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Celebrific

Tracking Celebrities in Their Native Habitat

Will Forte

Celebrific Screen Scene — May 24, 2010

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It took Shrek Forever After (aka Shrek 4) to bump Iron Man 2 out of the top box office spot, and it was a big bump. Shrek took in $71.2M for it’s opening weekend. Iron Man 2, which has been out for weeks, only took in $26.6M. Robin Hood dropped to second spot with $18.7M. Letters to Juliet took 4th, and Just Wright was 4th. MacGruber, which just opened, bombed, with only $4.1M in receipts, to take 6th place. Well, when you base a whole movie on a lame SNL skit that has an annoying soundtrack, it’s not surprising. Will Forte appearing naked was enough to bring people in, I guess.  [Data from IMDB]

Prince of Persia with Jake Gyllenhaal opened in foreign markets, ahead of its N. American debut, and while hitting #1 in 18 of 19 markets (just not in the U.K.), it still only took in $18M in receipts. The downturn in box office is apparently partially affected by the warm weather there over the weekend.

Hollywood is trying to find a way to reach consumers home screens (aka TV) with new movies sooner than usual. Apparently the big studios are in talks with the big cable operators, and if things work out, you could see a new theatrical release on your TV set within four weeks instead of the typical four months. However, there’s a fairly hefty price for that privilege, and it might run $20-30 per movie. Something like this could be implemented as soon as late 2010 or early 2011. Oh great. I’m sure theater owners will be happy with this plan. Of course, they could just jack up the popcorn and soda for all those of us that are old-school and like to watch some new movies on a giant screen.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who have produced some of Hollywood’s biggest films, have been trying to work out a deal to reclaim Miramax Films from Walt Disney Co., but the deal fell apart after weeks of negotations — mainly due to issues about how Miramax would fit in with The Weinstein Co. According to the LA Times, new negotiations might bring back two other brothers, investors Alec and Tom Gores. Miramax, which the Weinstein brothers were forced out of, was named for their parents, Miriam and Max.

Celebrific Screen Scene, May 21, 2010

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There aren’t lot of new films opening this week, possibly because it’s hard to compete with blockbusters like Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, and others. IMDB lists four new relases, and get more details from their profile pages, which I’ve linked to from each movie’s title.

New Releases

  • Shrek Forever After. Voices: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy. Directed by Mike Mitchell. This might be one for the family. This fourth Shrek animated film is said to be the final one in the series, but there’ll be a Puss in Boots spin-off. For me, the first one was fun, but I had no interest after the second. At this point, I think they’re beating a dead horse. Or in this case, donkey? Oh and if you’re planning to take the family to see this, be warned that adults will be charged as much as $20 per ticket for the IMAX 3D version.
  • MacGruber. Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer and many others. Directed by Jorma Taccone. This comedy is a spin-off of a series of skits on Saturday Night Live that spoofs the MacGyver adventure TV series that ran from 1985-92. The MacGruber tries to be innovative and ingenious in getting out of difficult and dangerous situations, but is usually either too dumb or too distracted to succeed. The SNL skits always end with the building MacGruber is in blowing up. Not sure how this show will translate to film, and personally it’s my least favorite SNL skit, but I’d go see it for Val Kilmer as the villian Dieter Von Cunth, or the very versatile Kristen Wiig, who is one several SNL cast members or alumni that are in the movie.
  • Holy Rollers [LA/NY]. Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Danny A. Abeckkaser. Directed by Kevin Asch.
  • Solitary Man [limited]. Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg. Directed by Brian Koppleman and David Levien.

Also Playing

Still in theaters are recent releases Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, Letters to Juliet, Just Wright, How to Train Your Dragon (animated), A Nightmare on Elm Street, Date Night, The Backup Plan, Furry Vengeance, Clash of the Titans, and others.

Upcoming Movies/ Roles

  • Frank Marshall will direct The Hades Factor, based on a Robert-Ludlum inspired novel similar to the ‘Bourne’ books and movies. [Pajiba]
  • James Franco will star in a prequel to the Planet of the Apes series, Rise of the Apes, which is opens Jun 24, 2011. [Deadline, E! Online]
  • Matthew Vaughn will direct X-Men: First Class [Jun 3, 2011].
  • Phll Alden Robinson will script an untitled J.J. Abrams project, based on a Wired magazine article about the world’s biggest diamond heist. Robinson wrote and directed Field of Dreams. [Heat Vision]
  • Ellen Page will star in Freeheld, based on the Oscar-winning documentary of the same name. [Hollywood Reporter]
  • Drew Barrymore will follow up her directorial debut of Whip It by directing Surrender Dorothy, a Wizard of Oz sequel. [Pajiba]
  • There might be two versions of 20,000 Leagues under the sea. One from Disney and the other from Fox.

Screen Scene Tidbits

  • Paul Greengrass is focusing on Treasure Island and will not direct the 3D remake of Fantastic Voyage. [Deadline]
  • The cast of the upcoming Twilight: Breaking Dawn vampire flick, based on the book series, asked for between $1.5-4M each but will get up to $1.25M. [Deadline, THR Esq]
  • If you saw the first Sex and the City film, you know how full of product placement it was, as well as that Carrie Bradshaw uses a Mac computer. Not this time. In the second SatC movie, out May 27th, she’ll be using an HP laptop because of a partnership deal with Hewlett-Packard. [PopEater, CeleBitchy]

Enjoy your movie-watching weekend.

Celebrific Lowdown – May 19, 2010

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Christina Aguilera will be back on the tour circuit, after taking time for her son Max, to promote her new album Bionic, and she promises fans she’ll wow them. She’s also slated to appear with Cher, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci, Eric Dane, Julianne Hough (Dancing With the Stars) and others in the film Burlesque, which opens Nov 24th. Tickets for Christina’s tour go on sale Thursday. You can listen to tracks at her MySpace page.

Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte has let it all hang out for the camera, as part of a promo stunt and fake back story for his new comedy MacGruber, based on the ongoing SNL skit. As in completely naked, so when you click on this link for the uncensored photos, be warned. MacGruber may have a small penis — as in really small, as per the back story — but Forte has big balls for doing this photo shoot. The comedy opens this week and boasts Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer as the villain Dieter Von Cunth, Ryan Phillippe, Maya Rudolph, WWE wrestler Chris Jericho and others.

On the other hand, some people don’t have the brass ones. One-time presidential hopeful John Edwards is afraid of jail and said to be trying for a misdemeanor plea for alleged campaign violations. The investigation by the FBI and IRS is trying to determine whether he paid his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Was she worth it, John?

Jonathan Rhys Myers, who recently got himself banned from flying United Airlines for an alleged display of drunkness and racial slurs, is going into rehab. I hear Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew needs cast members for the next season.

Guns’n’Roses frontman Axl Rose, whose brith name is William Bruce Rose but legal name is William Bruce Bailey, is claiming that music mogul and film producer Irving Azoff has been sabotaging the band in order to force Rose into reuniting with former band members. Other claims: that Azoff has been vicious by using Rose’s real name — something that Rose says carries a lot of emotional baggage. I guess changing your name to Axl Rose, an anagram of “oral sex,” was a better choice.