Great Scott! Movie News Recap

~~Walden Media and New Line are taking another "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with a sequel based on the book "Mysterious Travels: The Lost Map of Treasure Island" by Richard Outten.~~

Variety: Center Of The Earth Sequel Set

~~WB is going to be clowing around with a remake of Stephen King's "It" based off a script by Dave Kajganich. Lin Entertainment & Vertigo entertainment will produce the film set in modern times.~~

Chud: Warner Brothers Calls Tim Curry, Just Wants To Borrow His Clown Suit

~~Some photos & concept art from Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland"straight from the pages of Disney's very own magazine. Photo features Mia Wasikowska as Alice peering down a rabbit hole.~~

Cinematical: First Look: Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland

Wonder Woman Making Some Noise

In an "exclusive" from one of my favorites and yours, IESB is confirming that WB is back on the "Wonder Woman" bandwagon again.

Sources in the Burbank studios have confirmed there is quite a bit of movement on the WW front. With Green Lantern going into production this year, it looks like Princess Diana may finally get the go ahead from WB.

WB and Silver Pictures are in the early stages but they are eager to get started on the movie. Sources tell IESB that WB is looking for new writers on the project and have been taking pitches the last few weeks.

Interesting to note that this information comes on the heels of major announcements from Marvel and some of their "partner" studios on projects such as "Thor", "Captain America", "Spiderman 4", and "Avengers".

WB has been pretty silent on the WB/DC film front. Just recently we were finally treated with a Winter 2010 release date for "Green Lantern". Other than that there have only been rumblings on "The Flash", "Superman" and "Batman".

IESB 'Role Models' DVD Giveaway

Haven't checked out "Role Models" yet but maybe if I enter to win the DVD giveaway contest over at IESB I can comment on it.

Win a copy of ROLE MODELS starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott on DVD from the IESB!

On March 10, ROLE MODELS UNRATED hit the DVD shelves! IESB has got your chance to win a copy!

Also, in celebration of the March 10^th DVD Release of Role Models, click on the link below to play the Role Models Babe Watcher game

You think you can hang with the babe watchers? Help Wheeler, Danny, Augie and Ronnie spot babes to hang out with. Just be careful who you are checking out; if it’s a buddy, you lose a life!

How to Play: Score points by spotting babes and clicking on them with your mouse. Babes are worth 30 points each and the Minotaur is worth 60 points. Score 300 points to move to level 2, and score 600 points to complete the game.

Head over to IESB to enter to win "Role Models" and play the "Babewatcher" video game.

IESB: Role Models Giveaway

The Watchmen Effect

Enjoying big budget films is as American as apple pie and this past weekend all eyes were on Zack Snyder's "Watchmen". Fans, critics, webmasters, and in this case, several studios were waiting patiently for justification or different levels of defeat. "Watchmen" did what most expected, it won the weekend. However, by only only pulling in 55 Million +, it fell below most predictions and expectations. According to most fans, the film did live up to anticipation though. The critics have been less kind to the visually stunning comicbook film nailing it with a 64% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now the execuses are starting to trickle out:

"It did well for an R rated film."

"It did well for a film of that length."

"People should have read the graphic novel."

I finally saw the film last night and I have to say I dug it. It was pleasing to the eye, the action was nonstop, and I loved seeing the heroes portrayed in such a gritty manner. Sure there were flaws like anything else, but I think this film is going to scrore well on DVD. It sure isn't going to do all together that well at the box office, but that shouldn't stop people from seeing it on the big screen.

For some unknown reason fans feel like they need the box office to justify that they enjoyed the film or that the film was good. They follow the box office at every step and hope and prays that it eeks out just one more million. This movie was made for the fans, even going with an "R", when they could have dumbed it down to a "PG-13" to make it more marketable.

In the end the "R" might not have been the reason that "Watchmen" is performing like an anchor stuck in the sand, but you can be sure this changes things. McG has been fighting for an "R" rating on his upcoming film "Terminator: Salvation". You can be sure WB is going to put a stop to this, and make sure this film gets out there with a more family friendly "PG-13" rating.

What about other comicbook properties? WB's Jeff Robinov proclaimed back in August that he wants DC characters to go "dark" which caused a fanboy frenzy on the internet. All of this was direct result of the success of Batman, but is dark really the way to go? Maybe the fact that not so many people are watching the Watchmen will reverse this obession with darkness, at least until "Batman 3" comes out.

Now I'll be following "Watchmen" to see if it can beat "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" at the box office.

The Saturn Awards Courtesy of IESB

IESB has revealed the nomations from for this year's Saturn Awards courtesy of The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.

Leading the charge was Christopher Nolan’s super-hero crime thriller “The Dark Knight” with 11 nominations. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Iron Man” followed closely behind with 9 and 8 nominations, respectively. While MGM/UA’s WW2 thriller “Valkyrie” spied 7 nominations, and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Changeling” received 6 nominations each.

Paramount Pictures’ triple threat of Benjamin Button, Iron Man and Indiana Jones led all film studios with a total of 30 nominations. Also with strong showings were Universal and Warner Bros. with 15 and 13 nominations, respectively. Fox and Marvel earned 10 and 9 nominations, while Lucasfilm, Ltd., MGM/UA, Sony Pictures and Walt Disney, followed with an impressive 7 nominations each.

Head over to IESB for the complete list of nominations.

IESB: The Dark Knight Dominates...

Hey Mickey

Mickey Rourke seems to be pretty hot property after is turn as Randy "The Ram" Robinson in "The Wrestler, a role for which he was showered with nominations. This role has opened doors for Rourke that were long since thought shut and locked, similar to the doors that Robert Downey has broken down due to the sucess of "Iron Man" and his portrayal of kabillionaire Tony Stark. It is fitting that rumors have been rushing back and forth across the internet superhighway about a possible rule for Rourke as a villian in "Iron Man 2". Seems like these rumors are about to heat up again due the video being run by IESB where Mickey is asked, "Iron Man 2?" and he replies, "bet your ass."

IESB: Mickey Rourke says You Bet Your Ass to IRON MAN 2

Menawhile "The Sun" is reporting that Sylvester Stallone is possibly interested in Mickey Rourke for a possible role in "Rambo 5". Apparently Rourke said "You Bet Your Ass!" to that role as well. Stallone will be working with Rourke on his new film "The Expendables" which is due to start shooting any day now.

Watchmen Wins The Battle, Not The War

As expected "Watchmen" won the weekend completely burning up their competition. Not expected, by WB and many other websites is the 55 Million + take. This number is nothing to sneeze at but WB was projecting 60's and many box office predictions from sites around the interwebs were predicting 70+ for Zack Snyder's comicbook film. It fell right into the 50-60 Million range that I expected and I am sure the drop will be at or above 60% next weekend.

Weekend Actuals (Mar. 6 - Mar. 8)

1 Watchmen $55,214,334
2 Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail $8,532,412
3 Taken $7,334,814
4 Slumdog Millionaire $6,808,383
5 Paul Blart: Mall Cop $4,146,316
6 He's Just Not That Into You $4,017,326
7 Coraline $3,255,852
8 Confessions of a Shopaholic $3,100,298
9 Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience $2,832,454
10 Fired Up $2,478,381

Movie Moan - Watchmen & Trailer Reactions

On this week's Movie Moan, Phil and Jamie react to Zack Snyder's insanely anticipated silver screen adaptation of Watchmen. What did they like, dislike and exactly how did their audience react as well as the nerdgasming coming from the Internet fanbase over it's opening weekend box-office.

In addition, our heroes discuss the new trailers for Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, Up, Public Enemies, Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince and Wolverine. Damn, what a week for trailers!

Also on topic is the news of Leonardo DiCaprio staring in the Christoper Nolan-helm Inception and Kevin Smith's decision to make A Couple of Dicks with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan absent his long-time producing partner Scott Mosier!

Movie Moan: Watchmen & Trailer Reactions

Producer Donald DeLine Lights Up The 'Green Lantern'

The excitement I feel for Green Lantern finally hitting the big screen is almost as high as the return of Superman in 2006. The possibilities for the character are endless and Hal Jordan is only the beginning. I hope WB uses the character and his environments to the absolute fullest.

Superherohype.com had the pleasure to talk with producer Donald Deline about 'Green Lantern' while covering his upcoming projects "I Love You, Man" & "Observe and Report".

"Our story is the Hal Jordan origin story, but creating the character of Hal Jordan that is a real character that will resonate with the fanbase is what we need to do. You have to make him credible and somebody to care about and tell a good story, and I think if we do that, we'll be okay."

"It's going to be a series of big stakes and big action, but it absolutely has a sense of humor, I think people accept real life, even with really serious situations, with humor as part of that situation, as we experience in life, you have to have that. That's how people cope, so they've done it so well in these other movies. I think that people are absolutely ready. It doesn't have to fall on one side of the fence vs. the other."

Watchmen Shoots Up The Friday Competition

Early estimates are starting to slowly weave their way through the highways of the interwebs and Watchmen seems to be a little bit behind many of the estimates which pegged a 70 Million + opening weekend. That being said it is still early and Watchmen still pulled in some significant box office penny. I'll let Steve Mason do the talking.

Watchmen has been spectacular at the box office all day long, and, after consulting with multiple sources, I am projecting a staggering $25.2M (that does include midnight previews) for Friday. That is approximately the 32nd-best opening day in modern box office history, but it is the all-time #12 opening day for a non-sequel.

ALL-TIME TOP 15 OPENING DAYS FOR A NON-SEQUEL

1. Spider-Man - $39.4M
2. Twilight - $35.9M
3. Iron Man - $35.2M
4. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone - $32.3M
5. The Simpsons Movie - $30.7M
6. I Am Legend - $30M
7. The Da Vinci Code - $28.6M
8. 300 - $28.1M
9. Transformers - $27.8M
10. Sex & The City - $26.7M
11. The Passion of the Christ - $26.5M
12. Watchmen - $25.2M (projected)
13. Planet of the Apes - $24.6M
14. Hulk - $24.2M
15. The Day After Tomorrow - $23.5M

When the numbers get this big, and the movie is this front-loaded, 3-day projections are problematic, but I am going with $62.5M (my final prediction on published Wednesday was $63M). It is possible that the movie will manage a better “internal multiplier” and start inching closer to $70M, but I am at $62.5M for now. If the number holds, that would give Watchmen the all-time #4 opening weekend for an R-rated movie, trailing only Matrix Reloaded, Passion of the Christ (which had better source material contrary to what fanboys may believe) and Snyder’s 300.

I would imagine that if this film stays the course this weekend than WB should be pretty happy with a $62.5 million dollar opening weekend. It all depends on the drop, which is coming, but the question is how big?

Rope Of Silicon featured Steve Mason's story and provided a early estimates on the top ten of the weekend.

Mason estimates no other films will crack the $10 million mark for the weekend as Watchmen opened against no other major releases and Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail will be closest in the second spot with an estimated $8.62 million take for the weekend.

I have included the early Friday estimates below, Laremy will be here on Sunday with a complete wrap-up.

1. Watchmen (Warner Bros) - $25 million
2. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail (Lionsgate) - $2.43 million
3. Taken (Fox) - $2.21 million
4. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) - $2.05 million
5. He’s Just Not That Into You (Warner Bros) - $1.3 million
6. Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience (Disney) - $1.27 million
7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Sony) - $995,000
8. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney) - $865,000
9. Coraline (Focus) - $725,000
10. Fired Up (Sony) - $700,000