studio album Unapologetic.

Jeremy Renner, touting The Bourne Legacy DVD release and the forthcoming Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, will be dropping by the following week on Nov. 17, marking the two-time Academy Award nominee’s SNL debut. Maroon 5, whose “One More Night” single has been No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, will be the episode’s musical guest for the fourth time.

Saturday Night Live, executive produced by Lorne Michaels, is produced in association with Broadway Video.

Louis C.K., who taped promos embracing Halloween and Hurricane Sandy, takes the helm Nov. 3.