Entertainment Roundtable
Holly Hunter and guest star Christina Ricci in “Saving Grace.”
The entertainment team at The Oklahoman and NewsOK – Gene Triplett, George Lang, Matt Price and me – talk about “Watchmen,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “Saving Grace” in this week’s Entertainment Roundtable. Click here to check it out.
UPDATE: Or check out this video version of the Entertainment Roundtable:
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Video: Weekend Look Sneak Peek
We’ll have stories on the hotly anticipated film “Watchmen” and my interview with one of the New Kids on the Block, who are coming to Tulsa, in this Friday’s Weekend Look. Check out this week’s Sneak Peek for more.
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Box office report
“Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail”
For the second week in a row, “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail” nabbed the No. 1 spot at the box office, according to the Associated Press.
The film, starring Perry in his gun-toting granny alter ego Madea, made another $16.5 million over the weekend. The two previous films starring Perry’s colorful character – 2005′s “Diary of Mad Black Woman” and 2006′s “Madea’s Family Reunion” – also debuted at No. 1 and grossed more than $150 million total.
It’s doubtful Perry’s film will continue its run in the No. 1 spot. The highly anticipated film version of the acclaimed graphic novel “Watchmen” opens Friday.
The Jonas Brothers at the Hollywood premiere of their concert film. (Associated Press photo)
“Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” came in second over the weekend with $12.7 million. The boy band notched the second-biggest opening for a concert film, behind last year’s “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert.”
The other new wide release, the video game adaptation “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li,” opened at No. 8 with $4.6 million.
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Slumdog Millionaire,” danced higher up the top 10 list after winning eight Oscars last week. The film came in third, just behind the Jonas Brothers, with $12.1 million. Danny Boyle’s life-affirming film now has made a total of $115 million and experienced the biggest post-Academy Awards weekend for a best picture Oscar winner in 10 years, according to the AP.
Here is the weekend’s top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail,” $16.5 million.
2. “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” $12.7 million.
3. “Slumdog Millionaire,” $12.1 million.
4. “Taken,” $9.9 million.
“He’s Just Not That Into You”
5. “He’s Just Not That Into You,” $5.8 million.
6. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” $5.6 million.
7. “Coraline,” $5.2 million.
8. “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li,” $4.6 million.
9. “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” $4.4 million.
10. “Fired Up,” 3.8 million.
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Video: Weekend Look Sneak Peek
Entertainment Editor Gene Triplett, Assistant Features Editor Matt Price and I talk about the stories coming up in this Friday’s Weekend Look in this week’s Sneak Peek video.
The big story this week will be Matt’s feature on Jackie Earle Haley, who plays Rorschach in the upcoming film version of “Watchmen.” Matt attended the film junket in Los Angeles, and he’ll be bringing many stories on the anticipated film in the coming days.
Also in this week’s Weekend Look, you’ll find my feature on Nicolas D’Agosto, star of “Fired Up!,” and Gene’s story on Denton, Texas, band Brave Combo.
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“Watchmen” headlines the movie slate for winter, spring
“Watchmen”
My colleague George Lang and I compiled this story on the movies coming up at Oklahoma City theaters during winter and spring. It covers today through the last weekend in April; look for our wrap of the summer blockbuster season in spring. All trailers are embedded here courtesy YouTube. A version of this story also appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Winter/spring film wrap
Quality movies tend to be a little slow out of the gate in January, but a rush of first-rate “awards season” films such as “Frost/Nixon” and “The Wrestler” kept Oklahoma City moviegoers warm during these icy days.
And now that “Watchmen” is confirmed for release after intra-studio legal maneuvering, the upcoming movie season is looking positively super-powered.
The following is a list of major films set for release through early May. All dates are subject to change as the season moves forward and studios jockey for prime opening-weekend positions.
“Taken” trailer:
Today
A young woman (Emily Browning) is warned by her mother’s ghost about the murderous motives of her stepmother-to-be (Elizabeth Banks) in “The Uninvited.”
Kristin Scott Thomas plays a former convict reunited with her sister in the French import “I’ve Loved You So Long.”
Liam Neeson plays an ex-government agent hunting in Paris’ underworld for his kidnapped daughter in “Taken.”
“New in Town” stars Renee Zellweger as a tough, Miami, Fla.-based business consultant who meets with a frosty reception when she’s sent to a small Minnesota town to supervise the restructuring of a local manufacturing plant.
“Coraline” trailer:
Feb. 6
Young psychics (Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans) try to end the government program that gave them their powers in “Push.”
Greg Behrendt’s best-selling, comedic self-help book becomes a star-studded romantic comedy featuring Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Connelly in “He’s Just Not That Into You.”
Steve Martin searches again for the elusive titular pink diamond in his role as Inspector Clouseau in “Pink Panther 2.”
Director Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) returns with “Coraline,” Neil Gaiman’s story about a young girl (voiced by Fanning) who discovers an alternate-reality family living in the walls of her rambling house.
“The International” trailer:
Feb. 13
An Interpol agent (Clive Owen) and a New York district attorney (Naomi Watts) take on a global banking power in “The International.”
Hockey-masked killer Jason gets a new lease on life – and death – in “Friday the 13th.”
A pathological purchaser (Isla Fisher) tries to get a job at her favorite fashion magazine in “Confessions of a Shopaholic.”
Director Ari Folman reconstructs his memories of an Israeli army mission during the first Lebanon War through animation in “Waltz With Bashir.”
“Fired Up” trailer:
Feb. 20
Two popular high school football players ditch the pigskin to become cheerleaders in “Fired Up.”
Tyler Perry’s petulant granny dishes out some caged heat in “Madea Goes to Jail.”
“Jonas Brothers” trailer:
Feb. 27
Kristin Kreuk of “Smallville” leaps into action in the video-game adaptation “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.”
The brotherly boy band of the moment delivers its first live performance film in “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Movie.”
“Watchmen” trailer:
March 6
While creator Alan Moore disowns all film versions of his work, the buzz is huge for “Watchmen,” “300″ director Zack Snyder’s adaptation of `Moore’s dystopian graphic novel about masked avengers solving the murder of one of their own in 1985, during Richard Nixon’s fifth term in office.
“Miss March” trailer:
March 13
A young man awakens from a four-year coma to discover that his high school angel is a centerfold in “Miss March.”
Dwayne Johnson helps re-launch a classic Disney live-action series in “Race to Witch Mountain,” in which two teens with supernatural powers lead a Las Vegas cabbie through a bizarre adventure.
“Duplicity” trailer:
March 20
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen (“Closer”) reunite for “Duplicity,” writer-director Tony Gilroy’s (“Michael Clayton”) caper about corporate spies with a sexy past hooking up to con their companies.
In “Sunshine Cleaning,” a cash-strapped single mom (Amy Adams) and her slacker sister (Emily Blunt) start a crime-scene cleanup service.
After alarming predictions encased in the time capsule at his son’s school prove true, a professor (Nicolas Cage) tries to stop the other forecasts from happening in “Knowing.”
And in “I Love You, Man,” a friendless groom (Paul Rudd) goes on a series of man-dates to find a best man for his wedding, which gains him a best friend (Jason Segel) but threatens his bond with his fiancee (Rashida Jones).
“Monsters vs. Aliens” trailer:
March 27
In “Monsters vs. Aliens,” monsters locked away in a secret government compound must save the Earth when space aliens attack. The 3-D animated movie features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Colbert and more.
Writer-director Greg Mottola (“Superbad”) flashes back to summer 1987, when a recent college graduate (Jesse Eisenberg) takes a dead-end job at an amusement park that prepares him for life in “Adventureland.” The film also stars Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds.
In “12 Rounds,” a detective (John Cena) must complete 12 challenges to save his kidnapped girl-friend (Ashley Scott).
And Ice Cube and Mike Epps star as shady concert promoters who find trouble when their plan to book a star rapper (Young Jeezy) goes wrong in “Janky Promoters.”
“Fast & Furious” trailer:
April 3
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker (2001′s “The Fast and the Furious”) reprise their respective roles as an ex-con and federal agent with a shared love of fast cars in “Fast & Furious,” the latest flick in the franchise.
“Dragonball: Evolution” trailer:
April 8
Based on Akira Toriyama’s popular manga series, “Dragonball: Evolution” follows a warrior (Justin Chatwin) and his master (Chow Yun-Fat) trying to save the Earth from evil alien forces.
“Hannah Montana” trailer:
April 10
The smash-hit Disney Channel show gets the film treatment with “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” starring Miley Ray Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus and Emily Osment.
And look out “Paul Blart,” Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta and Patton Oswalt star in “Observe and Report,” a comedy about a bipolar mall security guard (Rogen) and a cranky cop (Liotta) who team up to catch a flasher.
“State of Play” trailer:
April 17
The political thriller “State of Play,” based on the BBC series of the same name, stars Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Viola Davis, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels and Jason Bateman.
Matthew Perry and Zac Efron play the same guy at two different ages in “17 Again,” a comedy about a disappointed man who reverts to his teenage self.
And in “Crank 2: High Voltage,” assassin Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) again races for his life, this time in pursuit of the mobster who has stolen his high-tech heart.
“Earth” trailer:
April 22
The Disney documentary “Earth,” based on the TV series “Planet Earth,” follows the migratory paths of four animal families.
“The Soloist” trailer:
April 24
Based on a true story, “The Soloist” centers on a musically gifted homeless man (Jamie Foxx) and the reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) who befriends the man and discovers his talents.
In “Obsessed,” a stalker (Ali Larter) targets a well-heeled businessman (Idris Elba) and his lovely spouse (Beyonce Knowles).
And in “Fighting,” an experienced con artist (Terrence Howard) introduces a young crook (Channing Tatum) to New York City’s underground street fighting scene.
“The Hurt Locker” trailer:
Spring
The Iraq War thriller “The Hurt Locker” follows an elite U.S. military bomb-detonating unit. (No release date set.)
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Fox and Warner Bros. come to terms over “Watchmen”
Nerds from coast to coast can sleep easier tonight.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have reached a settlement in their dispute over the film version of “Watchmen.”
The studios are slated to present the settlement to Judge Gary Feess and request that the copyright infringement suit be dismissed.
According to the trade publication, the terms of the agreement were not revealed, but as expected, it all came down to lots and lots of money. The settlement is supposed to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film’s box-office grosses, which considering all the buzz surrounding the film, should be considerable.
Fox will not co-distribute the film with Warner Bros., nor will the studio co-own the “Watchmen” property. Fox filed a copyright infringement suit against Warner Bros. in February; Feess ruled last month that Warner Bros. had not properly secured the rights to “Watchmen” from Fox before making the film
The $130 million adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel will open in theaters March 6.
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Fox, Warner Bros. reportedly close to “Watchmen” settlement
Let’s hope they mean really close.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. and Fox are “close” to reaching a settlement in the lawsuit that has put the release of the film version of “Watchmen” in jeopardy.
Citing “those familiar with the dealmaking,” the trade publication reports that a settlement could close out the copyright infringement suit that has entangled the two studios and kept fans of the celebrated graphic novel worried about the film fate of The Comedian, Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan.
Federal Judge Gary Feess recently ruled that Fox has distribution rights to the film, which Warner Bros. plans to release March 6. According to HR, negotiations between the two sides “got serious during the weekend,” and their reps had a closed-door meeting Monday in Los Angeles federal court to work out the details.
Neither side would comment on the discussions, according to the trade publication, who said they took place for about 30 minutes in the judge’s chambers. If the two sides don’t reach a settlement, the judge is set to make a decision on Jan. 20.
Watching the NFL games this weekend, I noticed a stepped-up ad campaign for “Watchmen,” which I’m taking as a hopeful sign that the film will come out as plan. I’ve started reading the graphic novel – a lovely Christmas gift from my friend, colleague and NewsOK’s chief nerd Matt Price of the Nerdage blog – since this is one of the most anticipated films of the year.
Check out the new “Watchmen” TV spot, posted here courtesy of YouTube.
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