Legendary Pictures announced Friday it will move the new King Kong Skull Island film to a new date and away from the Nov. 4, 2016.
If that dates sounds familiar, it’s because Marvel announced “Doctor Strange” for the same time. On Friday, Legendary announced a new title for the film, “Kong: Skull Island” and announced it will move the film to March 10, 2017, one week after Marvel’s “The Wolverine 3” arrives.
Legendary also has “Pacific Rim 2” slated for 2017 and the follow-up to “Godzilla” in 2018.
ScreenRant.com also reported that Legendary’s untitled film about the Great Wall of China will hit theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.
Hollywood has used just about everything to promote a film.
This has to be a first.
There’s an contest going on now for the movie “Taken 3,” which hits theaters on Jan. 9. 20th Century Fox has created a situation where the winner will have their LinkedIn account endorsed by Liam Neeson. An actual recording where Neeson speaks his approval will be available to the winner.
The contest is open now and runs through Jan. 4. Just click on the video, posted by 20th Century Fox on its YouTube page, for all the details. Click below to see the Taken 3 trailer along with a new clip.
Another example of why the Sony hacked emails aren’t all bad news.
Buzzfeed.com broke the story that Sony Pictures and Nintendo are close to a deal for an animated feature-length film. The news was based on emails from Sony Studio Chief Amy Pascal on Oct. 23 from producer Avi Arad, who will apparently lead the film.
From the email:
“I am the proud father of mario the animated film [sic],” producer Avi Arad told Sony studio chief Amy Pascal in an email dated Oct. 23, 2014, with the subject line “Mario.” Arad then forwarded Pascal separate images of him with Mario Bros.creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the latter of which included the message, “Happy ceo, lets get together, it’s the mother load. [sic]”
Pascal reportedly then forwarded the email to TriStar Pictures head Tom Rothman.
“Avi closed Mario brothers,” she wrote. “Animated.”
From Buzzfeed:
The deal represents only the first step in a very long road to a green light for an actual feature film. Animated films especially go through a long and rigorous script development process before a movie starts production. The emails also did not indicate any filmmakers attached to the project, although Pascal does at one point suggest Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed the 2012 Sony Pictures Animation feature Hotel Transylvania and created the Cartoon Network series Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars. “[I]ts soooo perfect for him,” Pascal wrote. (A rep for Tartakovsky tells BuzzFeed News, however, that the filmmaker “is not involved.”)
On Oct. 24, Arad thanked Sony Pictures Animation President of Production Michelle Raimo Kouyate for a gift basket she sent him filled with Mario Bros. merchandise.
From the email:
“Thank you Avi!” Kouyate responded. “Let’s build a Mario empire!” Kouyate also sent a photo of the basket to Pascal, and said, “I can think of 3-4 movies right out of the gate on this. So huge!”
If you don’t see Angelina Jolie out promoting her new film “Unbroken” in the next couple of days, she has a good reason.
And it’s not because of the snubs she and her film got from the Golden Globes.
Jolie has the chicken pox and has withdrawn from public events over the next couple of days, at least. In a Facebook post by Universal Studios Entertainment, Jolie will resume her schedule and press engagements at the earliest opportunity.
From the Facebook page:
“You have to laugh at the timing,” the director commented. “I was sure nothing could stop me from supporting Unbroken. I am heartbroken to miss our premiere, most of all the chance to be there with Louie’s family, Phil’s daughter Karen, veterans and all the guests who are coming.”
Universal Pictures said: “We all wish Angelina a speedy recovery and look forward to her returning to her work very soon. She is in very good spirits, considering after two years of hard work, she will not be there the night it finally premieres.”
Could we be looking at a complete rebranding of Spider-Man? Including the actor who plays him?
According to Latino Review, that could happen. Sony is a mess right now with its recent hacks, so it’s not their top priority. However, if the current “Spider-Man” movie franchise does struggle, plans could be in place.
From Latino Review’s Kellvin Chavez:
“The 60/40 split still looks to be the divide with Sony handling distribution. However, Marvel’s not inclined to give Sony creative control over the character, nor planning on honoring the contracts with Sony’s Spider-Stars. More poking into the origins of the Aunt May solo film and Female Spider movie rumors revealed that these were actual Sony Picture Entertainment plans that Marvel knew about and severely disliked. Now that Marvel can have the rights to the character back, they plan to wipe the slate with the Amazing Spider-Man universe.
“IF the Marvel/Sony deal were to go forward, Andrew Garfield would no longer be Peter Parker and any baggage from existing films, Raimi or Webb, would be non-canonical, Marvel doesn’t want any part of those films. The idea is that the Spider-Man romance movie has been played out over five installments, so any new Spider-Man films would focus on the difficulties of being a teenager and a superhero with a romance side-story, not the film’s focus. Marvel also thinks that the origin story is well-trodden territory, so any Spider-Man movies under this deal would begin with Peter Parker already leading a dual life. Spider-Man making his debut in Captain America: Civil War is still a distinct possibility and would serve as the character’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But as of now Spider-Man will NOT be in Civil War. I was told that they have a script nailed down.”
His next movie, “Wild Card,” dropped its first official trailer on Friday. In it, he plays a character we’ve seen him play many times. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Statham is Nick Wild, a Las Vegas bodyguard with a the normal set of professional skills, both with a gun and fighting, that we’ve come to expect with Statham movies. In “Wild Card,” he helps a friend who is beaten by a thug, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss.
The film is written by William Goldman, who has two Oscars to his credit. One is for Best Original Screenplay for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969 and another was for Best Adapted Screenplay for “All the President’s Men” in 1976.
Impressive.
The film also stars Sofia Vergara, Stanley Tucci and Anne Heche. It’s scheduled to hit theaters on Jan. 30.
The second trailer for “Blackhat” hit the web on Friday and gives us more details about the furloughed convict Hemsworth plays. The film is set in a world of global cybercrime and follows Hemsworth as he and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles and internationally.
The film also stars Viola Davis and is directed by Michael Mann. It’s slated to hit theaters on Jan. 16.
Below is the first trailer and a teaser to the second trailer that dropped earlier this week. A new poster is also below.
The latest trailer for the second part of the “Divergent”series, “Insurgent,” hit the web on Friday.
In the second film, Tris (Shailene Woodley) searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris and Four (James) are on the run and being hunted by Jeanine (Kate Winslet) and the power-hungry Erudite elite.
“Insurgent” hits theaters on March 20 and is the second of a planned four-film series. “Allegiant Part 1” is scheduled to be released March 18, 2016 and “Allegiant Part 2” will be released on March 24, 2017.
Below are the other trailers along with the newest poster that have been released so far for “Insurgent.”
Another new feature we’ll bring you each Friday is a breakdown of the new films coming to theaters. Hopefully, you can use this guide to prepare yourself for a fun weekend of movies.
Exodus: Gods and Kings:The defiant leader Moses rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.
Top Five:A comedian tries to make it as a serious actor when his reality-TV star fiancée talks him into broadcasting their wedding on her TV show.
Inherent Vice (Limited): In 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles detective Larry “Doc” Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
Free the Nipple (Limited):An army of passionate women launch a revolution to “Free the Nipple” and decriminalize the female body. Based on a true story, this mass movement of topless women, armed with First Amendment lawyers, graffiti installations and national publicity stunts, invade New York City to protest the backwards censorship laws in the USA.
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. 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!
Fred reminds us (via the Walt Disney Studios Facebook page) it’s good to recycle. That includes seeing “Big Hero 6” again in theaters this weekend. Click one of the links below to find out what’s playing where you live and how to get tickets.
• One of the big movies coming out Friday is “Exodus: Gods and Kings.” Click here to go to GeekTyrant.com to see nine television spots, two clips and a feature on the film.
• Remember how “Batman V Superman” moved its opening date up nearly a month so it wouldn’t collide with Marvel’s “Captain America 3?” Looks like “Pan” is doing the same after it was set to open the same weekend as Marvel’s “Ant-Man.”
Screen Junkies got the chance to ask “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn questions from fans of the website. And, in case you’re wondering, he says there won’t be a crossover with “Avengers” and “Guardians.”
• Text 99friends to 242424 to get SMS updates from AMC Theaters and to find out how you could win a private movie screening for you and up to 99 friends! Click here for all the legal stuff.
Cinema Corner 