During the Extract panel in Hall H today, Jason Bateman was on stage and the inevitable quesiton came up: what’s up with the Arrested Development movie? Bateman didn’t have any breaking news, but said specifically “it is not dead. There is no reason to think that it is dead.” Bateman explained that series creator Mitch Hurwitz has been too busy with television work to write the film, but that now that those obligations are out of the way he could be writing soon.
So when are we actually going to hear about the film, and what’s the iea going to be?
It could be as early as the next six months or as late as 18. Mitch hasn’t told me what he has in mind. As fans of the show know, you can look at the very last scene of the last episode, [which] kind of dovetails into what the film could be. Maybe pitches to Ron Howard the idea about making a show about the family. He says “no, that wouldn’t work, but maybe a movie.” Read into that what you will.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
SDCC Exclusive: Pirates 4 Starts Shooting Spring '10!
Comic-Con is in full swing at this point, and ComingSoon.net got a surprise interview with Disney's Head of Production Oren Aviv where we talked about the genesis of some of the projects they were showing at the con, though we did have a lot of questions about future Disney plans as well. One of the movies that's still on the forefront of everyone's mind is the fourth installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean." Producer Jerry Bruckheimer told us a few weeks back that they were working on a script, but Aviv and Disney are definitely on board as we learned when we discovered that they have plans to be rolling film on the movie as early as next year.
"We're going to shoot 'Pirates 4' in April or May of next year," Aviv told us during our interview. "We are going to release it hopefully in 2011 is the plan." He said that this time they would only be doing one movie this time that would "hopefully be the first of another trilogy."
"It's important to get the story right and it's important to me to scale it down, because we can't get bigger," Aviv admitted. "The movies have subsequently gotten bigger and bigger and very complicated and they were satisfying on so many levels obviously, but I want to kind of reboot the whole thing and bring it down to its core, its essence, just characters." He agreed that there is a lot of Captain Jack Sparrow's back story that we haven't seen yet without confirming or denying that we might see some of that in the fourth movie. Still no word on whether Gore Verbinski might come back for the fourth movie.
Look for our full interview with Mr. Aviv very soon. It will definitely be of great interest to anyone who is wondering how Disney has been making decisions about some of the movies they've been making and will make in the future.
"We're going to shoot 'Pirates 4' in April or May of next year," Aviv told us during our interview. "We are going to release it hopefully in 2011 is the plan." He said that this time they would only be doing one movie this time that would "hopefully be the first of another trilogy."
"It's important to get the story right and it's important to me to scale it down, because we can't get bigger," Aviv admitted. "The movies have subsequently gotten bigger and bigger and very complicated and they were satisfying on so many levels obviously, but I want to kind of reboot the whole thing and bring it down to its core, its essence, just characters." He agreed that there is a lot of Captain Jack Sparrow's back story that we haven't seen yet without confirming or denying that we might see some of that in the fourth movie. Still no word on whether Gore Verbinski might come back for the fourth movie.
Look for our full interview with Mr. Aviv very soon. It will definitely be of great interest to anyone who is wondering how Disney has been making decisions about some of the movies they've been making and will make in the future.
Iron Man 2 and Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. is joining Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) in Due Date, the comedy that Todd Phillips will dire
Iron Man 2 and Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. is joining Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) in Due Date, the comedy that Todd Phillips will direct for Warner Bros. this fall.
Downey will play an expectant father who finds himself on a road trip with a mismatched partner, as he races to get there before the birth of his first child.
Galifianakis plays his road trip mate in a comedy that Phillips calls "a buddy comedy without the buddies."
The script was written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, and revised by Adam Sztykiel. Shooting will begin in September, in Atlanta, Arizona and Los Angeles.
Downey will play an expectant father who finds himself on a road trip with a mismatched partner, as he races to get there before the birth of his first child.
Galifianakis plays his road trip mate in a comedy that Phillips calls "a buddy comedy without the buddies."
The script was written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, and revised by Adam Sztykiel. Shooting will begin in September, in Atlanta, Arizona and Los Angeles.
Friday, July 24, 2009
SDCC Exclusive: Kurt Russell in Talks for Red Dawn!
ComingSoon.net exclusively learned today at the San Diego Comic-Con that Kurt Russell is talks to star in Red Dawn, the MGM remake scheduled for a September 24, 2010 release.
To be directed by Dan Bradley, the war film's cast includes Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek, upcoming Thor), Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki (upcoming Legion).
The original Red Dawn was the Cold War brainchild of writer-director John Milius, who devised a World War III invasion of America by the Soviets and Cubans. The film followed the scrappy insurgency of a group of Midwestern teenagers who take on their high school mascot name -- "Wolverines!" -- as a rallying cry of resistance.
To be directed by Dan Bradley, the war film's cast includes Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek, upcoming Thor), Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki (upcoming Legion).
The original Red Dawn was the Cold War brainchild of writer-director John Milius, who devised a World War III invasion of America by the Soviets and Cubans. The film followed the scrappy insurgency of a group of Midwestern teenagers who take on their high school mascot name -- "Wolverines!" -- as a rallying cry of resistance.
SDCC: Michael Keaton Confirmed for Toy Story 3
Director Lee Unkrich confirmed the rumors that Michael Keaton will voice Ken in Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar's Toy Story 3 at the San Diego Comic-Con today.
John Lasseter said that "For 'Toy Story 3' we have the entire voice cast return. Barbie is back and in a much larger roll alongside Ken."
He added that "it's a totally different emotional core that this movie has. We're really excited for it."
The third installment hits theaters in Disney Digital 3-D on June 18, 2010.
John Lasseter said that "For 'Toy Story 3' we have the entire voice cast return. Barbie is back and in a much larger roll alongside Ken."
He added that "it's a totally different emotional core that this movie has. We're really excited for it."
The third installment hits theaters in Disney Digital 3-D on June 18, 2010.
Gary Oldman Claims Next Batman Movie Starts Shooting in 2010
During the Book of Eli presentation at Comic-Con 2009, Gary Oldman was asked when we would be seeing a third Batman movie. I, like many others, were expecting the standard answer “we’re waiting on Chris…” But we got something else entirely. According to Oldman, a sequel to The Dark Knight is not only happening, but it begins shooting in 2010.
“The next batman is next year, so I think it is two years away. But you didn’t hear it from me.”
It didn’t appear that Oldman was joking, nor did it appear that he was speculating. As far as we know, Christopher Nolan has yet to commit to a third film. We’ll keep you updated.
“The next batman is next year, so I think it is two years away. But you didn’t hear it from me.”
It didn’t appear that Oldman was joking, nor did it appear that he was speculating. As far as we know, Christopher Nolan has yet to commit to a third film. We’ll keep you updated.
Dominic Monaghan Joins the Cast of FlashForward
Dominic Monaghan ("Lost") is joining the cast of ABC's new fall drama, "FlashForward," which premieres on Thursday, September 24 on the ABC Television Network.
What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? In "FlashForward," when the world's population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided.
Aside from "Lost," Monaghan is also known for his portrayal of Hobbit Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. He recently appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and guest starred on "Chuck."
"FlashForward" stars Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford, John Cho as Demetri Noh, Jack Davenport as Lloyd Simcoe, Courtney B. Vance as Stan Wedeck, Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford, Brían F. O'Byrne as Aaron Stark, Christine Woods as Janis Hawk, Zachary Knighton as Bryce Varley and Peyton List as Nicole.
The series executive producers are David S. Goyer (co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), Brannon Braga ("24," Star Trek), Marc Guggenheim ("Brothers & Sisters," "Eli Stone") and Jessika Borsiczky Goyer ("Revelations").
What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? In "FlashForward," when the world's population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided.
Aside from "Lost," Monaghan is also known for his portrayal of Hobbit Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. He recently appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and guest starred on "Chuck."
"FlashForward" stars Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford, John Cho as Demetri Noh, Jack Davenport as Lloyd Simcoe, Courtney B. Vance as Stan Wedeck, Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford, Brían F. O'Byrne as Aaron Stark, Christine Woods as Janis Hawk, Zachary Knighton as Bryce Varley and Peyton List as Nicole.
The series executive producers are David S. Goyer (co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), Brannon Braga ("24," Star Trek), Marc Guggenheim ("Brothers & Sisters," "Eli Stone") and Jessika Borsiczky Goyer ("Revelations").
The-Dream Announces "Love King" Will Be Last Album
Singer/songwriter The-Dream announced via his Twitter page yesterday (July 23) that his third studio album, "Love King," slated for a late 2009 release, will be his last.
"I am engaged and 'Love King' IS going to be my LAST album!" he tweeted. In a subsequent post, The-Dream explained, "It is going to be [his] last bcuz, everybody is trying to 'KILL THE DREAM!' [The Dream is] the ONLY one that can end [his] career," although he did clarify he "will still be producing, writing, and featuring on other artist albums though."
During a video interview with Vlad.tv that has been making its rounds on the internet recently, The-Dream said he has finished recording three additional records for the deluxe edition of his sophomore album, "Love Vs. Money," although no release date has been announced yet. The singer talked about his desire to add songs that would make the album "more upbeat 'cause it was a real dark album," stating that one of the new tracks is titled "Hit In On The Road," a "real fun" record.
The-Dream is said to be in the studio with Mariah Carey, working on her upcoming album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," among others. The first single, "Obsessed," co-written and produced by Carey, The-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart is currently No. 28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
"I am engaged and 'Love King' IS going to be my LAST album!" he tweeted. In a subsequent post, The-Dream explained, "It is going to be [his] last bcuz, everybody is trying to 'KILL THE DREAM!' [The Dream is] the ONLY one that can end [his] career," although he did clarify he "will still be producing, writing, and featuring on other artist albums though."
During a video interview with Vlad.tv that has been making its rounds on the internet recently, The-Dream said he has finished recording three additional records for the deluxe edition of his sophomore album, "Love Vs. Money," although no release date has been announced yet. The singer talked about his desire to add songs that would make the album "more upbeat 'cause it was a real dark album," stating that one of the new tracks is titled "Hit In On The Road," a "real fun" record.
The-Dream is said to be in the studio with Mariah Carey, working on her upcoming album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," among others. The first single, "Obsessed," co-written and produced by Carey, The-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart is currently No. 28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Robert Zemeckis Can’t Confirm or Deny Roger Rabbit Sequel Rumors
Director Robert Zemeckis was asked during the Disney panel if the rumors were true that he was going to make a Who Framed Roger Rabbit sequel. Zemeckis smiled and went on to dodge the question, saying that he could “neither confirm or deny” the rumor. One would think that if there was nothing to it what-so-ever, he would have flat out denied the story. The crowd at Comic-Con were not happy with the response and booed, forcing Zemeckis to reveal more of his hand.
“I will tell you this, if that ever does happen, the 2D characters from the original movie will remain 2D. They will not be dimensionalized. Not to say there wont be 3D [in the movie].”
So there you have it. No solid answer but it sounds like something is definitely cooking behind the scenes.
“I will tell you this, if that ever does happen, the 2D characters from the original movie will remain 2D. They will not be dimensionalized. Not to say there wont be 3D [in the movie].”
So there you have it. No solid answer but it sounds like something is definitely cooking behind the scenes.
Ratings: Is Hell's Kitchen Still Hot?
Some recent ratings highlights:
Monday
• The Bachelorette's "Men Tell All" special spoke to 7.98 million total viewers, up a hair from the show's previous Monday outing. ABC's Dating in the Dark held onto 77 percent of that lead-in, premiering to 6.34 mil.
Tuesday
• America's Got Talent topped the night with 13.64 million viewers, up 470K from last week.
• The Hell's Kitchen season-opener served up an audience of 6.47 mil over its two-hour run, and bested its rivals in certain demographics. The series' two previous premieres, both of which benefited from an American Idol lead-in, delivered 11.08 mil and 12.55 mil.
• Big Brother 11 (5.8 mil) dipped 7 percent from last week.
• Look, it's Medium — on CBS! The Eye's repeat airing of an episode of the NBC castoff drew 4.03 mil. New episodes arrive Friday, Sept. 25, at 9/8 CT.
Monday
• The Bachelorette's "Men Tell All" special spoke to 7.98 million total viewers, up a hair from the show's previous Monday outing. ABC's Dating in the Dark held onto 77 percent of that lead-in, premiering to 6.34 mil.
Tuesday
• America's Got Talent topped the night with 13.64 million viewers, up 470K from last week.
• The Hell's Kitchen season-opener served up an audience of 6.47 mil over its two-hour run, and bested its rivals in certain demographics. The series' two previous premieres, both of which benefited from an American Idol lead-in, delivered 11.08 mil and 12.55 mil.
• Big Brother 11 (5.8 mil) dipped 7 percent from last week.
• Look, it's Medium — on CBS! The Eye's repeat airing of an episode of the NBC castoff drew 4.03 mil. New episodes arrive Friday, Sept. 25, at 9/8 CT.
1000th Post: State of the Useless
This is my 1000th blog post on Useless News so I thought it would be wise to give a quick update on all the stuff that I am working on. All things are pretty much the same here at Useless News, but since I started this blog a little over a year ago I have branched out to several other projects, most of which can be found on the Useless Homepage.
The first side project I started is called Frickin’ Useless where I try to post at least one random thing that I find amusing, typically a video or dumb news story.
Next I started Useless Radio where I post things like interviews, videos, news, and other stuff related to music and you can also find the posts on urs.tumblr.com where I sometimes make extra posts. UR then led me to create the Useless Radio Show which is my podcast where I talk about and play music.
Then I created Useless Movie Database which I transferred over to umdb.tumblr.com and it is where I post movie related things.
And just recently I created twitter.com/uselessbits where I post little bits of information that I find interesting.
The first side project I started is called Frickin’ Useless where I try to post at least one random thing that I find amusing, typically a video or dumb news story.
Next I started Useless Radio where I post things like interviews, videos, news, and other stuff related to music and you can also find the posts on urs.tumblr.com where I sometimes make extra posts. UR then led me to create the Useless Radio Show which is my podcast where I talk about and play music.
Then I created Useless Movie Database which I transferred over to umdb.tumblr.com and it is where I post movie related things.
And just recently I created twitter.com/uselessbits where I post little bits of information that I find interesting.
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Hoskins Still Planning a Roger Rabbit Sequel?
Harry Knowles has today published a telephone interview with Robert Zemeckis at Aint it Cool. For the most part they talk about A Christmas Carol, detailing the shape the film is in today and how it is going to showcase advances in performance capture technology and so on, but the chatter comes around, with seeming inevitability, to one of Zemckis’ past projects.
Bob Hoskins is appearing in Carol as Fezziwig, past employer of Ebeneezer Scrooge. According to Zemeckis, on set (or, perhaps more properly, “in volume”) conversation touched upon Who Framed Roger Rabbit and a potential return for Eddie Valliant, Hoskins’ character therein.
Here’s the back-and-forth between Harry and Bob, starting with Harry:
Did you have any discussions with him about returning as Eddie Valiant?
Oh yes, he always has them with me. He loves Eddie Valiant and he would love to do it. We talk about it and it’s something we are thinking about.
Something we are thinking about. Really? I do hope so.
There has been talk of a Roger Rabbit follow-up a good few times over the years, and I’ve even read the screenplay for one proposed picture. That one was going to be a prequel that took us from Roger’s early years to his mission to rescue Jessica Krupnick, later his wife, from the Nazis. Toon Platoon was planned as a direct-to-video picture and definitely wouldn’t have been directed by Zemeckis and, frankly, I’m rather grateful it wasn’t made at all. The low point, I think, was the revelation that Roger’s father was none other than… drumroll, please… Bugs Bunny. Ech.
Zemeckis suggests to Harry Knowles that any Roger Rabbit sequel would likely be a few years off, as he’s currently on something of a crusade. After Knowles asks Bob if he has any plans to return to live action film making, the reply comes as follows:
I’m really committed to getting this art form [performance capture] off of the ground, but of course I would and I’m never going to say never to anything, but right now though I really want to make sure that we get this out there so that younger filmmakers have these absolutely breathtaking tools that they can use.
There’s a lot of cynicism about performance capture out there, but I can’t say I share it. Zemeckis really is expanding the filmmakers’ toolkit, and I’m both impressed and actually rather grateful to him for it.
Bob Hoskins is appearing in Carol as Fezziwig, past employer of Ebeneezer Scrooge. According to Zemeckis, on set (or, perhaps more properly, “in volume”) conversation touched upon Who Framed Roger Rabbit and a potential return for Eddie Valliant, Hoskins’ character therein.
Here’s the back-and-forth between Harry and Bob, starting with Harry:
Did you have any discussions with him about returning as Eddie Valiant?
Oh yes, he always has them with me. He loves Eddie Valiant and he would love to do it. We talk about it and it’s something we are thinking about.
Something we are thinking about. Really? I do hope so.
There has been talk of a Roger Rabbit follow-up a good few times over the years, and I’ve even read the screenplay for one proposed picture. That one was going to be a prequel that took us from Roger’s early years to his mission to rescue Jessica Krupnick, later his wife, from the Nazis. Toon Platoon was planned as a direct-to-video picture and definitely wouldn’t have been directed by Zemeckis and, frankly, I’m rather grateful it wasn’t made at all. The low point, I think, was the revelation that Roger’s father was none other than… drumroll, please… Bugs Bunny. Ech.
Zemeckis suggests to Harry Knowles that any Roger Rabbit sequel would likely be a few years off, as he’s currently on something of a crusade. After Knowles asks Bob if he has any plans to return to live action film making, the reply comes as follows:
I’m really committed to getting this art form [performance capture] off of the ground, but of course I would and I’m never going to say never to anything, but right now though I really want to make sure that we get this out there so that younger filmmakers have these absolutely breathtaking tools that they can use.
There’s a lot of cynicism about performance capture out there, but I can’t say I share it. Zemeckis really is expanding the filmmakers’ toolkit, and I’m both impressed and actually rather grateful to him for it.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sam Raimi to Direct World of Warcraft Movie
Sam Raimi, director of Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, the Spider-Man films, has signed on to direct a big screen adaptation of World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The scoop was first reported by AICN and later confirmed by Variety, who also reports that The Dark Knight producer Charles Roven is also on board. The current plan is for Raimi to supervise the development of the movie and to begin production after Spider-Man 4.
“At its core, ‘Warcraft’ is a fantastic, action-packed story,” Raimi said in a statement.
The game was first introduced in 1994, and now has more than 11.5 million monthly subscribers. Legendary Pictures has been developing the film project for a few years now. 300 producer Thomas Tull revealed at BlizzCon 2007 that the film would have a budget of over $100 million and was to be set one year before the events of WOW.
“We’re going to be looking for someone of Zak Snyder (300) or Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight, Batman Beings) calibre,” said Tull who revealed that the company is aiming for a PG-13 rating. “I can tell you that this is the one thing about running a studio and making these things that’s hard. You want to not compromise and have the right level of intensity. The story and the director’s vision is what’s ultimately going to dictate that. Personally one of my favorite movies of all time is Lord of the Rings, which has a PG-13 rating.”
At the time WOW players balked at the mention of a PG-13 rating, but this was before The Dark Knight broke that mold. I’m not sure how much of this is still relevant to the project considering Tull was also touting a 2009 release, and that obviously never came to pass.
I’ve never played World of Warcraft, and I have never quite understood the obsession with the game. I can tell you that I have lost friends to the fiction online world of fantasy, so it must be good. Having Raimi on board as fdirector certainly makes me a lot more interested about the film adaptation. We all know how the movie would have looked with Uwe Boll in the director’s chair — probably something not even as good as Dungeons and Dragons.
“At its core, ‘Warcraft’ is a fantastic, action-packed story,” Raimi said in a statement.
The game was first introduced in 1994, and now has more than 11.5 million monthly subscribers. Legendary Pictures has been developing the film project for a few years now. 300 producer Thomas Tull revealed at BlizzCon 2007 that the film would have a budget of over $100 million and was to be set one year before the events of WOW.
“We’re going to be looking for someone of Zak Snyder (300) or Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight, Batman Beings) calibre,” said Tull who revealed that the company is aiming for a PG-13 rating. “I can tell you that this is the one thing about running a studio and making these things that’s hard. You want to not compromise and have the right level of intensity. The story and the director’s vision is what’s ultimately going to dictate that. Personally one of my favorite movies of all time is Lord of the Rings, which has a PG-13 rating.”
At the time WOW players balked at the mention of a PG-13 rating, but this was before The Dark Knight broke that mold. I’m not sure how much of this is still relevant to the project considering Tull was also touting a 2009 release, and that obviously never came to pass.
I’ve never played World of Warcraft, and I have never quite understood the obsession with the game. I can tell you that I have lost friends to the fiction online world of fantasy, so it must be good. Having Raimi on board as fdirector certainly makes me a lot more interested about the film adaptation. We all know how the movie would have looked with Uwe Boll in the director’s chair — probably something not even as good as Dungeons and Dragons.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Nicolas Cage in Talks for The Green Hornet
Columbia Pictures is in early talks with Nicolas Cage to play the gangster villain in The Green Hornet, reports Variety.
Cameron Diaz is negotiating to play a reporter and love interest in the Michel Gondry-directed film that stars Seth Rogen as the masked crime fighter.
The picture is moving full steam ahead for a fall start date, even as the studio looks to replace Stephen Chow, who was going to play sidekick Kato. Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the script and Neal Moritz is producing through his Original Films.
The Green Hornet is targeting a July 9, 2010 release
Cameron Diaz is negotiating to play a reporter and love interest in the Michel Gondry-directed film that stars Seth Rogen as the masked crime fighter.
The picture is moving full steam ahead for a fall start date, even as the studio looks to replace Stephen Chow, who was going to play sidekick Kato. Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the script and Neal Moritz is producing through his Original Films.
The Green Hornet is targeting a July 9, 2010 release
Monday, July 20, 2009
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Approaches Eagles' All-Time Sales Record
For nearly a decade, the Eagles' "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" has been the recording industry's ultimate evergreen release, certified by the RIAA as the all-time best-selling album in the United States. But thanks to continued robust demand for Michael Jackson's catalog since his June 25 death, "Thriller" appears on the verge of matching "Their Greatest Hits," at least in the eyes of the industry trade group.
In March, the Recording Industry Association of America certified "Thriller" as 28 times platinum, meaning that at least 28 million copies of the album have been shipped since its 1982 release. That's just a notch behind the Eagles' hits compilation, which was released in 1976 and was certified 29 times platinum in 2006.
Billboard estimates that the posthumous surge in Jackson's sales and Sony Music Entertainment's efforts to push Jackson CDs into the distribution pipeline have likely propelled shipments of Jackson product, if not yet sales, beyond the 29 million-unit mark in the United States.
Amid the recent explosion in Jackson sales, "Thriller" has enjoyed the second-biggest sales bump in his catalog, just behind the hits collection "Number Ones." During the three weeks that ended July 12, "Thriller" sold 552,000 U.S. copies, for year-to-date sales of 608,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
In March, the Recording Industry Association of America certified "Thriller" as 28 times platinum, meaning that at least 28 million copies of the album have been shipped since its 1982 release. That's just a notch behind the Eagles' hits compilation, which was released in 1976 and was certified 29 times platinum in 2006.
Billboard estimates that the posthumous surge in Jackson's sales and Sony Music Entertainment's efforts to push Jackson CDs into the distribution pipeline have likely propelled shipments of Jackson product, if not yet sales, beyond the 29 million-unit mark in the United States.
Amid the recent explosion in Jackson sales, "Thriller" has enjoyed the second-biggest sales bump in his catalog, just behind the hits collection "Number Ones." During the three weeks that ended July 12, "Thriller" sold 552,000 U.S. copies, for year-to-date sales of 608,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Agent: Pacers' Daniels will join Celtics
Former Indiana Pacers guard Marquis Daniels will play for the Boston Celtics next season.
Agent Glenn Schwartzman said on Saturday that his client has committed to go to Boston as a free agent or as part of a sign-and-trade deal with Indiana.
Schwartzman said both teams would prefer that the sign-and-trade works out, but the Celtics will use the biannual exception to sign Daniels if trade talks fizzle. Schwartzman wouldn't say which other players would be involved in a deal.
Yahoo! Sports first reported that Daniels would join the Celtics.
Daniels averaged a career-high 13.6 points last season, but Indiana chose not to pick up its $7.3 million team option on him last month. The Pacers said they only comment on official deals.
Agent Glenn Schwartzman said on Saturday that his client has committed to go to Boston as a free agent or as part of a sign-and-trade deal with Indiana.
Schwartzman said both teams would prefer that the sign-and-trade works out, but the Celtics will use the biannual exception to sign Daniels if trade talks fizzle. Schwartzman wouldn't say which other players would be involved in a deal.
Yahoo! Sports first reported that Daniels would join the Celtics.
Daniels averaged a career-high 13.6 points last season, but Indiana chose not to pick up its $7.3 million team option on him last month. The Pacers said they only comment on official deals.
Sony Close to Michael Jackson Film Deal
Sony Pictures is close to a deal to make a feature film on Michael Jackson drawing on the 80 hours of rehearsal footage filmed for concerts Jackson was preparing to perform in London, reports Variety.
The studio is expected to pay more than $50 million for worldwide rights to AEG Entertainment, which owns the footage and showed it to studios last week.
The film will feature at least three videos, including an alternative version of Jackson's "Thriller," which were shot to be interstitial programming during the London concerts. The footage was meant to play in 3-D, but it's unclear as yet whether the feature film will present it that way.
"High School Musical" director Kenny Ortega, who shot the rehearsal footage, is expected to direct the feature, and sources said he's already beginning to put together the footage so Sony can release the film before year's end.
Sony Pictures' sibling company Sony Music Entertainment owns music publishing rights to Jackson's songs.
The studio is expected to pay more than $50 million for worldwide rights to AEG Entertainment, which owns the footage and showed it to studios last week.
The film will feature at least three videos, including an alternative version of Jackson's "Thriller," which were shot to be interstitial programming during the London concerts. The footage was meant to play in 3-D, but it's unclear as yet whether the feature film will present it that way.
"High School Musical" director Kenny Ortega, who shot the rehearsal footage, is expected to direct the feature, and sources said he's already beginning to put together the footage so Sony can release the film before year's end.
Sony Pictures' sibling company Sony Music Entertainment owns music publishing rights to Jackson's songs.
Harry Potter Dominates World Box Office with $396.7M
The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince dominated the worldwide box office its first five days, opening to an estimated $159.7 million in North American--the sixth-biggest domestic opening ever--and $237 million from 54 international markets, a new record. The worldwide take of $396.7 million after five days is also a record, surpassing the $381.7 million made by Spider-Man 3 in 2007 its first five days. The sixth installment of Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter" franchise cost about $235 million to make. Domestically it opened bigger than its predecessor Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which collected $139.7 million its first five days. "Half-Blood Prince" had the second-biggest start for a movie premiering on a Wednesday, trailing the $200 million five-day opening of last month's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The Dark Knight holds the five-day domestic record with $203.8 million. For the three-day weekend, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince earned $79.5 million in North America, averaging an impressive $18,376 from 4,325 theaters.
20th Century Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs remained in second place with an additional $17.7 million to bring its three-week total to $152 million. Internationally, the film has reached $429 million, ahead of the "Transformers" sequel with $398 million. The worldwide total stands at $581 million.
Paramount/DreamWorks' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also kept its spot from last week, adding $13.8 million in third place for a sum of $363.9 million, easily the top earner domestically this year so far. It has climbed to the 13th spot on the all-time domestic list. The Michael Bay sequel has almost crossed the $400 million mark internationally and sits at $398 million, good for a massive worldwide take of $761.9 million.
Universal's Brüno suffered a 72.7% fall in ticket sales its second weekend and dropped from first to fourth with $8.4 million. The Sacha Baron Cohen comedy has made $49.6 million domestically after 10 days. Overseas, the film earned $10.6 million this weekend to push its foreign total to $46 million and a worldwide tally of $95.6 million.
In its seventh weekend in theaters, Warner Bros.' The Hangover continued to impress, taking in another $8.3 million for a total of $235.9 million, the highest ever for an R-rated comedy, surpassing Beverly Hills Cop's $234.8 million. Internationally, the comedy has earned $84.2 million and has reached $320.1 million worldwide.
In limited release, Fox Searchlight's (500) Days of Summer collected a strong $837,588 from just 27 theaters for an average of $31,022 per theater.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince dominated the worldwide box office its first five days, opening to an estimated $159.7 million in North American--the sixth-biggest domestic opening ever--and $237 million from 54 international markets, a new record. The worldwide take of $396.7 million after five days is also a record, surpassing the $381.7 million made by Spider-Man 3 in 2007 its first five days. The sixth installment of Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter" franchise cost about $235 million to make. Domestically it opened bigger than its predecessor Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which collected $139.7 million its first five days. "Half-Blood Prince" had the second-biggest start for a movie premiering on a Wednesday, trailing the $200 million five-day opening of last month's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The Dark Knight holds the five-day domestic record with $203.8 million. For the three-day weekend, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince earned $79.5 million in North America, averaging an impressive $18,376 from 4,325 theaters.
20th Century Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs remained in second place with an additional $17.7 million to bring its three-week total to $152 million. Internationally, the film has reached $429 million, ahead of the "Transformers" sequel with $398 million. The worldwide total stands at $581 million.
Paramount/DreamWorks' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also kept its spot from last week, adding $13.8 million in third place for a sum of $363.9 million, easily the top earner domestically this year so far. It has climbed to the 13th spot on the all-time domestic list. The Michael Bay sequel has almost crossed the $400 million mark internationally and sits at $398 million, good for a massive worldwide take of $761.9 million.
Universal's Brüno suffered a 72.7% fall in ticket sales its second weekend and dropped from first to fourth with $8.4 million. The Sacha Baron Cohen comedy has made $49.6 million domestically after 10 days. Overseas, the film earned $10.6 million this weekend to push its foreign total to $46 million and a worldwide tally of $95.6 million.
In its seventh weekend in theaters, Warner Bros.' The Hangover continued to impress, taking in another $8.3 million for a total of $235.9 million, the highest ever for an R-rated comedy, surpassing Beverly Hills Cop's $234.8 million. Internationally, the comedy has earned $84.2 million and has reached $320.1 million worldwide.
In limited release, Fox Searchlight's (500) Days of Summer collected a strong $837,588 from just 27 theaters for an average of $31,022 per theater.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Writers Carry on Jigsaw's Work in Saw VII
Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton are going to script Saw 7 for Twisted Pictures, reports Variety. The announcement comes a few months before Saw VI, directed by Kevin Greutert, opens on October 23.
Dunstan and Melton have been on the lucrative franchise since part 4. Since then, they penned two more "Feast" sequels for Dimension and collaborated on the upcoming The Collector, which Dunstan directed.
Saw VII will hit theaters in October of 2010.
Dunstan and Melton have been on the lucrative franchise since part 4. Since then, they penned two more "Feast" sequels for Dimension and collaborated on the upcoming The Collector, which Dunstan directed.
Saw VII will hit theaters in October of 2010.
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