Premiere's Movie News and Views

Weekend Movie Roundup: Summer Gets a Sense of Humor

 

If there's something you've been desperately craving at theaters but can't quite put your finger on what it is, we'll lend a hand. There hasn't been a balls-out live-action comedy in theaters since...Hot Tub Time Machine. All these sleek, rehashed action movies are threatening to turn America into a bunch of joyless, scowl-faced drones (also known as airbenders). Enter Dinner for Schmucks. Arriving with impeccable timing, the comedy stars Paul Rudd as a corporate climber invited to an annual dinner in celebration/humiliation of a slew of accessorizing eccentrics (including Steve Carrel). 

Charlie St. Cloud also hits theaters today, starring Zac Efron as a grief-stricken townie who juggles games of catch with his dead brother and romantic courtship. You know, incase Twilight hasn't given teenage girls enough depromance. Last up is Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, the follow-up to the original pet war.

Short Takes: Sasha Grey Goes Legit; Miramax Company Finally Sold

Sasha Grey Parlays Girlfriend Experience Into Mainstream

Adult film star Sasha Grey, who most recently climbed halfway out of the porn industry with The Girlfriend Experience, may just make the full transition. She's in talks to star in the Mark Pellington drama I Melt With You, alongside Thomas Jane and Rob Lowe. [Latino Review]

Bill and Ted's Dream within a Dream

Somebody spliced the Hans Zimmer score and voice-overs of Inception with Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Highbrow epic meets lowbrow epic. [First Showing]

Miramax Finally Sold 

After myriad speculation about who would buy Miramax Films and how (abusively) they would treat the indie film company, the uncertainty is over. Filmyard Holdings, led by financier Ronald Tucker, recently purchased Miramax for $660 million. [Cinema Blend]

One Night With The King...In A Movie Theater

Last night I got to see Elvis on Tour on the big screen for the first, and possibly only, time in my life. It was a one-night-only NCM Fathom event you've probably seen promos for while waiting for your movie to start. Before last night I never considered attending one of these events, but mention Elvis Presley and I'm there.

It's all part of the 75th anniversary celebration of Elvis' birth, which happened way back on January 8th, 1935. This event was a prelude to the annual Elvis Week down in Memphis, which begins on August 10th and culminates with a candlelight vigil starting on the night of the 15th and runs well into the 16th, the day he died. [All the event details are at Elvis.com].

Elvis on Tour was originally released in 1972 as a follow up to the much more enthralling and energetic  Elvis: The Way It Is, which chronicled his Vegas shows. On Tour has a lot of music, 25 songs in all, but it's a much more intimate look at the man who was entering the tragic twilight of his career. He'd be gone in 5 years so, looking back, this was the last shot to humanize the larger-than-life figure. The only thing remaining after this was the TV special "Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii" a year later, but that was just a show. This was his life, and while it's not nearly as probing as what we've come to expect from celebrity documentaries, it comes very close to knowing the man. (This Is Elvis, a documentary released in 1981, comes closer.) Those quiet nervous moments before a show, him hanging with the band jamming out on gospel tunes, and a few audio clips from a revealing late-night clandestine interview behind Col. Parker's back. The King looks a bit tired and worn out, but he's still giving it his all. His voice might not have the same punch it once had, but he could still hit all the notes and give a show that we'd crawl through dirty needles to have seen in person.

Back to the event.

I saw it at the Union Square Theater in NYC. You might think a show like this wouldn't garner much attention in Yankee country, but the theater was sold out. It was a sea of older men and women, thrilled to experience On Tour on a big screen surrounded by fellow Elvis worshipers. There were the Elvis faithful, wearing their commemorative T-shirts from past events and those iconic sunglasses. There were even a few kids, clearly dragged along by their parents who probably had to coax them in by saying "He's like the Justin Bieber of his time...only talented."

Short Takes: Guillermo Del Toro Picks Next Project; Rebooted Superman May Be Mad

 

Guillermo Del Toro Stands At The Mountains of Madness

After leaving The Hobbit, speculation on Del Toro's next project has run rampant. Turns out its going to be a big-budget, 3-D, H.P. Lovecraft Horror/Adventure. [Slash Film]

Len Wiseman Experiences His Own Total Recall

Director Len Wiseman (Underworld), otherwise known as Mr. Kate Beckinsale, is gearing up to helm Total Recall remake. The film will be a "contemporized adaptation," which is fancy code for special effects-laden Hollywood makeover. [Cinematical]

Mad Superman

The next Superman's kryptonite might be highball cocktails. Although not confirmed at Comic-Con, inside sources are fingering John Hamm for the title role in the Superman re-reboot. While Hamm's age is a factor hurting his chances, it's not like youth worked last time. [ScreenRant] 

BOXOGRAPHY: Angelina Jolie's Story, As Told By The Box Office

Last week, Angelina Jolie returned to ass-kicking form with Salt -- and audiences welcomed her with a $36 million opening weekend. The haul placed Salt behind Inception, but it’s nothing to sniff at. As Jennifer Garner and Jodie Foster know all too well, movie-goers aren’t always so nice to female action stars. Jolie’s 15-year career proves that she is a notable exception. Here are all of the worldwide grosses for movies she has appeared in, according to website BoxOfficeMojo.

Hackers (1995): $7,563,728

Foxfire (1996): $269,300

Love Is All There Is (1996): $61,875

Playing God (1997): $4,166,918

Playing by Heart (1999): $3,970,078

Pushing Tin (1999): $8,408,835

The Bone Collector (1999): $151,493,655

Hell’s Kitchen (1999): $11,710

Girl, Interrupted (1999): $48,350,205

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000): $237,202,299

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001): $274,703,340

Original Sin (2001): $35,402,320

Life, or Something Like It (2002): $16,872,671

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003): $156,505,388

Beyond Borders (2003): $11,705,002

Taking Lives (2004): $65,470,529

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004): $57,958,696

Shark Tale (2004): $367,275,019

Alexander (2004): $167,298,192

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005): $478,207,520

The Good Shepherd (2006): $99,480,480

A Mighty Heart (2007): $18,935,657

Beowulf (2007): $196,393,745

Kung Fu Panda (2008): $631,744,560

Wanted (2008): $341,433,252

Changeling (2008): $113,020,256

Salt (2010): $36,011,243*

TOTAL BOX OFFICE AMOUNT: $3,529,916,473

*These are the receipts reported as of  6/26/10

-- Kristin Hunt