Pixar Rumored To Create Star Wars Film
If there's one filmmaking company that thrives off of franchise, it would be Disney. With the recent acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, there have been a multitude of rumors going around as to what will become of the legendary series. Rumors of TV shows, new comic books written by Marvel, and spin-off movies for certain characters have been leaked here and there, but none of them seem to top the combination of these two highly profitable franchises.
When it comes to details about the film, there is very little to be known at the moment. Pixar's plate is currently full for the next few years: Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, and Finding Dory are all lined up for 2016. The company is notorious for taking their time with each production, so it could be years before a movie like this is even released.
It would be completely logical for the two successful franchises to team up and create a movie; however, there has yet to be an official statement from Disney, Lucasfilm, or Pixar, leaving the statements nothing more than rumors. Meanwhile, the immense amount of fans will remain biting their nails until a confirmation is released.
[via Latino Review]
[Trailer] Blue Ruin
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Revenge lives within us all. While some may be able to forgive and forget, not all are so fortunate to have this capability. Blue Ruin tells the tale of a man's return to his hometown when the murderer of his parents is released 20 years after the crimes were committed. Originally returning for his own act of vengeance, the man soon finds himself fighting to protect his abnormal family in this acclaimed thriller.
Blue Ruin seems to be captivating many of those who have been privileged enough to view it. Winner of the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes Film Festival in 2013, the film has been making its way through all of the major film festivals including Sundance and the Toronto Film Festival. It also was featured at the Chicago International Film Festival. You can check out Ruby Hornet's review here.
The film directed and written by Jeremy Saulnier starring Macon Blair will open in theaters on April 25, 2014.
[Trailer] Cesar Chavez: An American Hero
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Diego Luna, while not yet a common household name, has definitely made waves in cinema during his career. Acting in Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Terminal, and this previous year's Elysium, the now 34-year-old filmmaker's second work as a director Cesar Chavez: An American Hero will be his first to be filmed in English.
With Michael Peña starring as Chavez, the acclaimed actor is expected to deliver one of his best performances as the 1960s Mexican-American activist who fiercely worked to earn farm workers their rights. He lead a boycott enduring for five years in order to earn a bargaining agreement with California grape growers known as the Delano grape strike. A 25-day hunger strike in 1968 not only lead him to gain national attention, but also the support of Robert Kennedy. A civil leader in a time when the equality of citizens was challenged by all those who were getting the short end of the stick, Cesar Chavez managed to help expose the harsh realities that many farmhands were experiencing in a day's work.
Peña (best known for his incredible performances in Crash and Million Dollar Baby) will be alongside America Ferrera, John Malkovich, and Rosario Dawson.
Cesar Chavez will be in theaters on March 28, 2014.
[via Yahoo!]
Z for Zachariah To Star Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie
23-year-old Margot Robbie, best known for her overnight success in The Wolf of Wall Street, recently signed on to play the lead role in Z for Zachariah. The replacement for Amanda Seyfried, Robbie will be co-starring with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his performance in 12 Years a Slave. The film is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's post-apocalyptic novel. The plot centers around a young small-town girl who survives a nuclear war. Craig Zobel will be directing the film with Material Pictures as the producing company.
Margot recently finished up her filming of Focus with co-star Will Smith and Suite Francais. Rumor has it that she also got the offer to star in Tarzan with Warner Brothers studios. There's no doubt that Wolf made her an instant hit, and the young Aussie sensation will hopefully continue to captivate everyone in her endeavors.
[via Deadline Hollywood]
20th Annual SAG Awards
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) held their 20th annual awards ceremony on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 5 PM PT. 13 awards are distributed for outstanding acting performances in both film and television.
A motion picture with performances that seem to be captivating all who enjoy the silver screen would be Dallas Buyers Club. With Jared Leto sweeping up the prize for supporting actor and Matthew McConaughey doing the same for best lead actor, it seems that the duo repeated their success at the Golden Globes with their fellow union members. The actors' successes could possibly be followed by a couple of Oscar victories this year as well.
Cate Blanchett took the victory for female actor for her role in Blue Jasmine. While a lot of actresses from this year's best works were represented in the category, it seems that buzz-worthy Amy Adams was snubbed out of recognition for the film that seems to be stealing awards left and right: American Hustle. However, Hustle did manage to pick up a SAG victory for Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture.
Lupita Nyong'o's from 12 Years A Slave won for supporting female actor, a category shared by Hustle's Jennifer Lawrence. Both actresses were incredible in each of their respective roles, and the voting decision was more than likely difficult.
The SAG award nominees are nominated for both television and motion pictures by two randomly selected panels of 2,200 members across the country. All 100,000+ active-members of SAG-AFTRA in the United States then vote on the select outstanding performances of the year.
via SAG
[Weekend Box Office] 'Ride Along' Cruises Up To Number 1
Although the winter season brings upon quite a film drought, the box office this weekend shows much success amongst this weekend's released films. Ride Along, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, stole the lead for the number one slot with $41,236,555. This weekend's second place film earnings went to Lone Survivor at $23,239,475 on its fourth weekend, beating out last week's second place holder, Frozen. The Nut Job sneaks into third place at $20,550,000 on its debut weekend, with fellow weekend opener Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit earning a mere fourth place standing at $17,200,000.
You can read the full weekend box office numbers below.
1. Ride Along - $41,236,555
2. Lone Survivor - $23,239,475
3. The Nut Job - $20,550,000
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - $17,200,000
5. Frozen - $11,971,000
6. American Hustle - $10,600,000
7. Devil's Due - $8,500,000
8. The Wolf of Wall Street - $7,500,000
9. Saving Mr. Banks - $4,147,000
10. Her - $4,065,000
The best of the worst nominated for the 34th Razzie Awards
The Razzies, Hollywood’s least anticipated award ceremony, announced their nominations Wednesday morning. The 34th annual Golden Raspberry Awards will be honoring the best of the worst of 2013, with Johnny Depp, Lindsay Lohan, and much of Tyler Perry’s works amongst its different nomination lists.
The categories include Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel.
The most prominent of the nominated cinematic flops is Grown-Ups 2, in the running for eight different categories. Nominated for the 31st time in the 34 year history of the ceremony, Sylvester Stallone will be taking the most heat for his three “works” this year, Bullet To The Head, Escape Plan, and Grudge Match.
The best of the nominations may be Perry's, for the Worst Actress category for his work in A Madea Christmas. Other Worst Actress Nominations include Halle Berry (The Call and Movie 43), Selena Gomez (Getaway), Lohan (The Canyons), and Naomi Watts (Diana and Movie 43).
Worst Actor Nominations include Johnny Depp (The Lone Ranger), Ashton Kutcher (Jobs), Adam Sandler (Grown-Ups 2), Jaden Smith (After Earth), and Stallone (Bullet To The Head, Escape Plan, and Grudge Match).
After Earth, Grown-Ups 2, The Lone Ranger, A Madea Christmas, and Movie 43 all take precedence as the Worst Picture nominations.
The Razzies are determined by 750 votes from The Golden Raspberry Foundation members, and the worst screen combo was voted by 62,000 users of RottenTomatoes.com
via Razzies
86th Annual Academy Awards Nominations Announced
The conclusion of the Golden Globes usually leads to the revved anticipation of the Academy Awards. Announced Thursday morning, the 86th annual Oscar nominations only increased the anxiety of film addicts everywhere.
Considered to be one of the best films of the year, American Hustle takes much dominance in the categories. Sharing the lead with Gravity with 10 nominations, the film is represented amongst some of the largest categories including best director (David O. Russell), best actor (Christian Bale), best actress (Amy Adams), best supporting actor (Bradley Cooper), best supporting actress (Jennifer Lawrence), and the highly coveted best picture.
Gravity seems to share a lot of the similar glory as Hustle does in its 10 category nominations as well. With more representation for the film’s technical aspects, it represents itself for best picture, best actress (Sandra Bullock), and best director (Alfonso Cuaron).
However, 12 Years A Slave makes a very dominant second place representation with the film being nominated in nine different categories including best actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), best supporting actor (Michael Fassbender), best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong-o), best director (Steve McQueen), and best picture.
The other six best picture nods go to Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
While The Wolf of Wall Street seemed to get a lot of mixed reviews from critics with its release, it still has some decent representation in 5 categories. Jonah Hill will receive his second Oscar nomination in 3 years with this year’s being for best supporting actor. Perhaps the nomination to really be talked about is Leo’s nomination for best actor. He delivered such an incredible performance, but the competition is fierce in his pool.
Dallas Buyers Club actually beat Scorsese’s hit-or-miss film with 6 total nominations. Earning much acclaim at the Golden Globes, it can only be wondered if it will be able to repeat those feats a second time.
The glitz and glamour of the Oscars will be telecast live on ABC March 2, 2014 at 7 PM Eastern time.
[via Oscars]