Spring Breakers Sequel Coming with Spun Director, Trainspotting Writer
Spring break forever, indeed. It's been awhile since Spring Breakers was buzzing, but the most divisive film of 2013 is one nobody could easily forget. Even a full year after I saw it at SXSW 2013, I still chuckle at Alien's ridiculousness and have fond memories of the oftentimes over-sexualized nature of the main girls. Then again, could you really blame me? Above the surface level of the film, I really enjoyed what writer/director Harmony Korine accomplished with the film with his ability to properly characterize the overabundant nature of spring break into a proper film, so much so that it appeared on my Top 10 Films of 2013 list. With a film as complete as Spring Breakers, it would be ridiculous to create a sequel to it, right?
...apparently not, as it's being reported that a sequel to the film, entitled Spring Breakers: The Second Coming, is being developed. While any notion of a Spring Breakers sequel, especially one lacking involvement from Korine and presumably the rest of the cast, seems like a straight-to-video cash grab, two key figures involved with the production may actually swing favor for the film. Spun director Jonas Akerlund is set to direct the film based on a script by Trainspotting writer Irving Welsh.
Spring Breakers: The Second Coming's sparse plot is described as "the Spring Breakers doing battle with an extreme militant Christian sect that attempts to convert them." The idea is very questionable, but buoyed by a very talented writer/director duo. The real question thus remains: Why keep this under the Spring Breakers name and not its own thing entirely? Wild Bunch, the studio behind the film, has intentions of selling it at Cannes this year, and pitching it as a spiritual (though no direct) sequel to Spring Breakers may help based off of name recognition alone, but I feel like keeping it under such a title will pigeonhole the film. We'll see how this one turns out over the next few weeks as Cannes begins shortly.
[via The Film Stage]
Huge Collection of X-Men: Days of Future Past Posters Released
At the end of the month (Marvelous May, if I may), X-Men: Days of Future Past will be hitting theaters, competing directly with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. With the film so close to release, the hype has continued to build in all forms of manner, whether they're simply by means of new clips and trailers to special post-credits scenes in films owned by other studios. Keen readers will remember a large number of character posters launched exclusively as Empire Magazine covers awhile back. Fox has taken the same images, but replaced the backgrounds and shed the posters of text, allowing the characters to shine the way they deserve. You can check out all of the new posters below.
X-Men: Days of Future Past will be in theaters on May 23rd.
[via Collider]
Japanese Godzilla Fans Think the American Godzilla is Fat
If there's one negative stigma foreigners have about Americans, it's the notion that we're overweight. Considering our fairly large percentage of overweight citizens, it's a fair assumption to make. It's funny, then, to see reactions from overseas when it comes to a foreign property being appropriated by and for American audiences. Enter: Japan.
Reception for the upcoming Godzilla film has been pretty positive and optimistic, buoyed perhaps by its stellar cast of Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Ken Watanabe. However, the brief glimpses of Godzilla itself has been pretty mixed. Japanese fans have been very vocal about the Americanization of their beloved kaiju, targeting the monster's physical appearance to task.
/Film, The Hollywood Reporter, and Japan Today all shared some of the comments made by Japanese fans, some of which are pretty hilarious. "He got fat in America on cola and pizza," wrote one fan via Twitter. "Where's his neck?" wrote another. One of the best comments reads, "[E]ven Godzilla has metabolic syndrome these days..."
Fat or not, this new incarnation of Godzilla will be smashing into American theaters on May 16th.
[via /Film]
[Weekend Box Office] The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Webslings to the Top
Marvelous May officially kicked off this weekend with the US release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. While it fell just short of matching Captain America: The Winter Soldier's $95m debut with $92m, the sensational Spider-Man sequel still slammed the rest of the competition, with the second place The Other Woman coming in at only $14.2m. Heaven is for Real continues its upswing into third place with $8.7m, while the aforementioned Captain America film came in 4th with $7.7m. With its solid American debut, worldwide totals for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 have surpassed more than $360m and should continue its reign at the top of the box office for the next few weeks before it faces some serious competition from another Marvel-related film property, X-Men: Days of Future Past.
You can check out the rest of this weekend's box office numbers below.
1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - $92,000,000
2. The Other Woman - $14,200,000
3. Heaven is for Real - $8,700,000
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - $7,762,000
5. Rio 2 - $7,600,000
6. Brick Mansions - $3,545,000
7. Divergent - $2,175,000
8. The Quiet Ones - $2,000,000
9. God's Not Dead - $1,768,612
10. The Grand Budapest Hotel - $1,735,000
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Huge May Update includes Kill Bill
May 1st is here, and with it comes a huge Netflix update. Kaiju fans will notice all of the amazing classic Godzilla sequels like Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster. Anime and video game fans will want to take note of the film sequel to one of my favorite video games ever, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
However, the biggest highlight of the week are Quentin Tarantino's seminal Kill Bill, vol. 1 and 2. While I haven't seen Kill Bill, vol. 2 in years, I've always held Kill Bill, vol. 1 high on my list. Granted, it's no Reservoir Dogs or Inglourious Basterds, but it's still a great kung fu exploitation film from one of pop culture's best and smartest exploitation directors. You can find the full list of Netflix additions below.
1-Ichi
100 Bloody Acres
12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue
1976: Hunt vs Lauda
6 Bullets
Adventures in Babysitting
All I Want
Anatomy of a Murder
Autumn's Concerto
Baby Genius: Baby Animals Favorite...
Baby Genius: Favorite Counting Songs
Baby Genius: Favorite Sing-A-Longs
Baby Genius: The Four Seasons
Baby Genius: Underwater Adventures
Backdraft
Bang the Drum Slowly
Bed of Roses
Beethoven
Bernard
Best Kept Secret
Beware of Mr. Baker
The Big Chill
The Big Hit
Boys Don't Cry
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Broadway Idiot
The Buddy Holly Story
Call Me Claus
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film
Candyman
Channel X 2010
The City of Lost Children
Company of Heroes
Cursed
Destroy Build Destroy: Season 3
Diana
Diggstown
Digimon Adventure: Season 3
Digimon: Digital Monsters: Season 3
Easy Fortune Happy Life
Encounters at the End of the World
Entity
Eye of the Dolphin
Faith Like Potatoes
Fantastic Voyage
Federal Hill
Fido
The Fierce Wife
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
For Your Eyes Only
Forbidden Woman
Forrest Gump
Freedom Force
Friday the 13th: Part 7: The New Blood
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Russia with Love
Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster
Gladiator
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla's Revenge
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Goldfinger
Good Boy!
The Good Life
The Great Divide
Guess with Jess: Season 1
Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars
Heavy Metal
Hook
The Human Stain
Ichi the Killer
The Incredible Melting Man
Invincible Shan Bao Mei
The Jewel of the Nile
The Juror
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Kiss the Girls
Knucklehead
La Bamba
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Drunken Master
Live and Let Die
The Living Daylights
Loosies
The Lost and Found Family
Love Forward
Love, Now
Maximum Overdrive
Mind Hunters
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mumfie's Quest: The Movie
My Queen
Never Say Never Again
Nuttiest Nutcracker
The Odessa File
Ordinary Decent Criminal
Oslo, August 31st
The Outlaw
Paper Moon
The Prince of Tides
Princess' Stand In
Psych: Season 7
Ravenous
Return of the Dragon
Revenge
Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip
Rodan
Romancing the Stone
School Daze
The Secret Village
Shinjuku Incident
Shopping
Sin Reaper
Single White Female
Sneakers
Splinters
St. Elmo's Fire
Starman
Steve Byrne: Champion
Terms And Conditions May Apply
Terror of Mechagodzilla
Thérèse
That's What I Am
Top Secret!
Torrente 2: Mission in Marbella
Torrente 3: El Protector
Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis
Torrente: The Dumb Arm of the Law
Tortilla Soup
Unhung Hero
Unidentified
Urban Legends: Bloody Mary
A View to a Kill
Vincent Wants to Sea
Where I Am
Winged Migration
You Only Live Twice
Zhong Wu Yan
Bullet
El Fuente
Freedomland
House of Good and Evil
How It's Made: Season 13
The Inbetweeners: Season 3
Jungle Gold: Season 1
Kiss the Water
A Liga
Lost Girl: Season 1
Lost Girl: Season 2
Malcolm in the Middle: Season 1
Man of Vendetta
Metallica Through the Never
Muscle Shoals
The Pervert's Guide to Ideology
Raising Hope: Season 1
The Riverman
The Selfish Giant
Shahid
Sklar Brothers: What Are We Talking About
Weekender
When a Woman's Fed Up
You Will Be My Son
R.I.P. Bob Hoskins (1942 - 2014)
Super Mario himself has unfortunately passed away. Bob Hoskins' agent confirmed the actor's untimely passing late Tuesday night. Hoskins, who retired from acting in 2012 because of a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, had a 50-year career spanning across over 100 roles in both film and TV. The actor was known for many notable roles, namely Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but I'll always remember him for portraying Mario in the Super Mario Bros. film adaptation. Hollywood lost an extremely talented and versatile actor.
Assassin's Creed Film Adaptation Finds a Director
Back in 2012, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past) was attached to the proposed film adaptation of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed video game, starring (presumably) as lead character Desmond Miles. Since then, progress has halted due to both Fassbender's ridiculously busy parade of films that have both been shot and released in the interim (12 Years a Slave, The Counselor, Frank, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Slow West, Macbeth, and a film with Terrence Malick), but also the studio's inability to find a director for the film.
However, a director has finally been found as yesterday, New Regency announced Fassbender's Macbeth director, Justin Kurzel, signed on to reunite with the actor for the anticipated film adaptation. Kurzel's a relative newcomer to film with only one feature-length film, Snowtown, under his belt. However, the 2013 debut was met with critical acclaim, receiving 10 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards nominations, winning six, including Best Direction for Kurzel.
For those unfamiliar with the Assassin's Creed franchise, it takes place in an alternate near future where a secret organization has invented a device, Animus, that allows certain people to live out their ancestors' memories in order to find long-forgotten relics. Of course, it all spins into a large government conspiracy, shedding light on a generations-long rivalry between two warring factions. Fassbender will star as the contemporary Desmond Miles, a bartender unknowingly descended from a long line of Assassins, who lives out his ancestors' lives during the Third Crusade in 1191, the Re
[via /Film]
[Weekend Box Office] The Other Woman Tops Captain America
Finally, Captain America's reign at the top of the box office has been put to half mast thanks to the powerful female wit of Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz, and Leslie Mann a la The Other Woman. The film opened at a resounding $24.7m to take the weekend box office crown from the aforementioned Marvel film. Heaven is for Real was able to just barely squeak past Rio 2 with a $13.8m take over the latter's $13.6m. Johnny Depp's Transcendence did anything but, falling two spots to 6th with a paltry $4.1m. However, The Other Woman's reign will more than likely be short-lived with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opening this weekend.
You can read the rest of this past weekend's box office numbers below.
1. The Other Woman - $24,700,000
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - $16,048,000
3. Heaven is for Real - $13,800,000
4. Rio 2 - $13,650,000
5. Brick Mansions - $9,600,000
6. Transcendence - $4,105,000
7. The Quiet Ones - $4,000,000
8. Bears - $3,606,000
9. Divergent - $3,000,000
10. A Haunted House 2 - $3,265,000
[via Rentrak]