What You Missed: Jan. 1, 2015

Written by O’Boyd

Another new feature in Cinema Corner 2.0 is our wrap-up file of all the movie-related events from the day. Think the Drudge Report meets Hollywood.

Why should you have to search all over the Internet for movie news when you can get it all right here. We’ll list here some of the stuff we’ve posted from earlier in the day along with other items we think you should check out. Each day, we hope to provide you with a roundup of sorts of the things we believe you’ll enjoy and want to read about.

As always, enjoy. And Happy New Year!

There are some incredible pieces of 2014 retrospectives from film that people have put together. We’ll highlight them here today. The first one is by Jakub Ignarski.

OUR HEADLINES

‘The Interview’ has one final red band trailer release, will expand to pay TV, other theaters (NEW)

Walt Disney Studios releases ‘Cinderella’ countdown clip (NEW)

‘Taken’ franchise has made some Americans uneasy about traveling to Europe (NEW)

Sony hacks could have come from within; FBI stands behind North Korea theory (NEW)

Fandango poll deems “The Force Awakens” as most eagerly awaited film of 2015 (NEW)

What You Missed: Dec. 31, 2014 (NEW)

‘Turtles’ has lasting power, leads DVD rentals again

Coming to DVD: Dec. 30, 2014

 GET TICKETS

You can always click here to get more movie news and to order tickets online for the latest films in theaters.

Fandango.com          AMC Theatres        MovieTickets.com

Be sure to check out RottenTomatoes.com, which collects and posts reviews for all the films coming out this week.

THE REST OF THE NEWS

The next look at 2014 is by JTE, who works for SchmoesKnow.com.

“The Good Dinosaur” is the second Pixar film Disney will release in 2015. Here’s two concept art photos and the logo that will be used. Click on the photos for a larger view. Read more at ScreenRant.com.

• Lindsay Lohan says she contracted the untreatable chikungunya virus while vacationing in French Polynesia.

• Sean Penn and Charlize Theron are reportedly engaged to be married.

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt got married just before Christmas.

• Veteran actor Edward Herrmann has passed away at the age of 71 due to complications from his previously-diagnosed brain cancer.

• Mark Schultz, who is portrayed by Channing Tatum in the film “Foxcatcher,” isn’t happy with director Bennett Miller.

• Chris Evans visited a nine-year-old fan who has cancer.

• “American Sniper” has made $1 million in five days at four theaters.

• There were plans for Universal to make “Bioshock,” based on the video game. Those plans have been scrapped for now, but MovieWeb.com has concept art to give us an idea of what it may have looked like.

• Angelina Jolie appears to be over the chicken pox, as this photo of her going to In-And-Out Burger shows.

VIDEO CLIPS AND MORE

The Hollywood Reporter takes a look at 2014 with the top 10 highest grossing movies.

• Actors on Actors: Variety has a fascinating take on Hollywood through the eyes of the actors themselves. The one with Ralph Fiennes and Christoph Waltz is fun to watch.

• Steven Spielberg’s sister, Nancy, has made a documentary, “Above and Beyond,” which The Hollywood Reporter has a preview.

Christopher Nolan breaks down a scene from “Interstellar” for The New York Times.

• The cinematographer of “Gone Girl” talks about a critical scene in the film and how it happened. There are spoilers, so don’t click if you haven’t seen the film.

• Tim Roth explains what really happened at the end of the 2001 version of “Planet of the Apes.”

• Nerdist has an extensive interview with director and actor Kevin Smith.

• The Oscar field is full of moonlighting actors, Variety writes.

LISTS, BESTS, WORSTS

What’s New Year’s Eve without a party, courtesy of Robert Jones.

• The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg has a pretty amazing track record when it comes to predicting the Oscars. He takes a stab at the Golden Globes with his latest predictions.

• Cinema Blend ranks its top breakout stars of 2015.

• IGN’s biggest flops of 2014.

• The Weekend Warrior’s 25 worst films, from ComingSoon.net.

• Variety’s 13 most disappointing films of 2014.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Nicholas Sparks, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins

I’m always fascinated with celebrity birthdays (especially finding out who has a birthday when I have mine). IMDB.com has a neat daily list of all the Hollywood people who have birthdays. Here’s the Dec. 31 list.

Walt Disney Studios releases ‘Cinderella’ countdown clip

Written by O’Boyd

What better way to celebrate the countdown to a new year than by counting down to midnight.

Walt Disney has released a new clip for the live-action “Cinderella,” which hits theaters March 26. In it, Cinderella’s fairy godmother explains why it’s important to be home by midnight.

The film stars Lily James (Ella), Cate Blanchett (stepmother), Holly Grainger (Anastasia) and Sophie McShera (Drisella).

‘The Interview’ has one final red band trailer release, will expand to pay TV, other theaters

Written by O’Boyd

Sony Pictures has obviously moved on from the recent hacks. It’s evident with the latest news involving “The Interview.”

The final red band trailer for the film was released (which you can see above). Also, Sony is expanding the release of the film to include pay-TV providers, the PlayStation Network, Vudu and 580 additional theaters, according to Variety.

The pay-TV providers are Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks along with DirecTV, Verizon FiOS TV, Charter Communications, Cablevision and AT&T U-verse TV.

Variety reports Dish Network is the only U.S. provider not slated to show the movie.

The film will be available on Vudu, which is Walmart’s digital video-on-demand service, via the PlayStation Network on Jan. 1. Variety reports Netflix is still in the mix for acquiring streaming rights but that Sony is waiting to reap as much profit as it can in its current format.

Friday, the film will expand to 580 additional theaters. It’s currently seen in 331 indie and arthouse theaters.

The FBI believes North Korea was behind the hack. However, an independent security firm believes the hack was carried out by at least one, and maybe more, former Sony employees.

The Hollywood Reporter also reports hackers linked to the Sony attack threatened “unnamed media organizations.” The Intercept has posted a bulletin online along with a story of its findings.

‘Taken’ franchise has made some Americans uneasy about traveling to Europe

Written by O’Boyd

“Taken 3” hits theaters on Jan. 9. It’s certain to give some Americans pause about traveling to the continent. At least according to the film’s star, Liam Neeson.

In an appearance on the British variety show “The Graham Norton Show” to promote “Taken 3, Neeson said he received a letter from an American teacher who said parents of some of her students reacted negatively to “Taken 2.”

“Just the other day I got a letter from a school teacher in Texas who had tried to take 60 students to Europe and the families of 40 of them got the kids out of it because they had seen Taken 2. And then this year she wanted to take 20 of them and the parents all said, ‘No, because we’ve seen that movie!'”

Neeson also made a funny promo for “The Graham Norton Show,” which you can see above.

What You Missed: Dec. 31, 2014

Written by O’Boyd

Another new feature in Cinema Corner 2.0 is our wrap-up file of all the movie-related events from the day. Think the Drudge Report meets Hollywood.

Why should you have to search all over the Internet for movie news when you can get it all right here. We’ll list here some of the stuff we’ve posted from earlier in the day along with other items we think you should check out. Each day, we hope to provide you with a roundup of sorts of the things we believe you’ll enjoy and want to read about.

As always, enjoy.

Learn how to do action-comedy from Jackie Chan, courtesy of Every Frame a Painting. Read more about it at FirstShowing.net.

OUR HEADLINES

Sony hacks could have come from within; FBI stands behind North Korea theory

Fandango poll deems “The Force Awakens” as most eagerly awaited film of 2015

What You Missed: Dec. 30, 2014

‘Turtles’ has lasting power, leads DVD rentals again

Coming to DVD: Dec. 30, 2014

Last ‘Hobbit’ movie has lasting power over holiday competition

Strong start, at least, for ‘Woods’

CinemaCorner: Dec. 25, 2014

 GET TICKETS

You can always click here to get more movie news and to order tickets online for the latest films in theaters.

Fandango.com          AMC Theatres        MovieTickets.com

Be sure to check out RottenTomatoes.com, which collects and posts reviews for all the films coming out this week.

THE REST OF THE NEWS

Parents sometimes try too hard to lighten up the mood. This little girl wanted a “Frozen” doll for Christmas. Dad had other ideas.

• Paul Walker’s father has filed a claim against the estate of the driver involved in the car crash that killed his son.

• Paul Feig is ready to make a stronger, scarier “Ghostbusters.”

• Jeremy Renner’s wife is filing for divorce after only 10 months of marriage.

• Luise Rainer, the first person ever to win back-to-back acting Oscars, has passed away at age 104 from pneumonia. She won for “The Great Ziegfeld” in 1936 and “The Good Earth” in 1937.

JoBlo.com seems to have the market cornered on the “Taken 3,” which hits theaters on Jan. 9. They have another clip of the film posted on their YouTube page.

• Get ready for “Rambo: Last Blood,” according to Sylvester Stallone’s Twitter account.

• Michelle Williams has sold the Brooklyn home she and Heath Ledger bought in 2005.

• Sam Rami on “Spider-Man 3”: “I messed up plenty.”

• Could Randy Quaid, who’s been AWOL from acting since 2009, be making a comeback in the “Independence Day” sequel?

• “The Interview” is already the best seller on Google’s sites for all of 2014.

• Richard Linklater, fresh off “Boyhood,” may have his next project figured out.

• Marvel actually thought about bringing back Tim Roth’s The Abomination for “Avengers 2.”

VIDEO CLIPS AND MORE

ILM VisualFX has a sampling of its visual effects work for Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.

• Entertainment Weekly has another clip for the new film “Selma.”

Click here to see a special effects reel for the outstanding film “Gone Girl.”

• James Cameron is making three sequels to “Avatar” that will be released starting in 2016. But why has the 2009 original been largely ignored just five years after its release? Screen Crush examines.

• Could the success of “The Interview” online lead to a new way of distributing movies. FirstShowing.net tackles the subject.

• Idris Elba has been the odds on favorite to be the next James Bond forever, it seems. But BadAssDigest.com explains why that can’t happen.

• The Hollywood Reporter explains why Vin Diesel would be perfect as Black Bolt for the “Inhumans” film.

• Also from THR, Ellar Coltrane talks ‘Boyhood’ and Oscar buzz.

LISTS, BESTS, WORSTS

 

From WatchMojo.com: The top 10 shades wearing characters in movies and TV.

• One of the top film critics is Peter Travers of “Rolling Stone” magazine. Here’s his top 10 list.

• Jennifer Lawrence was the most searched actor on Google in 2014.

• Disney is releasing 12 films in 2015. Wow … what a list. You can read more about it from Variety.

Jan. 23 — Strange Magic (Lucasfilm)
Feb. 20 — McFarland, USA (Disney)
March 13 – Cinderella (Disney)
April 17 -– Monkey Kingdom (Disneynature)
May 1 -– Avengers: Age of Ultron (Marvel)
May 22 -– Tomorrowland (Disney)
June 19 – Inside Out (Pixar)
July 17 – Ant–Man (Marvel)
Oct 9 — The Jungle Book (Disney)
Oct. 16 – The Untitled Steven Spielberg Cold War Spy Thriller (DreamWorks)
Nov. 25 -– The Good Dinosaur (Pixar)
Dec. 18 -– Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Lucasfilm)

• Nerdist has a story on six books that are being made into movies and will be on the big screen in 2015.

• Collider’s best popcorn films of 2014.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Eliza Dushku, Kristin Kreuk, Bennett Miller

I’m always fascinated with celebrity birthdays (especially finding out who has a birthday when I have mine). IMDB.com has a neat daily list of all the Hollywood people who have birthdays. Here’s the Dec. 30 list.

Fandango poll deems “The Force Awakens” as most eagerly awaited film of 2015

Written by O’Boyd

In the “I believe I had that” category, a Fandango poll of 1,000 movie fans has deemed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the most anticipated film of 2015.

The poll, which was conducted from Dec. 22-29, had the seventh “Star Wars” film ahead of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.” In fourth place was “Fifty Shades of Grey” with “Jurassic World” at No. 5.

From Entertainment Weekly:

“Fandango chief correspondent (and former EW senior writer) Dave Karger said, “It’s been a decade since the last installment of the most beloved sci-fi fantasy franchise of all time, and kids of all ages are eagerly anticipating the revitalization of the series next December.”

The survey also asked fans their favorite actress (Jennifer Lawrence), favorite actor (Robert Downey Jr.), biggest male breakout role (Jamie Dornan), biggest female breakout role (Daisy Ridley) and most anticipated family film (“Minions”).

Below are the complete results.

Fan Favorite Actress in 2015 Movies:
1. Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2)
2. Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
3. Angelina Jolie (By the Sea)
4. Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
5. Halle Berry (Kidnap)

Fan Favorite Actor in 2015 Movies:
1. Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
2. Chris Hemsworth (Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Blackhat,” and “In the Heart of the Sea)
3. Daniel Craig (Spectre)
4. Chris Pratt (Jurassic World)
5. Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible 5)

Biggest Male Breakout Movie Star, 2015:
1. Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey)
2. John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
3. Levi Miller (Pan)
4. Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book)
5. Tony Jaa (Furious 7)

Biggest Female Breakout Movie Star, 2015:
1. Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
2. Lily James (Cinderella,” Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)
3. Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey, A Bigger Splash)
4. Kate Mara (The Fantastic Four, The Martian)
5. Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service)

Most Anticipated Family Film of 2015:
1. Minions
2. Cinderella
3. Pixar’s Inside Out
4. Peanuts
5. Pan

Sony hacks could have come from within; FBI stands behind North Korea theory

Written by O’Boyd

A major security firm is contending a former employee or employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment may be behind the recent hack of emails and files of sensitive material.

Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting Norse Corp. unveiled its assessment of the attack and believes a former employee with “the technical background and knowledge” was involved. It believes at least five others described as pro-piracy “haacktivists” were involved.

CNN reports Norse and the FBI met Monday. The FBI concluded on Dec. 19 the hack was the work of North Korea. One of the casualties of the hack was the film “The Interview,” about the attempted killing of the North Korea leader. It was pulled from theaters after threats were made.

THR also reports Sony is readying a defense team for a number of class-action lawsuits expected to be filed as a result of the hack and the release of employees’ personal information.

‘Turtles’ has lasting power, leads DVD rentals again

Written by O’Boyd

Every Tuesday, we’ll publish the latest list of top DVD rentals, according to information released by HomeMediaMagazine.com. The website is one of the industry leaders in tracking information on movie rentals at stores and at RedBox.

The new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” appears to have more power as a DVD than it did at the box office, at least when it comes to staying No. 1.

For the second week in a row, “Turtles” outperformed the competition and stayed No. 1 among DVD rentals, according to Home Media Magazine, which charts the weekly numbers for sites such as IMDB.com. “Turtles” held off “Let’s Be Cops,” which moved from No. 4 to No. 2, and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which actually slipped from No. 2 to No. 3.

Rounding out the top 10 were newcomers “If I Stay,” “Dolphin Tale” and “Left Behind.” “The November Man,” with Pierce Brosnan, was the only newcomer to make the top 10 this week.

New films such as “The Equalizer” and “What If” will certainly shake up next week’s numbers.

Top 10 through Dec. 21 (Move links take you to Roger Thomas’ review of the film.)

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2. Let’s Be Cops

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

4. The November Man

5. Tammy

6. Into the Storm

7. If I Stay

8. Dolphin Tale 2

9. Left Behind

10. 22 Jump Street

What You Missed: Dec. 30, 2014

Written by O’Boyd

Another new feature in Cinema Corner 2.0 is our wrap-up file of all the movie-related events from the day. Think the Drudge Report meets Hollywood.

Why should you have to search all over the Internet for movie news when you can get it all right here. We’ll list here some of the stuff we’ve posted from earlier in the day along with other items we think you should check out. Each day, we hope to provide you with a roundup of sorts of the things we believe you’ll enjoy and want to read about.

As always, enjoy.

We stumbled upon this the other day. Many believe “The Empire Strikes Back” is the best of the three original “Star Wars” films. But here’s 15 things you may not know, courtesy of ScreenCrush.com.

OUR HEADLINES

What You Missed: Dec. 29, 2014

Coming to DVD: Dec. 30, 2014

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ most pirated film of 2014

Last ‘Hobbit’ movie has lasting power over holiday competition

Strong start, at least, for ‘Woods’

CinemaCorner: Dec. 25, 2014

 GET TICKETS

You can always click here to get more movie news and to order tickets online for the latest films in theaters.

Fandango.com          AMC Theatres          MovieTickets.com

Be sure to check out RottenTomatoes.com, which collects and posts reviews for all the films coming out this week.

THE REST OF THE NEWS

Disney CEO Bob Iger is in the January issue of Fortune magazine and he just happens to be posing in front of the Millennium Falcon. Click here for more and go here to see a photo of the magazine cover.

• Speaking of “Star Wars,” Yahoo! Movies has an interview with Oscar Issac, who is in “The Force Awakens.” He said (in his best emperor voice) something along the lines of “your puny theories about the film are no match for the truth.” Or something like that.

Vin Diesel REALLY wants to be in “Inhumans.” This picture above was posted on his Facebook page. Marvel has greenlit the film to open in theaters on Nov. 2, 2018. Read more about Diesel’s antics here.

• Tom Hardy is looking all bad-ass on the cover of February 2015 Empire magazine for the new “Mad Max” film.

Here’s the first look at the villain in the Marvel film “Ant-Man.” NOW can we see a trailer? Hopefully soon.

• Various sites, including Business Insider, are reporting that North Koreans are anxious to see “The Interview” and are willing to pay as much as $50 for a pirated copy.

• Starting Wednesday, one Michigan theater is letting patrons see “The Interview” for free.

• Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut will appear via home entertainment instead of in theaters.

• Oscar voting has begun and, apparently, so has the mudslinging.

A new photo of Jake Gyllenhaal from the film “Everest,” which hits theaters on Feb. 27. Read more at GeekTyrant.com.

VIDEO CLIPS AND MORE

JoBlo.com has a trailer for the new Salma Hayek film “Everly”. It’s an action/thriller about a woman who faces down assassins while holed up in her apartment that are sent by her ex, a mob boss.

• The Hollywood Reporter held an actor and actress roundtable back in November that aired Sunday on A&E. You can read more about it here, watch a clip and then view the interviews, via YouTube.com.

• ComingSoon.net has an exclusive clip for the Bruce Willis film “Vice,” which hits theaters and On Demand on Jan. 16.

• Speaking of Bruce Willis, JoBlo.com has a look at the veteran action star.

• “Toy Story 3” had some sad moments in it. But GeekTyrant.com has some concept art for the film that never made the final cut that looks REALLY sad.

• Despite a strong Christmas push, 2014 ends down sharply at the box office.

• Stars of “Mockingjay” take part in a PSA for the Ebola Survival Fund.

• Variety.com: How “Unbroken” became a big Christmas hit.

LISTS, BESTS, WORSTS

• AMC Theaters has a great set of YouTube shows, including “AMC Movie Talk” and “AMC Mail Bag.” The gang puts together its best and worst lists which you can see here. 

• Cinema Blend: Seven reasons 2014 was The Year of (Chris) Pratt.

• JoBlo.com: The top 10 cameos of 2014.

• Cinema Blend: 10 actors who took career hits in 2014.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Allison Brie, Jude Law, Jon Voight

I’m always fascinated with celebrity birthdays (especially finding out who has a birthday when I have mine). IMDB.com has a neat daily list of all the Hollywood people who have birthdays. Here’s the Dec. 29 list.

Coming to DVD: Dec. 30, 2014

Written by O’Boyd

Each Monday, we’ll give you an overview of the newest movies coming to DVD and Blu-Ray.

DVD releases (Click on link to go to DVDsReleaseDates.com page)

The Equalizer

Tusk

Last Weekend

Kelly & Cal

Stephen King’s A Good Marriage

App

Elsa & Fred

Reach Me

Coming to Redbox (Click on link to reserve copy)

As Above, So Below

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The Equalizer

Land Ho

Tusk

What If

Also coming to Blu-Ray (Click on link to go to Blu-Ray.com page)

Tuesday

The Equalizer

Tusk

Elsa & Fred

Reach Me

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie