Month: April 2015

Categories
Movies

Bring on The Avengers!!!

Box office report: Furious 7 is now bigger than Frozen

Furious 7 has only been out for four weeks, but it already owns multiple box office accomplishments—and it has a new one to add to the list this weekend. Furious 7 is a bigger worldwide hit than Frozen.

The seventh Fast & Furious film topped $1.32 billion in global earnings this weekend, pushing it ahead of Frozen’s $1.27 billion total. That puts Furious 7 at No. 5 on the list of highest grossing movies of all-time, right behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which made $1.34 billion.

In North America, Furious 7 is also doing pretty well: It’s still No. 1 at the box office, and this weekend made an estimated $18.3 million—just 37 percent less than last weekend’s earnings. The previous two movies in the franchise dropped about 50 percent in their fourth weekends, so Furious 7’s decrease further proves the film’s popularity.

Elsewhere, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 finished in second place with $15.5 million. Although the Kevin James-led sequel isn’t getting much—okay, any—love from critics, it’s still the only new comedy available in theaters. It’s also rated PG, which adds to its appeal—families haven’t gotten much new fare in recent weeks.

New release The Age of Adaline came in third with $13.4 million, and the romantic drama should have a fine (if unimpressive) run in the coming weeks thanks to its fantasy aspect (Blake Lively plays an immortal woman) and its status as one of very few female-led films currently available in theaters.

Home, now in its fifth week, proved it’s not slowing down by nabbing the No. 4 spot with $8.3 million, while horror Unfriended came in fifth with $6.2 million.

The top five has been fairly consistent these past couple weeks, but that’s about to change next week once Avengers: Age of Ultron opens wide and takes the box office title from Furious 7.

1. Furious 7 — $18.3 million
2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 — $15.5 million
3. The Age of Adaline — $13.4 million
4. Home — $8.3 million
5. Unfriended — $6.2 million

Outside the top five, the critically loved Ex Machina expanded to 1,255 theaters this weekend and brought in $5.4 million, while the critically disliked Little Boy opened with $2.8 million in 1,045 theaters.

Categories
Television

That will be a sad day for television!!

Jon Stewart’s final Daily Show to air Aug. 6

Jon Stewart just moved one step closer to ending his days as host of The Daily Show.

The 52-year-old comedian announced on the Monday edition of his acclaimed Comedy Central series that his last day on the job will be Thursday, Aug. 6. He revealed his departure date at the end of the broadcast, quipping “I will be wearing a suit, I will more than likely be showered…” When the audience was slow to respond, he added: “I’m sorry. I’ll be wearing overalls and I won’t shower,” which received much louder cheers. Stewart also mentioned that fans will have a chance to win tickets to the final show at omaze.com/dailyshow, with proceeds going to the Night of Too Many Stars charity.

Back in February, Stewart told a Daily Show audience that he was leaving the news-satirizing series, which has received heaps of Emmys and critical praise under his 16-year tenure. Today’s announcement confirms that he’ll be winding down just as the presidential race starts heating up—which Stewart cited in a recent interview as one of the reasons he’s calling it quits. “I’d covered an election four times, and it didn’t appear that there was going to be anything wildly different about this one,” he told the British newspaper The Guardian, also noting that he wasn’t “getting the same satisfaction from doing the show.”

A few weeks ago, Comedy Central announced that South African comedian/talk show host and new Dail Show correspondent Trevor Noah would replace Stewart. After controversy flared over some of Noah’s old off-color tweets, Stewart defended him on a Daily Show broadcast, saying: “I do hope you give him an opportunity to earn that trust and respect because my experience with him is that he is an incredibly thoughtful and considerate and funny and smart individual… I’m excited for where he’s going to take the thing. And I’m going to watch.”

Categories
Television

This is for those who are excited about this.

It’s official: Netflix orders Full House revival

Everywhere you look… there’s an old TV show coming back to life. In this case, Netflix has ordered a 13-episode revival of Full House, titled Fuller House—though not for the obvious reason.

The multi-camera comedy sequel will focus on original cast members Candace Cameron-Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber. John Stamos, who will act as a producer, is also slated to guest-star, while discussions with original cast members Bob Saget, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Dave Coulier, and Lori Loughlin are ongoing.

In Fuller House, the adventures of the original series continue on with D.J. Tanner-Fuller (hence the show’s title) now pregnant and recently widowed living in San Francisco. DJ’s younger sister and aspiring musician Stephanie Tanner (Sweetin) and her BFF and fellow single mom Kimmy Gibbler (Barber)—along with Kimmy’s feisty teenage daughter Ramona—all move in to help take of DJ’s two boys, the rebellious J.D., 12, and the neurotic Max, 7.

“As big fans of the original Full House, we are thrilled to be able to introduce Fuller House’s new narrative to existing fans worldwide, who grew up on the original, as well as a new generation of global viewers that have grown up with the Tanners in syndication,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president of original content.

In a joint statement, executive producers Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller, and Jeff Franklin said: “The continued support of Full House fans of all ages for the last 28 years has been astounding. It is an honor and a thrill to catch up with these beloved characters and explore their lives today. The love you saw on the show was real. The cast has remained a loving family off screen all these years. We are as excited as our fans to finally bring Full House back to life.”

Stamos announced the new project, which will debut in 2016, on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Categories
Music

I’m happy the way the industry is now.

Steve Albini Says For-Pay Streaming Services Are ‘Deluding Themselves,’ Says Vinyl’s Best for Hi-Def

Can Tidal’s promise of CD-quality audio streams and exclusive content really entice the music-listening masses away from freemium streaming? Legendary producer Steve Albini, who has become a reliable soothsayer for the music industry, unsurprisingly doesn’t think so. Calling Tidal a “budget version” of Neil Young’s Pono music download service and player, Albini tells Vulture in a new interview that the “convenience” of free services (like Spotify) and other methods “is going to trump sound quality 100 percent of the time.”

Tidal was combined with sister service WiMP and officially relaunched on March 30 by its new owner Jay Z and a group of 15 other shareholders, including Madonna, Kanye West and Daft Punk. Since then, several of the artists have pulled portions of their catalogs from competing services and Tidal has released several pieces of exclusive content in an effort to get fans to try Tidal, which costs $10 or $20, depending on a user’s audio quality preference.

According to Albini, who produced Nirvana’s In Utero and the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, Tidal and other “for-pay services are deluding themselves by trying to establish a permanent monetization of something that’s in flux.” He notes that Tidal’s exclusive-centric strategy — so far at least — has been misguided.

“The internet provides access to materials and things,” he says. “Creating these little streaming fiefdoms where certain streaming services have certain artists and certain streaming services have other artists is a crippled use of the internet. If the internet has demonstrated anything over the years, it’s that it has a way of breaking limitations placed on its content.”

Last April, Albini told Quartz that the “single best thing that has happened in my lifetime in music, after punk rock, is being able to share music, globally for free.” In November he defended the internet’s role in transforming the music industry in a 6,700-word speech that’s seen as a sequel to his seminal 1993 essay on major labels, “The Problem With Music.”

While the internet is pretty great, Albini goes on to argue in his Vulture interview that audiophiles with a passion for loss-less sound quality are probably going to side with vinyl anyway. Indeed, vinyl sales jumped 50 percent in 2014 to $320.8 million in the U.S. alone — one of the lone bright spots in a year that saw big dips in CD and download sales. Earlier this week, the U.K.’s Official Charts Company launched its inaugural Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40.

Categories
Music

Can’t wait to see MONTAGE OF HECK!!

Frances Bean Cobain: ‘I Don’t Really Like Nirvana That Much’

As the daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, it was only a matter of time before Frances Bean Cobain did something that shocked the world. But we gotta say, this wasn’t what we were expecting.

In a fantastic new interview with Rolling Stone (where she once interned, presumably because she was the best candidate they interviewed for the gig), Frances Bean Cobain admits she’s not a fan of Nirvana’s music.

Even crazier? She prefers Oasis.

“I don’t really like Nirvana that much [grins]. Sorry, promotional people, Universal. I’m more into Mercury Rev, Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre,” she said. “The grunge scene is not what I’m interested in. But ‘Territorial Pissings’ is a fucking great song. And “Dumb” — I cry every time I hear that song. It’s a stripped-down version of Kurt’s perception of himself. Of himself on drugs, off drugs, feeling inadequate to be titled the voice of a generation.”

In a way, FBC not loving Nirvana makes sense: It would be strange to idolize a father you never knew.

“I would have felt more awkward if I’d been a fan,” Cobain told RS’ David Fricke. “I was around 15 when I realized he was inescapable. Even if I was in a car and had the radio on, there’s my dad. He’s larger than life. And our culture is obsessed with dead musicians. We love to put them on a pedestal. If Kurt had just been another guy who abandoned his family in the most awful way possible . . . But he wasn’t. He inspired people to put him on a pedestal, to become St. Kurt.”

Even if Frances Bean isn’t a huge fan of Kurt’s music or his posthumous deification, she’s apparently very much like him in person.

“Dave [Grohl], Krist [Novoselic] and Pat [Smear] came over to a house where I was living,” Cobain told RS. “And they had what I call the ‘K. C. Jeebies,’ which is when they see me, they see Kurt. They look at me, and you can see they’re looking at a ghost. They were all getting the K. C. Jeebies hardcore. Dave said, ‘She is so much like Kurt.’ They were all talking amongst themselves, rehashing old stories I’d heard a million times. I was sitting in a chair, chain-smoking, looking down like this [affects total boredom]. And they went, ‘You are doing exactly what your father would have done.'”

Categories
Movies

I need to see FURIOUS 7!!

Mega hit ‘Furious 7’ finishes weekend above estimates

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Furious 7” sped to the top of the charts in its opening weekend with an eye-popping $147.2 million from 4,004 locations, box office firm Rentrak reported Monday.

Fueled by a growing fan base and intense interest in the late star Paul Walker, who died before the film was completed, “Furious 7” annihilated both “Fast & Furious” and April box office records in its debut.

The latest installment in Universal’s homegrown franchise also solidified its place as the ninth biggest opening of all time, right behind “Spider-Man 3’s” $151 million bow in 2007.

The film, which was delayed from its original July 2014 release date following Walker’s death in November 2013, could be the first in the series to hit $1 billion.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak:

1. “Furious 7,” Universal, $147,187,040, 4,004 locations, $36,760 average, $147,187,040, 1 week.

2. “Home,” 20th Century Fox, $27,011,303, 3,801 locations, $7,106 average, $95,241,397, 2 weeks.

3. “Get Hard,” Warner Bros., $13,128,219, 3,212 locations, $4,087 average, $57,215,636, 2 weeks.

4. “Cinderella,” Disney, $10,178,750, 3,404 locations, $2,990 average, $167,139,868, 4 weeks.

5. “The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” Lionsgate, $10,126,715, 3,442 locations, $2,942 average, $103,511,529, 3 weeks.

6. “It Follows,” Radius-TWC, $2,513,459, 1,655 locations, $1,519 average, $8,589,144, 4 weeks.

7. “Woman In Gold,” The Weinstein Company, $2,091,551, 258 locations, $8,107 average, $2,187,302, 1 week.

8. “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” 20th Century Fox, $1,808,652, 1,327 locations, $1,363 average, $122,366,182, 8 weeks.

9. “Do You Believe?,” Pure Flix, $1,544,423, 1,218 locations, $1,268 average, $9,855,236, 3 weeks.

10. “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” Fox Searchlight, $1,079,747, 1,060 locations, $1,019 average, $30,140,329, 5 weeks.

11. “Run All Night,” Warner Bros., $635,146, 1,015 locations, $626 average, $25,298,235, 4 weeks.

12. “American Sniper,” Warner Bros., $628,060, 623 locations, $1,008 average, $346,386,489, 15 weeks.

13. “McFarland, USA,” Disney, $618,631, 703 locations, $880 average, $41,774,129, 7 weeks.

14. “While We’re Young,” A24 Films, $483,688, 34 locations, $14,226 average, $789,041, 2 weeks.

15. “Focus,” Warner Bros., $448,150, 625 locations, $717 average, $52,824,772, 6 weeks.

16. “The Gunman,” Open Road, $385,194, 1,027 locations, $375 average, $10,089,669, 3 weeks.

17. “Danny Collins,” Bleecker Street, $347,815, 83 locations, $4,191 average, $735,393, 3 weeks.

18. “Detective Byomkesh Bakshi,” Yash Raj Films, $338,637, 82 locations, $4,130 average, $338,637, 1 week.

19. “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water,” Paramount, $253,506, 482 locations, $526 average, $160,839,111, 9 weeks.

20. “Fifty Shades Of Grey,” Universal, $245,890, 375 locations, $656 average, $165,463,125, 8 weeks.

Categories
Doctor Who

Love That Doctor Who!!

Doctor Who movie, Sherlock crossover not happening, Steven Moffat says

A Doctor Who movie? Not happening. A Doctor Who and Sherlock cross-over? Also not happening. A less grumpy Peter Capaldi in season 9? Might be happening just a little. Executive producer Steven Moffat gave EW the current lowdown on two projects that seem to resurface in the online rumor mill time and again, as well as recent reports of a lighter Time Lord.

First, a Doctor Who movie. (Or, for those being sticklers, a second Doctor Who film, if you count the 1996 TV movie.) “I don’t think there is one,” Moffat says. “No one has ever squared the circle on that. How do we do this? How do we do it without leaching from the television series—which we’re not allowed to do, because Doctor Who is public funded? If it’s going to be a different Doctor, are we going to try and sell two Doctors at the same time? I know there’s been loads of Doctors, but there’s only been one at a time. You don’t have a James Bond on television and one in the cinema. If he’s the same guy, then when are we going to make that?”

Plus, Moffat notes, a movie would have to be properly financed, and he already struggles enough each year trying to get a healthy-sized budget for the TV show. “We’re talking one of the biggest TV shows in the world. It can’t just be a medium-size movie—it’s gotta be a colossal movie,” Moffat says. “I’ve sat with people, saying—and in the end it’s not my decision or my choice, I don’t own Doctor Who—‘Okay, explain to me how it’s going to work.’ And nobody has an answer.”

Everybody does have an answer, however, when it comes to the idea of a Sherlock and Doctor Who crossover. But it’s a different answer than Moffat’s opinion on the matter. While Moffat would like to please fans who want to see the world’s greatest detective and the Time Lord team up, his fellow producers (like Mark Gatiss and Sue Vertue) and his Sherlock stars (Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman) are all against the idea.

“My instinct—and this is probably from years of doing Doctor Who—is I’m just such a tart,” Moffat says. “If people want it, we should give it to them. But I got persuaded by Mark, Benedict, Sue and Martin who said, ‘Look, it will never be as good as [fans] think it’s going to be.’ And then I say, ‘Yes but we’ll just bang it out and make it as good.’ Yeah, but you can’t give everybody everything they want all the time. But I’m in the camp of giving them everything they want! But I think they’re sane and right, and I’m just a tart.”

Another recent rumor was that Doctor Who’s next season—the second for star Peter Capaldi—would be “lighter” than the first because Moffat told a reporter, ”[The Doctor has] left some of the burden of being a superhero of the universe behind. So I’m pushing him—I’m writing quite funny this year—I’m pushing him the other way.”

Moffat says that quote was misinterpreted. “I told the [show’s] writers, don’t just write him mean, write him funny—because he’ll make any joke fly,” Moffat says. “As ever, Doctor Who is a combination of complete daft silliness and loads of people getting slaughtered in the early evening. Tonally, [next season is] very much the same. Peter is getting stronger and more confident in the role.”

Categories
Television

Will You Watch?

Full House revival eyed by Netflix

Another series reboot/revival/reunion? Sure, why not? Netlfix is near a deal to bring back Full House in a 13-episode revival of the classic ABC sitcom.

Candace Cameron Bure (D.J.) and Andrea Barber (Kimmy) are both said to be on board, with John Stamos, Bob Saget, and Dave Coulier potentially in the mix too, according to TV Line, which first reported the news. The working title: Fuller House. There’s no deal yet at this point, however.

Full House went off the air in 1995 after eight seasons. In the last year we’ve seen revivial orders for ABC’s Twin Peaks (now at Showtime), Fox’s The X-Files, and ABC’s Coach (now at NBC).

Netflix and Warner Bros. had no comment.