MUMBAI: Ryan Reynolds is likely to star in a film called Battle for Bonneville, which is based on the true story of racer brothers Art and Walt Arfons.
The new project has also sealed Jon Favreau, the Iron Man helmer, as the director while the script will be provided by Tony Gilroy‘s brother Dan Gilroy who recently wrote the screenplay for The Bourne Legacy, it is understood.
Battle for Bonnenville follows half-brothers Art and Walt who are also rivals on the drag race track. They later put aside their differences and team up to set the world land speed record for three times.
In addition to the race film, Reynolds‘ upcoming project is a thriller called The Voices from Paranormal Activity script Michael R Perry.
Category: International
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Ryan Reynolds to star in Battle for Bonneville
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Resident Evil…tops b-o collection in US and Canada
MUMBAI: Resident Evil: Retribution, the horror sequel, grabbed the top spot at the US and Canadian box office over the weekend by amassing $21.1 million (13 million pounds),it is understood. On the other hand, the 3D version of Walt Disney‘s cartoon Finding Nemo took the No. 2 spot in the US and Canadian box-office charts with an intake of $17.5 million, according to Disney.
Resident Evil: Retribution is the fifth film in a franchise that stars Milla Jovovich as heroine Alice in a battle against the Umbrella Corporation and its army of zombies. Domestic sales were in line with distributor Sony‘s pre-weekend projection for the low- to mid-$20 million range.
In international markets, the film added $50 million, for a worldwide total of $71.1 million. It did particularly well in Asia.
Sony president of distribution Rory Bruer credited Jovovich for the continuing success of the Resident Evil franchise.
Meanwhile, people of all ages headed to theatres to see Finding Nemo for the first time in the 3D format. The film ranks as one of the most successful from Disney‘s Pixar animation studio, generating global sales of $868 million during its original run.
Disney spent less than $5 million to convert the film to the 3D format. Although weekend numbers came in slightly lower than Disney‘s original projections, Disney‘s executive vice president for motion picture distribution Dave Hollis said the tally was in line with previous 3D re-release openings.
After two weeks at No. 1, the Demon film The Possession slipped to third place generating sales of $5.8 million. -
Taken 2 is still no. 1 in second consecutive week
MUMBAI: For the second week in succession, Taken 2, starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen, has taken the top foreign box office ranking with an intake of $41 million from more than 50 foreign markets. Currently, its overseas gross total stands at $132.8 million.
The action sequel starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen remained the U.K.‘s No. 1 title ($6 million from 779 locations for a local intake of $23.4 million) in its second market round and drew $4 million in its second China round at 1,500 situations for a cume of $10.8 million. The film‘s second Australia session grossed $3.7 million at 367 spots, lifting the market cume to $13.7 million. Its Italy open scored $1.25 million at 267 situations.
Twentieth Century Fox is distributing the film in 35 markets (earning $28.5 million from 6,314 spots) while the film‘s co-producer, Luc Besson‘s Europa Corp, is handling the rest of the world.
Frankenweenie, director-co-producer-co-scripter Tim Burton‘s comedy animation with horror overtones, that grossed $22 million over two frames in the U.S. and Canada, opened offshore in nine markets this round, collecting $4.9 million on the weekend. Early offshore cume for the Disney release stands at $5.3 million.
The weekend‘s biggest single-market smash by far was Warner Bros. Espana‘s release in Spain of Lo Impossible (The Impossible), director Juan Antonio Bayona‘s action adventure co-starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor and a nasty Indian Ocean tsunami.
The film‘s opening round drew $13.4 million (including previews) from 638 screens, easily the market‘s No. 1 title. Warner‘s said it may be Spain‘s biggest three-day and four-day opener of all time.
Opening No. 2 in France ($2.8 million at 348 spots) was Universal‘s Ted that grossed $13.9 million on the weekend at 2,900 play dates in 44 markets. -
Iron Man: Rise of Technovore DVD to release in spring of 2013
MUMBAI: Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan have announced the return of iconic super hero, Iron Man, to the world of anime in an all-new feature-length film, Iron Man: Rise of Technovore.
Produced by Madhouse and currently in production in Japan, the film is slated for release on DVD in the spring of 2013.
Directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, with story by Brandon Auman, the film explores a confrontation between Iron Man and the villainous Ezekiel Stane, who develops new bio-technology that seemingly outclasses the Iron Man armor. After Stane unleashes a terrorist attack and sets Tony Stark up to take the fall, Iron Man must evade S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s man hunt and find a way to clear his name.
“Marvel is excited to present an all-new Iron Man adventure featuring the high-tech adrenaline he is known for, in the beautifully rendered anime style of our friends at Madhouse,” said Associate Producer Megan Thomas Bradner.
“We‘ll get to see familiar Marvel super heroes such as War Machine, Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye and the Punisher, rendered in anime style for the first time. It‘s a can‘t miss for any Marvel fan.” -
Cabaret to celebrate 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray debut on 5 Feb
MUMBAI: Cabaret, Bob Fosse‘s ground-breaking Oscar-winning musical drama starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Joel Grey, Helmut Griem, and Marisa Berenson celebrates its 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray debut on 5 February, 2013.
Remastered for the first time in over 20 years, Cabaret is presented in its original aspect ratio (16 x 9 format). Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Director (Fosse), Actress (Minnelli), and Supporting Actor (Grey), the film will be offered in a premium Blu-ray Book format, which contains 40 pages of insightful photos and text.
A new documentary, Cabaret: The Musical That Changed Musicals will be featured, along with vintage documentaries Cabaret: A Legend in the Making, The Recreation of an Era, a multi-part memory gallery and more.
Cabaret was adapted from the Tony -winning stage production, which was in turn inspired by Christopher Isherwood‘s Berlin Stories and the play and movie I Am a Camera. This remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a sexually charged center of decadence. Liza Minnelli gives a bravura performance as nightclub entertainer Sally Bowles, and Joel Grey is the master of ceremonies at the nightclub, also acting as the storyteller for the audience, exposing the seediness of the cabaret world.
The superb songwriting team of Kander and Ebb contributes a string of memorable songs that not only entertain but also provide social commentary on the events of the time. Under the helm of director-choreographer Bob Fosse, Cabaret becomes both a devastating drama and top-rate entertainment, and the result is one of the most memorable and meaningful screen musicals ever made.
Flamboyant and eccentric American entertainer Sally Bowles (Minnelli) sings in Berlin‘s decadent Kit Kat Club, even as Nazism rises in Germany in 1931. She falls in love with a British language teacher (York) – whom she shares with a homosexual German baron (Griem). But Sally‘s insular, carefree, tolerant and fragile cabaret world is about to be crushed under the boot of the Nazis as Berlin becomes a trap from which Sally‘s German friends will not escape. -
Red Square screenings to commence on 15 October
MUMBAI: The inaugural edition of Red Square Screenings, a new program aimed at showcasing the Russian cinema for the international film community, organised by the Russian Cinema Fund, would kick off on 15 October at the GUM Movie Hall in the heart of Moscow.
About 50 films made in Russia over the last two years are to be screened in the course of the four-day event.The program highlights include Kirill Serebrennikov‘s Izmena (Betrayal), which was recently premiered at the Venice International Film Festival; Sergei Loznitsa‘s V Tumane (In the Fog), a participant in the official selection at Cannes this year; Pavel Ruminov‘s Ya Budu Ryadom (I‘ll Be Around), the winner of the main award at this year‘s edition of the major Russian film fest Kinotavr and Karen Shakhnazarov‘s Bely Tigr (White Tiger), the country‘s entry in the foreign language Oscar race.
Among the movies to be screened in the section include Oleg Stepchenko‘s Viy 3D, Alexander Veledinsky‘s Geograf Globus Propil (The Geographer Drank His Globe Away), and the animated film Snezhnaya Koroleva (The Snow Queen) by Maxim Sveshnikov and Vlad Barbe.
The Red Square screenings will also feature a Works-in-Progress section organised in partnership with the CentEast Film Market. -
Uma Thurman to star in sex drama Nymphomaniac
MUMBAI: Renowned actress Uma Thurman has been signed up to star in Lars Von Trier‘s sordid sexual drama Nymphomaniac. The 42-year-old actress will star in the controversial new film alongside Shia LaBeouf that will be laced with real life sex scenes.
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Bell, Stellan Skarsgard and Christian Slater have also been cast in the film. However, it is not yet known which role Uma Thurman will play.
Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as self-confessed sex addict Joe, who is rescued by a kind stranger (Skarsgard) after she is left badly beaten in an alleyway. Joe then recounts her past misadventures and sordid sexual history from birth until the age of 50.
Shia LaBeouf recently said that the cast has signed up for engaging in real sex scenes on camera which he was willing to do for the sake of his art.
The film will be available in two versions – hardcore and softcore – when it releases in 2013. -
Mila Kunis frontrunner for Fifty Shades Of Grey role
MUMBAI: Mila Kunis, who was recently crowned as the sexiest woman alive by a magazine, has emerged as the frontrunner to play the lead female role in the movie adaptation of novel Fifty Shades Of Grey by E.L. James.
The 26-year-old actor‘s girl-next-door charm has put her to the top of the list of actresses in contention to play Anastasia Steele, who is lured into an S and M lifestyle by older billionaire Christian Grey, it is understood.
Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart are also being favoured to star in the big screen adaptation of the best-selling novel.
Ryan Gosling and Ian Somerhalder are popular choices to play the mysterious businessman Christian Grey. -
Ben Affleck to star in Warner Bros’ Focus
MUMBAI: In all probability, Ben Affleck will reportedly join the cast of Warner Bros.‘ upcoming film Focus. Unlike his most recent release, Argo, Affleck will only star in the film.
It was first reported last Tuesday that Affleck was negotiating to star in the film, written by the Crazy, Stupid, Love writer-director team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
Affleck would star as a con man who decides to work with an attractive female partner for his grafting business. Soon a romantic relationship develops between them that complicates the business.
The writer-director team had originally hoped that the project would reunite them with Crazy, Stupid, Love stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, but both of them dropped out.
Warner Bros. is still eager to get the project into production. -
James Bond car auctioned for $389,000
MUMBAI: The 2008 Aston Martin car used by Daniel Craig in the Bond film Quantum of Solace has been sold in an auction of Bond movie memorabilia for 241,300 pounds (around $389,000), it is understood.
The cost of the 2008 Aston Martin 6 litre V12 DBS 2 door coupe, which went to an anonymous buyer, was 1.5 times higher. The trading took place in the presence of 600 VIP guests. Many items of the auction were presented by the stars of the film.
Actress Judi Dench, who plays M, presented one of the most piquant lots, a pair of blue trunks worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royal. “All I can tell you, they are unwashed,” the actress said in a lighter vein.
The trunks were sold for 44,500 pounds and will be given to a charity fund Women For Women.
The second most expensive item in the auction was an Omega watch made of titanium and used by Craig in the soon to-be releaseed film Skyfall. The watch was expected to be sold for some 8,000 pounds but was sold for 157,300 pounds.
Former Bond, Roger Moore presented a musical score of the soundtrack for the same film signed by the British singer Adele, performer of the title track. The lot was sold for 13,800 pounds.
The total cost of the 1 pieces that were auctioned was 752,100 pounds. All proceeds will go to various charitable organisations.
The auction was held to mark the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond movie.