“The Day The Earth Stood Still” Posters July 23, 2008 8:54 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movie Posters, Movies, The Day the Earth Stood Still.add a comment
20th Century Fox has released two new posters from The Day The Earth Stood Still. Check them out after the jump.
Synopsis
Keanu Reeves tops this adaptation of the seminal 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still with this 20th Century Fox production. Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) helms the story of an alien traveler, Klaatu (Reeves), who heads to Earth along with his bodyguard robot, Gort, to deliver a warning of planetary destruction if the people of the world fail to bring peace to their civilizations. Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Kathy Bates co-star in the Ryne Douglas Pearson-penned film.
The Day The Earth Stood Still hits theaters on December 12, 2008.
“Max Payne” Posters, Plus New Photo July 23, 2008 8:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Max Payne, Movie Posters, Movies, Photos.add a comment
20th Century Fox has released a couple new posters for the upcoming videogame adaptation Max Payne. Check out the posters, and a new photo, after the jump.
Synopsis
Rockstar Games’ double-gunned action franchise comes to the big screen thanks to director John Moore (The Omen) and Mark Wahlberg, who embodies the title character of Max Payne, a widowed cop hell-bent on delivering justice no matter what the cost as he investigates a string of killings in his city. Mila Kunis and Chris O’Donnell head up the supporting cast, with Beau Thorne adapting the screenplay for the 20th Century Fox production.
Max Payne hits theaters on October 17, 2008.
“Twilight” Photos July 23, 2008 8:39 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Photos, Twilight.add a comment
Several new photos from this December’s vampire drama Twilight have been released online. Check them out after the jump.
Synopsis
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Stephenie Meyer, Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke’s supernatural teen drama Twilight tells the tale of Bella (Kristen Stewart), a 17-year-old girl who moves to a small town to live with her father and becomes enamored with a mysterious classmate (Robert Pattinson), who turns out to be a vampire.
Twilight hits theaters on December 12, 2008.
“Friday the 13th” Photos and Poster July 23, 2008 8:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Friday the 13th, Movie Posters, Movies, Photos.add a comment
Several new photos, and a new poster, from the upcoming Friday the 13th remake have released online. Check them out after the jump.
Synopsis
Jason Vorhees returns to the big screen in this Platinum Dunes remake that nixes the original’s conceit that Mrs. Vorhees was the killer in order to give more screen time to her hockey-masked murderous son, who will once again haunt the cursed campgrounds of Crystal Lake. Freddy vs. Jason scribes Damian Shannon and Mark Swift penned the screenplay, with Pathfinder director Marcus Nispel handling the directing duties. Danielle Panabaker and small-screen star Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) head up the cast as the franchise’s newest scream queen and an investigator looking into the deadly going-ons at Crystal Lake.
Friday the 13th hits theaters on February 13, 2009.
Comic-Con 2008: Wednesday Preview Night July 23, 2008 6:56 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Television.add a comment
Comic-Con 2008 kicks off this evening with a special first-ever Wednesday preview night. Tonight’s event features two pilot screenings for Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe.
I’ll be reporting on all the big news that goes down during this year’s event. So far we’ve got a few snapshots from the show floor. Check them out at the following sites: ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype, ShockTillYouDrop and Cinematical.
Warner Bros. has also set up a feature where if you text COMIC to 58671 you can receive alerts for all WB-related Comic-Con events, free downloads and enter for a chance to win prizes.
Programming for each day of the event follows at the links below:
Thursday, July 24th (Plus Wednesday, July 23rd Preview Night)
Adult Swim Announces “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” July 23, 2008 6:50 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Adult Swim, News, Robot Chicken, Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, Television.add a comment
After a successful first outing, Adult Swim has announced that Robot Chicken will have a second, all-new Star Wars-themed episode. Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II will premiere November 16th at 11:30pm. The full press release follows after the jump.
“The Dark Knight” Video Clips and Online Game + News on Videogame July 23, 2008 6:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Games, Movies, News, The Dark Knight, Videogames, Videos.1 comment so far
Still craving Dark Knight content? Comcast has an online destination promoting the movie, which includes a set of exclusive video clips that you can watch here. While there, you can also scan through the various downloads, pictures and more. Including an online game titled Gotham City Street Chase. Here’s the premise behind the game:
The Joker has stolen a police car and you need to catch him! But first, you’ll have to get past his henchmen in vans while avoiding oncoming traffic – that’s no easy feat. Reload your ammo by picking up the crates.
Click here to play it.
And in other Dark Knight news, in an interview with G4, Gary Oldman revealed that a videogame based on the hit movie will be released on home consoles alongside the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film. Click here to watch the interview.
“Jennifer’s Body” Poster July 23, 2008 6:35 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.add a comment
20th Century Fox has released a one-sheet movie poster for the horror/comedy Jennifer’s Body from Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody. Check it out after the jump. Kinda surprising that the poster bares a remarkably similar resemblance to the just-released True Blood HBO series poster.
Synopsis
Demon possession, devilish cheerleaders, and Satanic rock stars are all on the chopping block with this horror comedy from the production team behind Juno. Screenwriter Diablo Cody provides the script, with producing duties handled by Jason Reitman and Dan Dubiecki. The story centers on an impish high-school student (Amanda Seyfried) who has to protect her town against her best friend, Jennifer (Megan Fox), who after being bedeviled by an evil rock band, develops a taste for human flesh. Girlfight’s Karyn Kusama directs the Fox Atomic production.
Jennifer’s Body hasn’t been dated yet, but will release this year.
Lucas Looking Into Converting “Star Wars” I-VI Into 3D July 23, 2008 6:24 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Star Wars.add a comment
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is quoted as saying that George Lucas is looking into turning the six Star Wars films into 3D, as has been rumored in the past. ComingSoon.net reports:
Katzenberg told us that Lucas is very excited about it and that he’s got the technical resources to pull it off. “He isn’t going to put a product out, I think, that isn’t anything other than first rate,” Katzenberg said.
Top 10 Broadcast and Cable TV Ratings (July 14-20, 2008) July 23, 2008 4:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, Cable TV Ratings, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Here are the top 10 programs for the past week (July 14-20) for both broadcast television and cable.
Top 10 Broadcast TV Ratings (Viewers)
- Fox MLB All-Star Game – FOX – 14.54M
- America’s Got Talent – NBC – 12.79M
- Fox MLB All-Star Game Pregame – FOX – 10.37M
- Criminal Minds (R) – CBS – 9.26M
- So You Think You Can Dance-WED – FOX – 9.01M
- CSI (R) – CBS – 8.92M
- Wipeout – ABC – 8.65M
- CSI: NY (R) – CBS – 8.60M
- So You Think You Can Dance-THUR – FOX – 8.40M
- Two and a Half Men (R) – CBS – 8.40M
Top 10 Cable TV Ratings (Viewers)
- Home Run Derby – ESPN – 9.12M
- The Closer – TNT – 7.81M
- Home Run Derby Pregame – ESPN – 6.03M
- Monk – USA – 5.64M
- Avatar – Nick – 5.59M
- Saving Grace – TNT – 5.16M
- Pysch – USA – 4.89M
- Burn Notice – USA – 4.87M
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent – USA – 4.83M
- WWE Raw – USA – 4.79M
Source: Nielsen Media
“The Dark Knight” Breaks Another Record: Quickest Ever to $200M July 23, 2008 3:41 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Box Office, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.1 comment so far
Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight broke yet another record on Tuesday, as it became the the fastest movie ever to cross the $200 million mark, doing so in just five days. That crushes the prior record held by three films; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. All three films took eight days to reach the $200M mark.
The Dark Knight hit the mark thanks to $24.49M Monday and $20.87M Tuesday performances, pushing its domestic total to an impressive $203.77M. Even more impressive is the fact that when Wednesday tallies are included, the film will have grossed in just six days more than its predecessor, Batman Begins, grossed in its entire theatrical run ($205.34M)!
Including the limited numbers we have from overseas grosses, The Dark Knight has taken in $245.07M worldwide ($203.77M domestically and $41.3M overseas).
In just under one week in release, The Dark Knight has already broken 14–major–records (it’s probably broken more, but who’s going to count them all?). Here they are:
- Widest release (4,366 theaters)
- Midnight Opening ($18.49M)
- IMAX Midnight ($640,000–included in $18.49M figure)
- Opening Day ($67.16M)
- Single Day ($67.16M)
- Single Day – Friday ($67.16M)
- Single Day – Sunday ($43.60M)
- Opening 3-Day Weekend ($158.41M)
- Opening 3-Day Weekend IMAX ($6.21M–included in $158.41M figure)
- July Opener ($158.41M)
- PG-13 Opener ($158.41M)
- 4-Day ($182.90M)
- Fastest to $200M (5 Days – $203.77M)
- 5-Day ($203.77M)
And guess what? It’s already made more money in five days than the record holder for 6 days and 7 days, so those two records are also beaten.
“The Rocker” Release Date Moved to August 20th July 23, 2008 2:59 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Release Dates, The Rocker.add a comment
20th Century Fox has announced that the release date for The Rocker has been changed to August 20, 2008. The film stars Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone and was directed by Peter Cattaneo.
Check out the official site at therockermovie.com.
Synopsis
“The Rocker” is Robert “Fish” Fishman, the drummer for an eighties hair band. He’s living the rock n’ roll dream… until he is kicked out of the group. Twenty years later, the desperate rocker joins his nephew’s band, “A.D.D.,” finally reclaiming the rock-god throne he’s always thought he deserved — while taking his much younger bandmates along for the ride of their lives
‘Transformers 2’ Logo Revealed July 23, 2008 2:41 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Photos, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.1 comment so far
The official website for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has been updated with a new logo for the sequel to the hit 2007 film. Click the above image to enlarge.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits theaters on June 26, 2009.
“Swingtown” Moving to Friday Night July 23, 2008 2:34 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, CBS, Flashpoint, News, Swingtown, Television.14 comments
This can’t be good news. CBS has announced that Swingtown is moving to Friday nights at 10pm. The timeslot that TV shows go to die. The reason is simple: ratings. The show hasn’t done all that well in recent weeks, usually dropping a little with each new episode. In the meantime, the networks other summer series, Flashpoint, debuted with a very solid 8.13 million viewers, and didn’t shed too many of those viewers in its second week. That show will be moving to Swingtown’s original timeslot, Thursday’s at 10pm.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Edited to add ratings information and analysis [7/24/2008]
Through seven episodes (June 5-July 17), Swingtown has averaged a 4.3/8 HH rating/share, 6.05M viewers and a 2.0/6 A18-49 rating/share.
Flashpoint has aired just two episodes thus far and averaged a 5.0/10 HH rating/share, 7.63M viewers and a 1.7/6 A18-49 rating/share.
Looking at those two data sets, some may find it hard to understand why CBS is moving the show, but that average doesn’t tell the entire picture. The show started off much stronger (5.9/10 HH rating/share, 8.57M viewers and a 2.8/8 A18-49 rating/share) and its most recent airing was one of its lowest (3.9/7 HH rating/share, 5.32M viewers and a 1.6/5 A18-49 rating/share).
It’s also a favorite of mine, but it’s important to note that CBS isn’t entirely in the wrong here. They see an opportunity with Flashpoint, which yes, hasn’t done amazing, but still has the possibility to grow in a timeslot with much more exposure.
Tonight (Thursday, July 24th) was the first night that Flashpoint aired in its new timeslot, and tomorrow Swingtown airs in its new timeslot. Who knows, maybe both shows will do well. Check back tomorrow for a look at how Flashpoint does and on Saturday to see if Swingtown survives the move.
“Ninja Assassin” Photos July 23, 2008 2:26 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Ninja Assassin, Photos.add a comment
Two new photos from the James McTeigue directed/Wachowski Bros. supervised Ninja Assassin have been revealed. Check them out after the jump.
Synopsis
V for Vendetta director James McTeigue re-teams with that film’s producers Larry and Andy Wachowski for this action-packed tale of a skilled assassin who was trained by a mythical secret society, and patiently awaits the day he will avenge the death of his best friend. Swept off the streets as a young boy, Raizo (Korean pop star Rain) is transformed into an unstoppable killing machine by a secret society known as the Ozunu Clan. The Ozunu Clan is so proficient at keeping their existence a secret that most people think they are only a myth, but the moment Ozuno assassins kill Raizo’s friend, their days in the shadows are numbered. In the aftermath of that killing, Raizo manages to break free from the gang, subsequently biding his time until the day he can take the entire Ozunu Clan down.
Later, in Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) discovers a money trail connecting multiple political murders to a mysterious network of elusive assassins from the Far East. While her superior Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles) orders Mika to back down and stop asking questions, she stealthily begins searching through classified agency files on a relentless mission to discover the truth about the murders. Singled out as a target as a direct result of her investigation, Mika is marked for death by lethal Ozunu assassin Takeshi (Rick Yune). Just as Mika is about to be silenced forever, Raizo saves her from certain death. But Raizo knows that Takeshi and the rest of the Ozuno Clan won’t stop until he and Mika are both dead. Now, as Raizo and Mika are hunted through the winding streets of Europe, their only hope for survival is to trust one another and stay alive long enough to bring the Ozunu empire crumbling to the ground.
Ninja Assassin hits theaters sometime in 2009.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, July 22, 2008 July 23, 2008 2:21 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.add a comment
A complete breakdown of the night’s ratings follows after the jump.
Ebert and Roeper Replacements July 23, 2008 2:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in At the Movies, News, Television.add a comment
With Ebert and Roeper both declining to re-up their contracts (read about that story here) with At The Movies, Buena Vista has announced two replacement hosts for the show. They are Ben Mankiewicz, a host on TCM, and Ben Lyons, from E! and son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons.
“Dollhouse” Pilot to get Re-Worked July 23, 2008 2:13 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 2008/2009 Television, Dollhouse, Fox, News, Television.add a comment
Dollhouse, the upcoming Fox drama from Joss Whedon is getting a new pilot. Whedon explains the situation in a post over at Whedonesque.com, saying that the original pilot “…didn’t bring the visceral pop the network had expected from the script. The network was cool about it, but not sure how to come out of the gate with the ep.”
I really hope things don’t turn out bad for Dollhouse. After all, Firefly had a different premiere episode than what was originally intended to be shown, and that didn’t turn out so well. However, Joss explains that in this case, the decision to do a new pilot was all his:
Joss: Well, the idea to do a new first episode wasn’t the network’s. It was mine. I understood their consternation, and saw the gap between my style and their expectations, and I suggested I shoot a new ep and make the one I’d shot the second. It isn’t going to be buried, like the pilot of Firefly. It’s simply coming after another, slightly cleaner ep. And because unlike Firefly, it isn’t a two hour epic which introduces everyone to each other, the onus isn’t on the new ep to explain a million things.
The original pilot will now air in week two.
Dollhouse has been given a mid-season launch and will premiere in January 2009 and air Mondays on Fox.
“Witchblade” Director Chosen July 23, 2008 2:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, News, Witchblade.add a comment
Platinum Studios Inc., has confirmed that 
Michael Rymer will be the director of the upcoming comic book adaptation of Witchblade. Rymer is most recognized as a television producer and director of several episodes of Battlestar Galactica. An actress for the lead role has yet to be announced.
Witchblade is scheduled to hit theaters sometime in 2009.
HBO Releases “True Blood” Poster July 23, 2008 1:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in HBO, News, Posters, Television, True Blood.add a comment
HBO has released a poster for Alan Ball’s (Six Feet Under) upcoming original vampire drama True Blood. Check it out after the jump. The series is set to premiere on the premium cable network on September 7th at 9pm.
“Caprica” Trailer July 23, 2008 1:29 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, News, Sci Fi, Television, Trailers.1 comment so far
SCI FI has released a trailer for the upcoming two-hour backdoor pilot, Caprica. Caprica is a prequel to the networks critically acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica. Check out the trailer below.
Roeper Joining Ebert in Leaving “At The Movies” July 23, 2008 1:26 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.add a comment
Richard Roeper, co-host of At the Movies, has decided not to re-up his contract and is leaving the show. Roeper, a Sun-Times columnist, signed on in 2000 after the death of original co-host Gene Siskel. Roeper says that he plans to “proceed elsewhere with my ninth year as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago, ” indicating that perhaps he and Ebert, who is a copyright holder on the signature “thumbs up-thumbs down” judgment says that he had “exercised his right to withhold use of the “thumbs” until he had a new contract, adding “Disney cannot use the `thumbs'”.
Jay Leno’s Exit from NBC Finalized July 23, 2008 1:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Late-Night, NBC, News, Television, The Tonight Show.add a comment
Jay Leno’s exit from The Tonight Show has been finalized. Leno’s last Tonight show will be Friday, May 29, 2009. Conan O’Brien, the announced new host of the talk show, will start the following Monday, June 1st, NBC executives told gathered press at the Television Critics Association.
Jimmy Fallon, Conan’s replacement on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, will take over in March or April of 2009. O’Brien’s end date hasn’t been announced yet, but he’ll likely wrap his run sometime in the first quarter of the year.
New “Dragonball” Poster + More Scans July 23, 2008 11:36 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News.add a comment
A new poster from the upcoming videogame adaptation Dragonball has found its way online. Check it out after the jump. There are also a bunch of new magazine scans from the movie.
Synopsis
James Wong adapts the rich mythos of the Dragonball series that grew from a manga into various popular animated series with this 20th Century Fox production starring Justin Chatwin. The plot revolves around Goku (Chatwin), Earth’s greatest champion, who must defend the planet against an invading race of alien warriors hell-bent on dominating the universe. Wong directs from his own script, with Kung Fu Hustle’s Stephen Chow producing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s James Marsters co-stars as the film’s villain, Piccolo, with Jamie Chung playing Chi Chi and Emmy Rossum portraying Bulma. Hong Kong legend Chow Yun-Fat rounds out the cast as Master Roshi, Goku’s mentor in the film.
Dragonball hits theaters on April 3, 2009.
“Watchmen” and “Batman: Mad Love” Motion Comics Launched July 23, 2008 11:28 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Motion Comics, News.1 comment so far
Warner Premiere’s Motion Comics division has launched with debut episodes of Watchmen and Batman: Mad Love. Batman: Mad Love, starring Batman, The Joker and Harley Quinn can already be downloaded to own (started on July 22nd) on Xbox Live and Verizon Wireless’ V Cast Video serivice, while the Watchmen motion comic will be available beginning August 2nd on iTunes and is available to view right now for an exclusive timetable on EW.com/Watchmen. The official press release of the announcement follows after the jump. (more…)
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