Prince Caspian rules the box office

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” dethrones “Iron Man” for No. 1 spot, pulling in $56.6 million. ~ AP

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” dethroned “Iron Man” as ruler at the box office, pulling down $56.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Walt Disney Co.’s action sequel took in less domestically in its opening weekend than “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” which sold $65.6 million in North America in its debut weekend in December 2005. “Caspian” also raked in $20.7 million overseas.

But Disney expects the PG-rated movie, based on the C.S. Lewis fantasy series, to ride high through the coming Memorial Day weekend. The first “Narnia” tale grossed $745 million worldwide over its theatrical run.

“This is a film that we think is going to play all summer long and it’s got nothing but school holidays in front of it,” said Mark Zoradi, president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.

Disney is in pre-production on the third of the series, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” set for release in the summer of 2010.

Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man” slipped to second place after two weeks at No. 1 with $31.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $222.5 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC, said the flawed superhero flick is holding its appeal better than “Spider-Man 3” did the previous May.

“‘Iron Man’ continues to hold very well,” he said. “It’s definitely cutting into audiences across the board.”

The 20th Century Fox comedy “What Happens in Vegas,” starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, came in third, with $13.9 million in its second weekend. Its domestic total reached $40.3 million, well above its $35 million budget.

“It’s clearly the comedy, non-family movie in the marketplace right now,” said Chris Aronson, a Fox senior vice president.

Warner Bros.’ disappointing “Speed Racer” slowed to $7.6 million for fourth place, driving in $29.8 million over two weeks.

The studio said it was not ready to call it game over on the Wachowski brothers movie, which cost $120 million to make.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ executive vice president of distribution, said next weekend was “do or die” for the movie.

Overture Films’ acclaimed drama, “The Visitor,” crept into 10th place at the box office with $687,000.

The distributor picked up the indie film, about a professor who discovers a couple living in his little-used New York apartment, at the Toronto Film Festival for a reported $1 million. It has grossed $3.4 million so far.

“It’s good to know that you don’t have to have special effects in your movie to make money,” said Overture Films’ senior vice president Adam Keen.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which received a somewhat ho-hum reaction at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, whips its way into theaters on Thursday.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” $56.6 million.

2. “Iron Man,” $31.2 million.

3. “What Happens in Vegas,” $13.9 million.

4. “Speed Racer,” $7.6 million.

5. “Baby Mama,” $4.6 million.

6. “Made of Honor,” $4.5 million.

7. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” $2.5 million.

8. “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” $1.8 million.

9. “The Forbidden Kingdom,” $1 million.

Links:

• All Movies and Films Desktop Wallpapers, Photos, Reviews

Carrie Underwood’s new video “Last Name”

Carrie Underwood’s new video, “Last Name,” is the prequel to her smash “Before He Cheats.”

“Last Name” is a song composed by fourth-season American Idol winner and country pop singer Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey and Luke Laird. It is the third single from Underwood’s second studio album, Carnival Ride. It was released in the United States on April 7, 2008, by which point the song had already charted.

The song is one of four tracks on the album co-written by Underwood, and the third consecutive one to be released as a single from the album. The song tells about a woman meeting a man at a club and later eloping with him in Las Vegas after having had too much to drink that night.

She wakes up the next morning, “dreaming bout Elvis somewhere in Vegas”, to discover that she doesn’t even know her last name (i.e., she married the man while she was intoxicated), worrying that her “mama would be so ashamed.” The music video portrays the song as a prequel to her “Before He Cheats” song.

Carrie Underwood’s Music video:
The song is described in the video as what happened before the “Before He Cheats” video. The video starts with some segments from “Before He Cheats” and then goes into a scene 3 months earlier with her in the club having a drink with her friends.

The man from the same video as “Before He Cheats” spots her and asks her for a dance and she accepts with a head nod. During their dance the guy takes glimpse of another girl on the dance floor who is giving him a flirtatious look back at him as well. Then they leave in a pinto with lucky dice in the rear view mirror. The guy flirts with the girl who brings out his car and then she gives him her number. They make it out to Las Vegas where they participate in a couple of gambling activities such as Russian roulette and a pin wheel game, with the man again flirting with the hostess girls (Underwood seeming oblivious to all this). Later they get married in a chapel with an Elvis impersonator. They run off in his new pick up truck (the one used in “Before He Cheats”) and the video ends with a spark from the chapel head lights.

Carrie Underwood’s Last Name Lyrics:

Last night I got served a little too much of that poison baby
Last night I did things I’m not proud of
And I got a little crazy
Last night I met a guy on the dance floor
And I let him call me baby

And I don’t even know his last name
Oh, my mama would be so ashamed
It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know his last name

We left the club right around three o’clock in the morning
His Pinto sitting there in the parking lot Well it should have been a warning
I had no clue what I was getting into
So I blame it on the Cuervo
Oh where did my manners go?

And I don’t even know his last name
Oh, my mama would be so ashamed
It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know his last name
Here we go…

Today I woke up thinkin’ about Elvis somewhere in Vegas
I’m not sure how I got here
Or how this ring on my left hand just appeared out of nowhere
I gotta go
I take the chips and the Pinto and hit the road
They say what happens here stays here
All of this will disappear
There’s just one little problem…

I don’t even know my last name
Oh my mama would be so ashamed
It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know my last name

What have I done
What have I done
What have I done
Oh, what have I done
I don’t even know my last name

It turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know my last name

It started off “Hey cutie, where ya from?”
And then it turned into
“Oh no, what have I done?”
And I don’t even know my last name

The single was generally met with mixed reviews. All Music picked the song as a “track pick”, calling the song “Miranda Lambert filtered through Shania Twain”, and dubbed it a “one night stand anthem.” Rolling Stone picked the track as their favorite, saying “the most fun is “Last Name,” where she gets wasted and runs off to Vegas with a guy she doesn’t know.” Blender awarded the song four out of five stars, describing the song as the “most irresponsible (and fun) moment on the new album involves one wild night, one too many shots of Cuervo and one unexpected ring.”

However, The 9513 gave the song a ‘thumbs down’, describing the song as a “straight-laced performance” that just “places the focus on the vocal”. Slant Magazine labelled the single as a “bald-faced attempt at recreating the ‘Before He Cheats’ phenomenon”.

Links:

• Carrie Underwood’s at WhoABC.com Celebrities Guide: http://www.whoabc.com/women/c/carrie-underwood/
• Carrie Underwood’s Desktop Wallpapers at Snoron.com: http://www.snoron.com/carrie-underwood/

Hancock 2008 superhero comedy Film

Hancock is an upcoming 2008 superhero-comedy film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. The story was originally written by Vincent Ngo in 1996 and had languished in Hollywood for some time.

The project has had various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino. Hancock was originally intended to be filmed before I Am Legend, also starring Will Smith. Under Berg, Hancock was filmed in Los Angeles. The film is slated for release on July 2, 2008.

Will Smith is really starting to get into the “not saving the world” business — I Am Legend positions him as the last man on Earth, and in this summer’s Hancock, he plays an alcoholic superhero.

And if you think that sounds weird, Smith’s description is even more mysterious. “If you can imagine, it’s the Michael Mann version of an alcoholic superhero,” said Smith. “It is so bizarre. Michael Mann developed a script about an alcoholic superhero.”

The writer/director of films like Heat and Miami Vice surely has an unusual take. Jason Bateman, who plays a publicist trying to rehabilitate the superhero Hancock (Smith), described scenes that demonstrate the Michael Mann tone. “What’s fun about that character is just that he’s so appreciative that his life was saved by this underappreciated superhero that he wants to reciprocate,” said Bateman. “He wants to kind of give back and he wants the public to see Will Smith as the hero that he really is. So that’s his mission. That was a fun thing to play, a very idealistic guy that’s trying to build up this suicidal, homeless alcoholic that then ends up hitting on my wife. It was a fun thing. To play the victim is funny.”

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The confrontation between the publicist and the superhero perhaps sums it up best. “What Will and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and director Pete Berg wanted to do was to play this for the real. They’re constantly bouncing tones back and forth. It’s a really ambitious thing to do in the film, but they pull it off. That’s played very much on the real, that I have an argument with a superhero about hitting on my wife and my feelings are hurt. It’s like you kind of back into the comedy there, but there’s definitely not winking.”

Will Smith portrays an alcoholic and lazy vagrant with no respect for authority or property. Ironically, he also possesses superpowers and the destruction he leaves in his wake makes him despised by everyone. A publicist (Jason Bateman) emerges to help rehabilitate him, and the new superhero eventually begins an affair with the publicist’s wife (Charlize Theron).

Screenwriter Vincent Ngo wrote the spec script Tonight, He Comes in 1996. The draft, about a troubled 12-year-old and a fallen superhero, was initially picked up by director Tony Scott as a potential project. Producer Akiva Goldsman came across the script, which he had considered a favorite, and encouraged Richard Saperstein, then president of development and production at Artisan Entertainment, to acquire it. Director Michael Mann was initially attached to direct Tonight, He Comes, but he instead opted to direct Miami Vice (2006). Eventually, Artisan placed the project in turnaround and was acquired by Goldsman.

Screenwriter Vince Gilligan performed a rewrite of Ngo’s script, and Jonathan Mostow was attached to direct the film. Under Mostow’s supervision, a 10-page take was written to be pitched to actor Will Smith to portray the lead role in the film, since both had worked together on Hitch (2005). Both Mostow and Smith were not yet committed to make the project an active priority at the time. Several studios pursued the opportunity to finance the film, and Columbia Pictures succeeded in acquiring the prospect in February 2005. A second draft was scripted by Gilligan following the finalization of the deal with Columbia. The film was initially slated for a holiday 2006 release.

In November 2005, Mostow and Smith committed to Tonight, He Comes, with production slated to begin in Los Angeles in summer 2006. Smith had set up a pay or play contract to film I Am Legend (2007) under Warner Bros. after completion of Tonight, He Comes. Mostow eventually departed from the project due to creative differences. Director Gabriele Muccino filled Mostow’s vacancy in May 2006.

Since Muccino was busy editing The Pursuit of Happyness starring Smith, which Muccino had directed, Smith switched projects to film I Am Legend first for its December 2007 release, and then film Tonight, He Comes afterward. Later in the month, Muccino left the project because of an incompatibility with filming the story. Since Muccino was preparing The Pursuit of Happyness, the studio had delayed the production start for Tonight, He Comes to summer 2007, enabling Warner Bros. to begin production of I Am Legend with Smith.

In October 2006, Peter Berg was attached to direct Tonight, He Comes with production slated to begin in May 2007 in Los Angeles, the story’s setting. Before filming began, Tonight, He Comes was retitled John Hancock. Filming began on John Hancock on July 3, 2007 in Los Angeles. The film title was eventually shortened to Hancock.

Hancock is slated to be released on July 2, 2008. Sony Pictures Television have announced a mobile game based on the film. Although the filmmakers needed the film to be a PG-13 to appeal to a wide audience, the Motion Picture Association of America twice rated it an R (meaning it cannot be watched by those under the age of 17 without adult supervision) by April 2008. The filmmakers had to cut a scene with statutory rape. The director noted, “The ad campaign for this movie is much friendlier than the film.”

Cast:

• Will Smith as John Hancock, a down-and-out superhero. He is invulnerable, possesses superhuman strength, and the power of super-sonic flight. He is also very sarcastic.
• Jason Bateman as Ray Embrey, a corporate public relations consultant whose life is saved by Hancock. Bateman said, “It was a fun thing to play, a very idealistic guy that’s trying to build up this suicidal, homeless alcoholic that then ends up hitting on my wife. It was a fun thing. To play the victim is funny.”
• Charlize Theron as Mary Embrey, the consultant’s wife.
• Johnny Galecki as the consultant’s co-worker

Links:

• Hancock 2008 superhero comedy film wallpapers and photos: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/hancock/

Get Smart 2008 Film Wallpapers and Reviews

Get Smart is an upcoming 2008 film adaptation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry’s hit 1960s spy parody television show Get Smart.

The film will star Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99. Alan Arkin will play the Chief. Masi Oka, Terence Stamp, Dwayne Johnson and Dalip “The Great Khali” Singh will also star.

Bungling secret agent Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86 for CONTROL, is on a mission to battle the forces of their evil crime nemesis known as KAOS with his more-competent partner Agent 99, (whose real name is never revealed) at his side.

When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreams of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23. Smart will do whatever it takes to thwart the latest plot for world domination by KAOS.

Bill Murray and Patrick Warburton make cameos in the film, as does Bernie Kopell, who played Siegfried in the original series. Shooting began February 2007, and was continuing as of June 2007. It is rated PG-13 by the MPAA “for some crude humor, action violence and language.”

Cast:

• Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart/Agent 86
• Anne Hathaway as Agent 99
• Alan Arkin as The Chief
• Dwayne Johnson as Agent 23
• Terence Stamp as Siegfried
• David Koechner as Agent Larabee
• Terry Crews as Agent 91
• Masi Oka as Bruce
• Nate Torrence as Lloyd
• Ken Davitian as Shtarker
• Dalip Singh (The Great Khali) as Agent Rana
• Bill Murray (cameo) as Agent 13
• Patrick Warburton (cameo) as Hymie the Robot
• Bernie Kopell (cameo) as Siegfried
• James Caan as the President of the United States

Links:

• Get Smart 2008 Film Wallpapers and Reviews: http://www.boxist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/get-smart-film-2008.jpg

Speed Racer Film 2008

Speed Racer is a 2008 film that is a live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese anime series Speed Racer. The film is written and directed by the Wachowski brothers, who also serve as co-producers. The film had been in development since 1992, changing writers and directors until producer Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers collaborated to begin production on Speed Racer as a family film so the directors could reach a wider audience.

Actor Emile Hirsch was cast as Speed, the hero of the animated series, and Christina Ricci portrays Speed’s girlfriend, Trixie. Speed Racer was shot between June and November 2007 in Potsdam and Berlin, Germany at an estimated budget of $100,000,000. Most of the filming took place at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam, where the footage was shot entirely against greenscreen.

The Wachowski brothers also filmed in high-definition video for the first time, using a layering method to put both the foreground and the background of scenes in focus to have a real-life anime appearance. Marketers have prepared toys and video games to coincide with the film’s release. Speed Racer premiered on May 3, 2008 as the closing film at the Tribeca Film Festival, and was released on May 9, 2008.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a young 18-year old man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win the Casa Cristo, a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer (Scott Porter). Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Sarandon). Pops designed Speed’s car, the Mach 5. The owner of Royalton Industries (Roger Allam) makes Speed a lucrative offer, but Speed rejects the offer, angering the owner.

Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing races and cheating to gain profit. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton wants to ensure that Speed will not win races. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X (Matthew Fox), seeking to rescue his family’s business and the racing sport itself.

In September 1992, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it held the option to create a live action film adaptation of Speed Racer, in development at Silver Pictures. In October 1994, singer Henry Rollins was offered the role of Racer X in the film. In June 1995, actor Johnny Depp was cast into the lead role for Speed Racer, with production slated to begin the coming October, with filming to take place in California and Arizona.

The following August, Depp requested time off to the studio for personal business, delaying production. However, due to a high budget, the same August, director Julien Temple, who was attached to direct Speed Racer, left the project. Depp, without a director, also departed from the project. The studio considered director Gus Van Sant as a replacement for Temple, though it would not grant writing privileges to Van Sant. In December 1997, the studio briefly hired director Alfonso Cuarón for Speed Racer. In the various incarnations of the project, screenwriters Marc Levin, Jennifer Flackett, J. J. Abrams, and Patrick Read Johnson had been hired to write scripts.

In September 2000, Warner Bros. Pictures and producer Lauren Shuler Donner hired writer-director Hype Williams to take the helm of Speed Racer. In October 2001, the studio hired screenwriters Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring for $1.2 million split between them to write a script for the film. Eventually, without production going underway, the director and the writers left the project. In June 2004, actor Vince Vaughn spearheaded a revival of the project by presenting a take for the film that would develop the characters more strongly. Vaughn was cast as Racer X and was also attached to the project as an executive producer. With production never becoming active, Vaughn was eventually detached from the project.

In addition to the orchestral score, WB added an updated version of the “Go, Speed Racer, Go” theme song which plays during the end credits. Produced by Ali Dee and Jason Gleed, performed by Ali Dee and the Deekompressors. The film version has sections in English, Japanese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $18.5 million in 3,606 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking third at the box office behind Iron Man (in its second weekend) and What Happens in Vegas…. The results were well below studio expectations, given that production costs of Speed Racer are estimated to be well over $100 million USD. Despite the low box office numbers, Warner Brothers remains optimistic about sales of associated products ranging from toys to tennis shoes. “We’re still going to do very well with Speed Racer,” says Brad Globe, president of Warner Brothers Consumer Products, acknowledging “a giant movie would have made it all a lot bigger.”

Cast:

• Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer. Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zac Efron, and Shia LaBeouf were previously considered for the role. To prepare for the role, Hirsch watched every Speed Racer episode and visited Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where he met with driver Jimmie Johnson.
• Nicholas Elia as young Speed Racer.
• John Goodman as Pops Racer, Speed’s father.
• Susan Sarandon as Mom Racer, Speed’s mother.
• Christina Ricci as Trixie, Speed’s girlfriend. Ricci was chosen over Elisha Cuthbert and Kate Mara.
• Ariel Winter as young Trixie.
• Paulie Litt as Spritle, Speed’s younger brother.
• Matthew Fox as Racer X Keanu Reeves turned down the role.
• Nayo Wallace as Minx, Racer X’s girlfriend.
• Hiroyuki Sanada as Mr. Musha, a businessman.
• Rain as Taejo Togokhan, a rookie racer. Rain made his first appearance in a Hollywood film with Speed Racer.
• Yu Nan as the sister of Taejo Togokhan.
• Richard Roundtree as Ben Burns, a commentator who was formerly a racer.
• Benno Furmann as Inspector Detector.
• Roger Allam as Royalton, the corrupt owner of Royalton Industries.
• Kick Gurry as Sparky, Speed’s mechanic.
• Scott Porter as Rex Racer, Speed’s older brother.
• A chimpanzee as Chim Chim, Spritle’s pet. Two chimpanzees were used to portray Chim Chim: Kenzie and Willy.
• Melvil Poupaud as a race commentator.
• Christian Oliver as Snake Oiler.
• Milka Duno as Gearbox.
• Peter Fernandez as a race commentator. (Cameo, original voice of Speed)

Links

• Speed Racer Film 2008 Wallpapers and Photos: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/speed-racer/