Box Office August 13-15 Results

1 The Expendables - $34,825,135
2 Eat Pray Love - $23,104,523
3 The Other Guys - $17,408,501
4 Inception - $11,285,051
5 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - $10,609,795
6 Despicable Me - $6,971,355
7 Step Up 3D - $6,905,201
8 Dinner for Schmucks - $6,285,179
9 Salt - $6,219,502
10 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - $4,190,426

Source: boxoffice.com
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Box Office August 14-15 Results (Japan)

1 Karigurashi No Arrietty (JPN.Animation) - Toho
2 TOY STORY 3 - Disney
3 THE KARATE KID - SPE
4 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (JPN.) - Toho
5 THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE - Disney
6 INCEPTION - WB
7 Pikachu The Movie 2010 (JPN.Animation) - Toho
8 Kamen Rider the Movie W/Goseiger (JPN.) - Toei
9 SALT - SPE
10 Police Dog Dream (JPN.) - Shochiku

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Box Office August 6-8 Results

1 The Other Guys - $35,600,000
2 Inception - $18,600,000
3 Step Up 3D - $15,532,000
4 Salt - $11,100,000
5 Dinner for Schmucks - $10,500,000
6 Despicable Me - $9,400,000
7 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - $6,910,000
8 Charlie St. Cloud - $4,700,000
9 Toy Story 3 - $3,048,000
10 The Kids Are All Right - $2,606,238

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office August 7-8 Results (Japan)

1 Karigurashi No Arrietty (JPN.Animation) - Toho
2 TOY STORY 3 - Disney
3 Kamen Rider the Movie W/Goseiger (JPN.) - Toei
4 SALT - SPE
5 INCEPTION - WB
6 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (JPN.) - Toho
7 Pikachu The Movie 2010 (JPN.Animation) - Toho
8 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON - Paramount
9 Naruto Shippuden The Movie, The Lost Tower (JPN.Animation) - Toho
10 The Great Adventure Of Hutch The Honeybee (JPN.Animation) - Shochiku

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Nanako and Seung-heon star in "Ghost" remake

By Siewaun
Reference: nipponcinema

Popular Japanese actress Nanako Matsushima and Korean actor Song Seung-heon are starring in the Asian remake of Jerry Zucker's 1990 hit "Ghost", taking on the role originally played by Demi Moore and the late Patrick Swayze.

Nanako Matsushima became the highest-paid actress in Japan following her role in "Great Teacher Onizuka", and best known outside Japan for starring as Ryuji Takayama in 1998 horror "Ring". Korean actor Song Seung-heon, is best known for his roles in Korean dramas "Autumn Fairy Tale" and "Summer Scent".

Japanese longtime TV director Taro Otani ("Gokusen", "Zeni Geba") made his debut as a film director directing the remake titled "Love and Soul".

Japanese prolific producer Takashige Ichise, who is best known for producing the Japanese horror "Ju-on" and "Ju-on 2", and the Hollywood remakes "The Grudge" and "The Grudge 2", is producing "Love and Soul".

Paramount Pictures Japan, Shochiku and Korea's CJ Entertainment are co-producing. Paramount Pictures Japan and Shochiku will also handle distribution.

Shooting is completed, and will be released in November in Japan and Korea.

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Willis and Weaver join "The Cold Light of Day"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver will join Henry Cavill "The Tudor" in Summit Entertainment-Intrepid Pictures' thriller "The Cold Light of Day".

French director/screenwriter Mabrouk El Mechri "JCVD" will direct.

Story is about a young American (Cavill) who must find his family members after they were kidnapped while on vacation in Spain. Soon he uncovers a government conspiracy, and connection between the kidnapping and his father's (Willis) secrets.

Weaver is still in talks to play the kidnapper with connection in the government conspiracy.

Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans of Intrepid will produce the thriller with Spanish producer Galavis Film. Steven Zaillian and Garrett Basch, Kevin Mann, Matthew Perniciaro, Scott Wiper and Galavis' Jesus Martinez will executive produce.

Summit will distribute domestically and license the rights internationally.

Shooting set to begin on 6th of September in Spain.

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Box Office July 30-Aug 1 Result

1 Inception - $27,520,000
2 Dinner for Schmucks - $23,300,000
3 Salt - $19,250,000
4 Despicable Me - $15,543,000
5 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - $12,525,000
6 Charlie St. Cloud - $12,100,000
7 Toy Story 3 - $5,035,000
8 Grown Ups - $4,500,000
9 The Sorcerer's Apprentice - $4,320,000
10 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - $3,965,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office July 31-Aug 1 Results (Japan)

1 Karigurashi No Arrietty (JPN.Animation) - Toho
2 TOY STORY 3 - Disney
3 SALT - SPE
4 INCEPTION - WB
5 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (JPN.) - Toho
6 Pikachu The Movie 2010 (JPN.Animation) - Toho
7 Naruto Shippuden The Movie, The Lost Tower (JPN.Animation) - Toho
8 The Great Adventure Of Hutch The Honeybee (JPN.Animation) - Shochiku
9 A Boy And His Samurai (JPN.) - J Storm
10 THE LAST AIRBENDER - Paramount

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Len Wiseman in final talks to direct "Total Recall"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Is Hollywood running out of ideas? One would think so, as another movie remake is set to roll!

Columbia Pictures' remake of the 1990 sci-fi actioner "Total Recall" has found a director for the job. "Underworld" director Len Wiseman is in final talks to direct the remake.

An announcement by Columbia's co-presidents, Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, described the remake as "contemporized adaptation of Total Recall, which was based on the story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick".

Tolmach was also quoted as saying,"Len has an incredible love of the genre and a great gift for action," said Col prexy Matt Tolmach, who will oversee the project with Sam Dickerman. "He'll bring a contemporary feel to the film while taking care with everything we love about (the) original story."

Kurt Wimmer "Salt" is writing the screenplay. Neal Moritz will produce through his Original Film banner.

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Rihanna's on board Universal's "Battleship"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Singer-songwriter Rihanna is set to make her big screen debut starring in director Peter Berg's live-actioner "Battleship."

Universal announced yesterday that Rihanna will play the female lead, and starring alongside Alexander Skarsgard "True Blood" and Taylor Kitsch "Friday Night Lights". Kitsch will play a naval officer, and Skarsgard plays the brother of the naval officer. Rihanna's role in the movie is yet unknown.

Berg, who directed movie such as "Friday Night Lights", "The Kingdom", "Hancock", will direct from the script written by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, based on Hasbro's naval combat board game.

Berg will produce "Battleship" with his Film 44 partner Sarah Aubrey, and alongside Hasbro's Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir, Stuber Pictures' Scott Stuber.

Movie is set to be released by Universal on the 25th of May, 2012.

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Box Office July 23-25 Results

1 Inception - $43,505,000
2 Salt - $36,500,000
3 Despicable Me - $24,100,000
4 The Sorcerer's Apprentice - $9,685,000
5 Toy Story 3 - $9,030,000
6 Ramona and Beezus - $8,000,000
7 Grown Ups - $7,600,000
8 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - $7,033,000
9 The Last Airbender - $4,173,000
10 Predators - $2,850,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office July 24-25 Results (Japan)

1 INCEPTION - WB
2 Karigurashi No Arrietty (JPN.Animation) - Toho
3 TOY STORY 3 - Disney
4 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (JPN.) - Toho
5 Pikachu The Movie 2010 (JPN.Animation) - Toho
6 THE LAST AIRBENDER - Paramout
7 PREDATORS - FOX
8 Confessions (JPN.) - Toho
9 Sword Of Desperation (JPN.) - Toei
10 Surely Someday (JPN.) - Shochiku

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Tim Burton to develop and direct "Monsterpocalypse"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

DreamWorks comfirmed that Tim Burton is on board to develop and direct the feature adaptation of Monsterpocalypse board game, which the studio acquired the filming rights in May 2010.

Burton's frequent screenwriting collaborator, John August, is also on board to write the adaptation script which centers on giant robots developed by humans to fight against the invading alien monsters.

Dick Zanuck and Roy Lee are producing "Monsterpocalypse". Matt Wilson, the creator of the board game is also co-producing, while Tarik Heitmann, Gerald Moon and Doug Davison are exec producing.

"Monsterpocalypse" will most probably be released in 3D, though there is no confirmation from DreamWorks as yet.

Movie is set for release at year end of 2012, which DreamWorks will be distributing.

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Box Office July 16-18 Results

1 Inception - $60,400,000
2 Despicable Me - $32,700,000
3 The Sorcerer's Apprentice - $17,373,000
4 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - $13,500,000
5 Toy Story 3 - $11,742,000
6 Grown Ups - $10,000,000
7 The Last Airbender - $7,450,000
8 Predators - $6,800,000
9 Knight and Day - $3,700,000
10 The Karate Kid (2010) - $2,200,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office July 9-11 Results

1 Despicable Me - $60,100,000
2 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - $33,400,000
3 Predators - $25,300,000
4 Toy Story 3 - $22,021,000
5 The Last Airbender - $17,150,000
6 Grown Ups - $16,400,000
7 Knight and Day - $7,850,000
8 The Karate Kid (2010) - $5,700,000
9 The A-Team - $1,800,000
10 Cyrus - $1,375,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office July 10-11 Results (Japan)

1 TOY STORY 3 - Disney
2 Pikachu The Movie 2010 (JPN.Animation) - Toho
3 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (JPN.) - Toho
4 PREDATORS - FOX
5 Confessions (JPN.) - Toho
6 Sword Of Desperation (JPN.) - Toei
7 THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADEL BLANC-SEC - Asmik Ace
8 Soreike! Anpanman The Blacknose And The Magical Song (JPN.Animation)I - Tokyo Theatre/Media Box
9 SEX AND THE CITY 2 - WB
10 IRON MAN 2 - Paramount

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Caleb Jones, Nicholas Hoult join "X-Men: First Class"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Caleb Landry Jones ("The Last Exorcism," "The Social Network") and Nicholas Hoult ("About a Boy," "A Single Man") have joined 20th Century Fox's "X-Men: First Class".

Jones will play Irish mutant Sean Cassidy aka Banshee, who possesses a sonic scream, capable of harming enemies’ auditory systems and causing physical vibrations, and also has the abilty to to fly and hover at the speed of sound.

Hoult will play the young Hank McCoy aka Beast, who possesses superhuman physical strength and agility. Throughout his history, he undergoes progressive transformations to his physiognomy, permanently gaining increasingly animalistic physical characteristics.

Matthew Vaughn ("Stardust," "Kick-Ass") will direct from the script by Jane Goldman based on the original story by Bryan Singer.

The story centers on two young men, Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, discovering their superhuman powers. They were close friends before they took the names Professor X and Magneto. They worked together with other Mutants to stop a threat to the world, but in the process, a rift opened between them, which leads to the war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

James MacAvoy stars as Xavier, and Michael Fassbender stars as Lensherr. Alice Eve plays Emma Frost.

Singer will produce the feature alongside Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.

Shooting is scheduled to begin next month and will be released on June 3, 2011.

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Jeremy Irons stars as chief executive in "Margin Call"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Jeremy Irons, whose last big screen starring role was in the 2006 fantasy-adventure "Eragon", has signed on to star alongside Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore and Zachary Quinto in J.C. Chandor's Wall Street thriller "Margin Call."

Chandor is making his directorial debut with this thriller, directing from his own script.

In the movie which centers on eight people at a prominent investment bank in a tumultuous 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, Irons will star as the chief executive of the bank.

Paul Bettany, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci and Mary McDonnell are also co-starring in the movie.

The movie is now in it's third week of shooting in Gotham.

Quinto, Neal Dodson, Corey Moosa are producing through their Before the Door Pictures banner with Michael Benaroya and Robert Ogden Barnum of Benaroya Pictures, and Joe Jenckes. Kirk D'Amico's Myriad Pictures handling international sales.

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Box Office July 2-5 Results

1 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - $82,500,000
2 The Last Airbender - $53,150,000
3 Toy Story 3 - $42,223,000
4 Grown Ups - $26,500,000
5 Knight and Day - $14,000,000
6 The Karate Kid (2010) - $11,500,000
7 The A-Team - $4,275,000
8 Get Him to the Greek - $1,700,000
9 Shrek Forever After - $1,258,000
10 Cyrus - $1,019,445

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office July 3-4 Results (Japan)

1 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (JPN.) - Toho
2 Confessions (JPN.) - Toho
3 THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADEL BLANC-SEC - Asmik Ace
4 IRON MAN 2 - Paramount
5 SEX AND THE CITY 2 - WB
6 Masked Rider Den-o Trilogy The Movie Episode Yellow (JPN.) - Toei
7 Outrage (JPN.) - WB/Office Kitano
8 THE BOOK OF ELI - Kadokawa/Shochiku
9 ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Disney
10 300 Million (JPN.) - Kadokawa

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Box Office June 25-27 Results

1 Toy Story 3 - $59,000,000
2 Grown Ups - $41,000,000
3 Knight and Day - $20,500,000
4 The Karate Kid (2010) - $15,400,000
5 The A-Team - $6,000,000
6 Get Him to the Greek - $3,000,000
7 Shrek Forever After - $2,875,000
8 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $2,801,000
9 Killers - $2,000,000
10 Jonah Hex - $1,600,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office June 26-27 Results (Japan)

1 Confessions (JPN.) - Toho
2 Masked Rider Den-o Trilogy The Movie Episode Yellow (JPN.) - Toei
3 IRON MAN 2 - Paramount
4 SEX AND THE CITY 2 - WB
5 THE BOOK OF ELI - Kadokawa/Shochiku
6 Outrage (JPN.) - WB/Office Kitano
7 ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Disney
8 Flowers (JPN.) - Toho
9 Alone Scalpel (JPN.) - Toei
10 Piecing Me Back Together (JPN.) - SDP

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Matt Damon in talks to star in "We Bought a Zoo"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Matt Damon is in early negotiations to star in Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo" for 20th Century Fox.

Crowe is now rewriting the original script written by Aline Brosh McKenna.

Movie is based on Benjamin Mee's memoir, which is about a widowed man who buys a dilapidated zoo in hopes of making a fresh start after his wife died from a fatal illness. He and his children, along with a small but loyal staff, work to get the zoo reopened.

No words still on which character Damon will play, but high chances that he will star as Benjamin Mee, if talks are successful.

Julie Yorn ("Bride Wars," "Alice") is producing the feature, which is scheduled to be released in December 23, 2011.

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Monaghan, Carroll, Baker, Savane join "Machine Gun Preacher"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Michelle Monaghan, Madeline Carroll, Kathy Baker and Souleymane Sy Savane have joined Liongate's action drama "Machine Gun Preacher", and will star alongside Michael Shannon and Gerard Butler.

Butler will star in the leading role as Sam Childers "Machine Gun Preacher", while Shannon will play his friend in the movie that is based on the true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker who spend time in the most dangerous parts of Sudan and Uganda rescuing hundreds of Sudanese children who've been forced to become soldiers and sex slaves.

Monaghan will star as Childers' wife, Baker plays his mother, and Carroll plays his daughter, Savane plays his most trusted assistant.

Marc Forster will direct from the script he co-wrote with Jason Keller, based on Childer's memoir.

Forster will also co-produce through his Apparatus Production banner alongside Robbie Brenner; Kaushi Entertainment's Gary Safady and Craig Chapman; and GG Filmz's Deborah Giarratana. Merlina Entertainment's Myles Nestel, Apparatus' Brad Simpson, Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel and Louise Rosner will executive produce.

Shooting is scheduled to begin on July 5 in Detroit and South Africa, and will be released in fall 2011.

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Box Office June 18-20 Results

1 Toy Story 3 - $109,000,000
2 The Karate Kid (2010) - $29,000,000
3 The A-Team - $13,775,000
4 Get Him to the Greek - $6,100,000
5 Shrek Forever After - $5,520,000
6 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $5,273,000
7 Killers - $5,100,000
8 Jonah Hex - $5,085,000
9 Iron Man 2 - $2,675,000
10 Marmaduke - $2,650,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office June 20-21 Results (Japan)

1 Confessions (JPN.) - Toho
2 Masked Rider Den-o Trilogy The Movie Episode Yellow (JPN.) - Toei
3 IRON MAN 2 - Paramount
4 SEX AND THE CITY 2 - WB
5 THE BOOK OF ELI - Kadokawa/Shochiku
6 Outrage (JPN.) - WB/Office Kitano
7 ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Disney
8 Flowers (JPN.) - Toho
9 Piecing Me Back Together (JPN.) - SDP
10 Alone Scalpel (JPN.) - Toei

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Benny Chan promotes "Shaolin" with star-studded cast at Shanghai Festival

By Siewaun
Reference: english.cri.cn

On Monday, director Benny Chan led a star-studded cast of the "Shaolin" kungfu movie, comprising of Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, Fan Bingbing, Wu Jing, Yu Shaoqun and Bai Bing to the Shanghai International Film Festival. Andy Lau, however was absent.

At the press conference, announcement was made that the movie will be released at the end of this year during the New Year movie season, which is the Chinese box office's busiest season.

After releasing the trailer at the press conference, Benny Chan said that though the movie will be in line with the classic 1982 "The Shaolin Temple," which propelled Jet Li into stardom, the new movie is not a remake. He said, "Jet Li has acted in the best film about Shaolin. But I want to do a different story, my own story."

Benny Chan's version of "Shaolin" is set in the 1920s and about a warlord Hou Jie (Andy Lau), who is betrayed by his ex-friend Cao Man (Nicholas Tse), and gains a new understanding of life with the help of a Shaolin monk (Jackie Chan).

The movie has advantages over other Shaolin Temple themed movie, as shooting will be held in the Shaolin Temple which is located in Songshan, Central China's Henan Province, the first time shooting is allowed inside the temple since Jet Li's starred 1982 "The Shaolin Temple".

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Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman to star in "Trespass"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Nicolas Cage, who will be seen next in Jerry Bruckheimer's produced fantasy movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", and Nicole Kidman, who will star as Einar Wegener, the world's first post-op transsexual in an upcoming film adaptation of "The Danish Girl", have signed on to Nu Image/Millennium Films' action/thriller "Trespass".

Joel Schumacher ("St. Elmo's Fire," "The Lost Boys," "Batman Forever") will direct the movie from script written by Karl Gajdusek and Eli Richbourg.

Movie is about a husband and wife who are taken hostage by four perpetrators whose objective is money, but betrayal and deception soon surface unexpectedly, causing complication in the process.

Producers are Irwin Winkler, Avi Lerner and Danny Dimbort. Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson and Rene Besson are executive producers.

Shooting of the movie will begin in August in Louisiana.

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Box Office June 11-13 Results

1 The Karate Kid (2010) - $55,665,805
2 The A-Team - $25,669,455
3 Shrek Forever After - $15,770,491
4 Get Him to the Greek - $9,942,000
5 Killers - $8,008,007
6 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $6,486,150
7 Marmaduke - $6,006,704
8 Sex and the City 2 - $5,438,000
9 Iron Man 2 - $4,521,206
10 Splice - $2,942,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office June 12-13 Results (Japan)

1 Confessions (JPN.) - Toho
2 IRON MAN 2 - Paramount
3 SEX AND THE CITY 2 - WB
4 Outrage (JPN.) - WB/Office Kitano
5 Masked Rider Den-o Trilogy The Movie Episode Blue (JPN.) - Toei
6 ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Disney
7 Alone Scalpel (JPN.) - Toei
8 Flowers (JPN.) - Toho
9 PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME - Disney
10 Railways (JPN.) - Shochiku

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Tatsuya Egawa directs 2nd live-action film titled "King Game"

By Siewaun
Reference: Tokyograph

Prolific mangaka or Japanese manga artist, Tatsuya Egawa ("Golden Boy," "Magical Taruruto-kun"), who made his directorial debut in 2006 feature "Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari", has just completed directing his second feature film titled "KING GAME".

Egawa wrote the original story for this suspense/horror themed movie, unlike his 2006 debut film, which was adapted from his manga work.

Movie centers a group of 10 men and women gathered together in a sealed room and forced to play the popular party game known as Ousama Game (King's Game). Each of them has been brought there by a secret contract. As their game goes on, they reach their limits and reveal their true natures, giving way to lust and violence.

Takuya Ishida ("Semishigure," "Oppai barê") and Sei Ashina ("Kamen Rider Hibiki," "Silk") are starring in the lead role as two of the group of ten, while supporting cast are Yoshino Kimura, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Ai Maeda, Keisuke Horibe, Koji Yamamoto, Nana Natsume, Jai West, Chiaki Sato, Yukie Kawamura and Jerry Fujio.

Phantom Film will handle distribution of the movie, which will be released on the 28th of August.

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Nick Nolte, Jennifer Garner is talks to join remake of "Arthur"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Nick Nolte, who will star opposite Dustin Hoffman in the new HBO series "Luck", and will be seen next in an action drama "Warrior", and Jennifer Garner, who recently starred in "Valentine's Day" and will also be starring in and producing comedy feature "Butter", are in negotiations with Warner Bros. to join Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Greta Gerwig in the remake of 1981 romantic comedy "Arthur".

Garner will star as a wealthy heiress who is about to marry Arthur (Brand) in an arranged marriage. Nolte will play the father of Linda Marolla (Gervig), who has romantic relationship with Arthur.

Story is about a boozing playboy who falls in love with a working class woman while he was supposed to marry a girl his family expected in order to inherit a vast family fortune.

Jason Winer "Modern Family -ABC TV series" will direct Warner Bros.' big-screen remake of romantic comedy "Arthur" from Peter Baynham's ("Borat," "Bruno") script.

Larry Brezner, Chris Bender and Kevin McCormick will produce, while Brand, Scott Kroopf, J.C. Spink and Nick Linnen will executive produce.

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F. Gary Gray in talks to direct "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

The feature adaptation of the Eidos videogame "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men" has found a new director in F. Gary Gray ("The Italian Job," "Law Abiding Citizen") even though it was earlier mentioned that Simon Crane, a British stuntman, stunt co-ordinator, second unit director, will directing. Guess he changed his mind, or perhaps Lionsgate is looking for a more experienced director?

Gray is still in early negotiations with Lionsgate and Nu Image/Millennium Films to direct the feature version, starring Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx.

Bruce Willis who signed on in 2008 to play mercenary Adam "Kane" Marcus, and Jamie Foxx signed on earlier this year to play the rage-prone killer James Lynch.

Adapted by Kyle Ward ("3 Rounds," "Fiasco Heights") the live-action feature revolves around Kane and Lynch, who are forced to pair up and have 72 hours to travel the world and recover a doomsday device before Kane's kidnapped wife and daughter are killed by the criminals who broke them out of prison.

Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter will produce alongside David Willis (Bruce Willis' brother), Stephen Eads and Millennium.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in August.

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Stanley Tucci is Dr. Abraham Erskine in "Captain America"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Marvel has found the scientist that created Captain America!

Stanley Tucci ("Julie & Julia," "The Lovely Bones") has joined Marvel's new feature "Captain America: The First Avenger," starring as Dr. Abraham Erskine, and co-starring alongside Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Hugo Weaving and Hayley Atwell.

Dr. Abraham Erskine's first appearance was in issue #1 of Captain America, published in 1941, as the German scientist who first developed the Super-Soldier Serum that transformed Steve Rogers into Captain America.

Movie will center on Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who was enhanced to a perfect human weapon after being injected with an experimental serum, to aid the United States war effort against the Nazis.

Evans stars as Steve Rogers aka Captain America, Stan plays the captain's sidekick, Bucky Barnes, Weaving will star as Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull, Atwell plays Captain America's love interest, Peggy Carter - who happens to be an American spy.

Joe Johnston "The Wolfman" will direct from the script written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard will co-produce the feature. David Maisel, Stratton Leopold, Louis D'Esposito and Stan Lee executive produce.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this summer in England, and will be released by Paramount in the United States on July 22, 2011.

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Box Office June 4-6 Results

1 Shrek Forever After - $25,300,000
2 Get Him to the Greek - $17,400,000
3 Killers - $16,100,000
4 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $13,854,000
5 Sex and the City 2 - $12,650,000
6 Marmaduke - $11,300,000
7 Iron Man 2 - $7,783,000
8 Splice - $7,450,000
9 Robin Hood - $5,100,000
10 Letters to Juliet - $3,000,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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"Mulan" received most nominations for Hundred Flowers Awards

By Siewaun
Reference: english.cri.cn

The People's Hundred Flowers Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards, which is considered the most prestigious film awards in China, has announced the initial nominations list for the upcoming award presentation ceremony yesterday.

The 30th Hundred Flowers Awards festival, which will be held October 12-16, 2010 in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, sees Jingle Ma directed epic movie "Mulan" receiving the most nominations. The movie received the six nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress (Zhao Wei and Chen Kun), Best Supporting Actor and Actress.

"Mulan", known in Chinese as "Hua Mulan", and tells the Chinese folktale of Hua Mulan (Zhao Wei), a young heroine who dresses as a man to fight in the war in place of her old father. It opened on November 27, 2009 and made 80 million yuan (US$12 million) at the box office.

In total, ten films were chosen from 85 films with box office sales above 5 million yuan (US$0.7 million) to compete for the Hundred Flowers Best Film award, and they are "Mulan", "The Founding of a Republic", "Bodyguards and Assassins", "The Message", "Ip Man", "Confucius", "Painted Skin", "If You Are the One", "Tie Ren" and "Jing Tian Dong Di".

Other nominated actors including Donnie Yen who received three Best Actor nominations for "Bodyguards and Assassins", "Painted Skin" and "Ip Man", and Zhou Xun who also received three three Best Actress nominations for "Confucius", "Painted Skin" and "The Message". Wang Xueqi and Ge You received Best Actor nominations, and Alec Su receiving Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Final nominations will be announced by the organizing committee on August 31.

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Sigourney Weaver stars as a psychiatrist in "Abduction"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Sigourney Weaver who recently starred in James Cameron's Avatar as Dr. Grace Augustine, leader of the Avatar program, will be playing a different kind of doctor this time in Lionsgate's thriller feature "Abduction," where she will star alongside Taylor Lautner "Twilight film series" and Lily Collins ("The Blind Side," "Priest").

Weaver will star as a psychiatrist to Lautner's character, a young man who finds a baby picture of himself on a missing persons website, and starting to realize that his parents are not his biological parents.

John Singleton ("Boyz N the Hood," "Four Brothers") will direct from script written by Shawn Christensen.

Gotham Group, Vertigo Entertainment and Lautner's Tailor Made are co-producing the thriller with Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman of Gotham Group, Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo, and Tailor Made's Dan Lautner. Vertigo's Gabriel Mason executive producing.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in July in Pittsburgh.

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Stephen Graham is Sparrow's sidekick in "Pirates 4"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

English actor Stephen Graham, who starred alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in "Public Enemies", has signed on to "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides".

Graham will star alongside Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Penelope Cruz (Blackbeard's Daughter) and Ian McShane (Blackbeard) in the fourth installment of the franchise by Disney, and will play a Machiavellian pirate named Scram, who became the sidekick of Depp's Jack Sparrow, in search of the fountain of youth.

Director Rob Marshall ("Memoirs of a Geisha," "Nine") will direct from the script co-written by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, who wrote the previous "Pirates" franchise. Jerry Bruckheimer will produce.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this month in Hawaii, and will be released in May 20, 2011.

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Adam Beach joins Favreau's "Cowboys and Aliens"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Adam Beach "Flags of Our Fathers" has joined Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano in DreamWorks' and Universal's "Cowboys and Aliens".

Jon Favreau will direct from the script co-written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, which is based on the 2006 graphic novel series created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.

Movie is about the Apache Indians and Western settlers who lay their differences aside and teamed up against an alien species that lands in their city with bad intentions.

Beach will star as Nat Colorado, a half-Apache who works for Woodrow Dollarhyde (Ford).

Imagine Entertainment's co- founder Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are co-producing alongside Steven Spielberg, Rosenberg through his Platinum Studios banner, Orci and Kurtzman.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this summer, and will be released in June 24, 2011.

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Hope Davis joins the cast of "Real Steel"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Hope Davis, who is starring as Hillary Rodham Clinton in the recently released HBO feature "The Special Relationship," has joined Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand and Anthony Mackie in DreamWork's sci-fi action feature "Real Steel". James Rebhorn ("Independence Day," "Scent of a Woman") and Olga Fonda "Love Hurts" also joined the cast.

Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum - 1 and 2," "Date Night") will direct the actioner from the script written by John Gatins.

Set in the near future, story is about the popular sport of robot boxing, and revolves around a former boxer (Jackman) who gets one last shot at a comeback when he teams with his long-lost son (Goyo)to train a discarded robot boxer into a perfect contender for the high-tech sport.

Levy is co-producing the feature alongside Don Murphy, Susan Montford. Shooting is scheduled to begin later this month.

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Box Office May 28-31 Results

1 Shrek Forever After - $55,725,000
2 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $37,779,000
3 Sex and the City 2 - $37,145,000
4 Iron Man 2 - $20,600,000
5 Robin Hood - $13,600,000
6 Letters to Juliet - $7,250,000
7 Just Wright - $2,700,000
8 Date Night - $2,250,000
9 MacGruber - $1,900,000
10 How to Train Your Dragon - $1,465,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office May 29-30 Results (Japan)

1 ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Disney
2 PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME - Disney
3 Trick The Movie Psychic Battle Royale (JPN.) - Toho
4 Masked Rider Den-o Trilogy The Movie Episode Red (JPN.) - Toei
5 Railways (JPN.) - Shochiku
6 Zatoichi The Last Days (JPN.) - Toho
7 Box! (JPN.) - Toho
8 Nodame Cantabile The Movie II (JPN.) - Toho
9 GREEN ZONE - TohoTowa
10 Detective Conan The Lost Ship In The Sky (JPN.Animation) - Toho

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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Guillermo del Toro bids goodbye to "The Horbit"

By Siewaun
Reference: theonering.net

Yes, to all Horbit fans out there, this is for real! Guillermo del Toro has announced that he is leaving his "The Horbit" two movies director's position due to production delays.

Guillermo yesterday wrote an official announcement on The Lord of the Rings fansite TheOneRing.net, "In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming "The Hobbit," I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed.

"The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director", says Guillermo.

But who can blame him, I mean, he has a long list of other projects such as HP Lovecraft’s "At the Mountains of Madness", "Frankenstein", "Drood", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Slaughterhouse-Five", and he has spend two years in New Zealand waiting for production to start when he could actually film one or two other movies during the time. And with production date is still uncertain, how long does he needs to wait...one or two more years? What would you do if you were in his shoes?

Though, Guillermo said that he will continue co-writing the script with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens.

Peter Jackson said, "We understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone’s control – has compromised his commitment to other long term projects. The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years."

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James McAvoy is Charles Xavier in "X-Men: First Class"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

James McAvoy, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Atonement, and starred opposite Angelina Jolie in "Wanted," has signed on to play the young Professor Charles Xavier in "X-Men: First Class."

The story centers on two young men, Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (yet unnown), discovering their superhuman powers. They were close friends before they took the names Professor X and Magneto. They worked together with other Mutants to stop a threat to the world, but in the process, a rift opened between them, which leads to the war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

Bryan Singer, who directed the original "X-Men" and its sequel "X-Men 2," came up with the story, but will not direct this time, instead handed over the directing job to director Matthew Vaughn ("Stardust," "Kick-Ass").

Singer will produce the feature alongside Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this summer and will be released on June 3, 2011.

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Wilson Yip to make new version of "A Chinese Ghost Story"

By Siewaun
Reference: english.cri.cn

Wilson Yip, director of the critical acclaimed and box office success martial arts movies "Ip Man" and "Ip Man 2" has set his eyes on a ghost story for his next project.

Yip announced on Tuesday that he will direct the movie titled "A Chinese Ghost Story," based on the original story, written by 17th-century Chinese author Pu Songling, which tells the love story of a tax collector, Ning Caichen, and a ghost named Nie Xiaoqian.

"A Chinese Ghost Story" was famously brought onto big screen in 1987 by producer Tsui Hark, and won huge popularity for Leslie Cheung in Japan and raised Joey Wong's stardom for the lead role they played in the movie.

Yip said that his version will not be the sequel to the Tsui Hark one, but rather a completely new spin on the story, and will be enhanced with computer-generated special effects.

A production kick off ceremony will be held during the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival (June 12 to 20).

No dates are mentioned as of when casting will begin.

I'm a huge fan of the Tsui Hark version, and I rather that they don't do any remake, but well, I trust Wilson Yip will make the new one even better after seeing his directing quality in "Ip Man." And of course, the star status of Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong will be hard to beat!

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Alison Pill joins Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Canadian actress Alison Pill "Milk," "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" has signed on to Woody Allen's upcoming "Midnight in Paris" feature.

Pill will co-star alongside Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Tom Hiddleston, Corey Stoll, Mimi Kennedy and Kurt Fuller.

Movie is a romantic comedy about a family traveling to the city for business, including a young engaged couple that has their lives transformed throughout the journey.

Letty Aronson, Steve Tenenbaum and Jaume Roures are producing the movie, which is one of the three features from the three-pic financing deal Allen's Gravier Productions made with Spanish media conglom Mediapro.

Spain's Imagina International Sales will handle most of international sales.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this summer in Paris.

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Legendary acquires "Mass Effect" movie rights

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Legendary Pictures, under it's co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros., will develop Electronic Arts' action role-playing game series "Mass Effect" into a feature film after picking up the feature rights.

BioWare, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts, developed "Mass Effect" for the Xbox 360, and the story takes place in the year 2183, with the player, assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard of starship SSV Normandy, who leads a team on a mission to defeat an ancient alien race that invades the galaxy every 50,000 years and wipes out all organic life.

Mark Protosevich "I Am Legend" is in negotiations to write the script for the sci-fi feature.

"Mass Effect" executive producer Casey Hudson was quoted as saying, "At BioWare, we've always thought of 'Mass Effect' as having the depth, emotion and plot twists perfectly suited for an adaptation to a motion picture."

Legendary's Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce the film with Avi and Ari Arad, while BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will executive producing alongside Hudson.

Warner Bros. will distribute the film worldwide.

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Box Office May 21-23 Results

1. Shrek Forever After - $71,250,000
2. Iron Man 2 - $26,600,000
3. Robin Hood - $18,700,000
4. Letters to Juliet - $9,100,000
5. Just Wright - $4,225,000
6. MacGruber - $4,100,000
7. Date Night - $2,825,000
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - $2,285,000
9. How to Train Your Dragon - $1,850,000
10. Kites - $953,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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James Franco creates intelligent apes in "Rise of the Apes"

By Siewaun
Reference: heatvisionblog

James Franco (" Pineapple Express," "Milk") has secured the lead role in 20th Century Fox's "Rise of the Apes," a prequel to "Planet of the Apes."

Rupert Wyatt, who directed the award winning British prison escape thriller "The Escapist," is set to direct the prequel from script written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa.

Franco will star as a determined scientist who becomes a crucial figure in the war between humans and apes.

Set in modern day San Francisco, "Rise" centers on Franco's scientist character who has been working on a cure for Alzheimer's that is being tested on apes. When one of the test subject, named Caesar, begins to evolve rapidly, and the scientist takes him home to live with him and protects him from cruel doctors.

With WETA Digital on board, the audience will not see actors in apes costume, but rather a photo-realistic apes, created using some of the groundbreaking technologies developed for "Avatar."

Chernin Entertainment's founder Peter Chernin and film division chief Dylan Clark are co-producing along with Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa.

Shooting is scheduled to begin July 5 in British Columbia, and will be released on June 24, 2011.

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Megan Fox axed from "Transformers 3"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Paramount and director Michael Bay have decided to drop Megan Fox from the third series of the blockbuster "Transformers" franchise.

Sources indicated that the reason for the decision is because Paramount and Bay are taking another direction on "Transformers 3" plotline, and it would be more suitable to have a new love interest for Shia LaBeouf's onscreen character, Sam Witwicky; and that the decision has nothing to do with Fox comparing Bay to Adolf Hitler during a previous magazine interview.

It was also revealed that casting for Fox's replacement will begin immediately, and Gemma Arterton "Prince of Persia" is said to be the top choice to replace her, while other possible candidates include models Bar Rafaeli, Miranda Kerr and Brooklyn Decker.

Meanwhile, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Ken Jeong have joined the returning cast of Shia LaBeouf, Kevin Dunn and Julie White.

Bay will direct from the script by Screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who is now working on the script.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce will produce the feature, and Steven Spielberg will executive producing.

Shooting has started this week in Los Angeles, and will then move location to various place in the U.S. Release date for the feature is scheduled for July 1, 2011.

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Vanessa Paradis joins Vallee's "Cafe de Flore"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

French actress-singer Vanessa Paradis is set to star in director Jean-Marc Vallee's "Cafe de Flore," a French-Canadian romantic feature.

Canadian film director Vallee ("C.R.A.Z.Y.," "The Young Victoria") will direct the feature from his own script, which is a two parallel stories feature; story set in the 1960s Paris tells of a devoted mother (Paradis) to a child with developmental disability; while story set in present day Montreal tells of a couple.

Vallee was quoted as saying to Daily Variety, "It's an epic love story that deals with supernatural forces."

Montreal-based Item7, Crazyfilms and Paris-based Monkey Pack Films are co-producing the two stories feature, with Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin producing for Item 7; Vallee producing for Crazyfilms; and Jean-Yves Robin, Nicolas Coppermann and Vanessa Fourgeaud producing for Monkey Pack films.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this summer in Montreal, before moving location to Paris.

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Ellen Page to star in feature adaptation of Cynthia Wade's "Freeheld"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Canadian actress Ellen Page, best known for starring in Jason Reitman's comedy-drama "Juno," will be starring in the big screen adaptation of Cynthia Wade's documentary film "Freeheld."

Screenwriter/director Ron Nyswaner has announced that will adapt the 2007 Oscar-winning short docu into a feature film specially for Page.

Wade's "Freeheld" is a true story, centers on police officer Laurel Hester who has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, fights against the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Ocean County, New Jersey to extend her pension benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie.

Producer James D. Stern will finance the production through his Endgame Entertainment banner, and will also co-produce alongside Wade and Kelly Bush of Vie Entertainment, and Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher of Double Feature Films. Doug Hansen and Adam Del Deo of Endgame will executive produce.

Stern was quoted as say,"As a documentarian and feature producer, you always look for powerful stories with subject matter that will resonate with audiences, and Cynthia's remarkable chronicle of the battle forged by two women did just that."

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Cameron Crowe set to direct Fox's "We Bought a Zoo"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Cameron Crowe, who wrote, directed and produced the Oscar winning movies "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous," is set to direct 20th Century Fox's feature "We Bought a Zoo."

Casting will begin once Crowe completes rewriting the original script written by Aline Brosh McKenna.

Movie is based on Benjamin Mee's memoir, which is about a widowed man who buys a dilapidated zoo in hopes of making a fresh start after his wife died from a fatal illness. He and his children, along with a small but loyal staff, work to get the zoo reopened.

Julie Yorn ("Bride Wars," "Alice") is producing the feature, which is scheduled to be released in December 23, 2011.

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McDormand agrees that "This Must Be the Place"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Oscar winning actress, Frances McDormand ("Fargo," "Burn After Reading") is in advance talks to star alongside Sean Penn in Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's English-language debut feature "This Must Be the Place."

Sorrentino ("Le conseguenze dell'amore," "Il Divo") will direct the movie from the script which he co-wrote with Umberto Contarello.

Movie centers on a retired aging rock star (Penn) who, out of boredom, takes on the quest of finding an ex-Nazi war criminal who ordered his father's execution in a concentration camp.

Producer Nicola Giuliano, under his Indigo Film banner, will co-produce alongside his Italian partner Lucky Red, France's Arp Selection and Ireland's Element Pictures.

Shooting is schedule to begin in Dublin this August, before moving location to U.S.

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Waltz, Lerman, Stevenson, Jovovich, Evans, Mikkelsen on board Anderson's "Three Musketeers"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Paul W.S. Anderson's 3D version "The Three Musketeers" has cast Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson, Milla Jovovich, Luke Evans and Madds Mikkelsen for key starring roles.

Anderson will direct and produce the 3D version of Alexandre Dumas' adventure tale from the script he co-wrote with Andrew Davies for Summit Entertainment.

"The Three Musketeers" is about a young musketeer by the name of D'Artagnan, who join forces with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, the veteran musketeers, to fight against the villian Cardinal Richelieu.

Waltz, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Inglourious Basterds," will star as Richelieu.

Lerman "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" plays D'Artagnan, Stevenson ("Rome," "Punisher: War Zone") stars as Porthos, and Evans ("Clash of the Titans," "Immortals") plays Aramis.

Mikkelsen "Clash of the Titans" will play the villainous Comte de Rochefort, and Jovovich will star as the spy Milady de Winter.

Jeremy Bolt of Impact Pictures is co-producing with Robert Kulzer of Constantin Film. Constantin will finance the production, while Summit is handling domestic distribution and foreign sales.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in September.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros.' version of "The Three Musketeers" will be directed by Doug Liman ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Jumper"). Lionel Wigram, who also produced "Sherlock Holmes" for Warners, will produce the movie. Peter Straughan "The Men Who Stare at Goats" has been hired to write the screenplay.

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Melanie Thierry joins director Andre Techine's "Unforgivable"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Melanie Thierry, best known to international audiences for her starring role in the 2008 movie Babylon A.D., and recently won the César Awards for her breakthrough performance in "Le dernier pour la route," will star alongside Carole Bouquet "Trop belle pour toi" and Andre Dussollier "On connaît la chanson" in director Andre Techine's "Unforgivable (working title)."

The movie which is based on Philippe Djian's novel, tells of a successful writer in his 60s who struggles to carry on with his life after the death of his wife and daughter in a car accident.

Said Ben Said's Paris-based SBS will produce the movie, and TF1 International will sell the movie to buyers at Cannes. Theatrical release in France will be handled by UGC Distribution.

Shooting, which will take 10 weeks to complete, begins this week in Venice.

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Box Office May 7-9 Results

1 Iron Man 2 - $133,600,000
2 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - $9,170,000
3 How to Train Your Dragon - $6,760,000
4 Date Night - $5,300,00
5 The Back-up Plan - $4,345,000
6 Furry Vengeance - $4,000,000
7 Clash of the Titans (2010) - $2,305,000
8 Death at a Funeral (2010) - $2,100,000
9 The Losers - $1,800,000
10 Babies - $1,575,594

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Box Office May 8-9 Results (Japan)

1 ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Disney
2 Trick The Movie Psychic Battle Royale (JPN.) - Toho
3 Nodame Cantabile The Movie II (JPN.) - Toho
4 Detective Conan The Lost Ship In The Sky (JPN.Animation) - Toho
5 CLASH OF THE TITANS - WB
6 Gintama (JPN.Animation) - WB
7 Crayon Shin Chan 2010 (JPN.Animation) - Toho
8 SHUTTER ISLAND - Paramount
9 Miracle Girls Neva-da Stop Dreaming (JPN.) - Shochiku
10 THE BOX - Showgate

Source: Cinemanavi.co.jp
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"Iron Man 2" is No. 1 for the 2nd week at overseas B.O.

By Siewaun
Reference: thehollywoodreporter

Paramount and Marvel Entertainment's "Iron Man 2" sat comfortably on top for the second straight week at the International box office, with $57.2 million from 10,774 screens in 61 markets, and accumulated a total of $194 million overseas earnings, reports THR.

The Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow starrer earned an estimated $133.6 million in its domestic opening weekend, thus making the total of worldwide earnings to $327.6 million.

With the total earnings, the sequel is now $71 million short the total overseas earnings of the original "Iron Man," and chances are high that it will overtakes the original very soon.

"Iron Man 2," which debuted April 28 at overseas territories, got a huge earnings in China with $7.3 million from about 3,000 screens.

It also took the No. 1 ranking in France and U.K. by earning $4 million from 655 screens, and $4.9 million from 426 screens respectively. "Iron Man 2" drew a combined opening earnings of $3.88 million to take the No.1 spot in Germany and Austria.

Other countries where it also took the top spot are Korea with $4.7 million from 834 locations for a market earnings of $22 million, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Italy and Mexico.

Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," which earned $12.5 million from 5,946 screens in 54 territories, took the No. 2 spot. Warner Bros.' "Clash of the Titans," came in third with $8.8 million earnings at more than 7,200 screens in 61 territories.

At No. 4 is Warners and New Line Cinema's "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and at No. 5 is 20th Century Fox's "Date Night," which scored $4.7 million from 2,750 screens in 50 territories.

DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" took the sixth spot with $4.5 million from 4,249 screens in 60 territories. Sony's "The Back-Up Plan" is No. 7 with $4.3 million from 1,360 screens in 24 territories.

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Spielberg to direct and produce "War Horse"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Steven Spielberg has finally decides to direct World War I epic "War Horse" after all.

Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner, Stacey Snider, have acquired the feature rights to Michael Morpurgo's novel "War Horse" last fall.

Screenwriters Lee Hall "Billy Elliot" and Richard Curtis has been hired to write the adaptation of Morpurgo's novel of the same name.

The movie tells of an the the extraordinary bond between a young boy named Albert and a horse named Joey that are separated but whose fates continue to be intertwined over the course of WWI.

Spielberg will co-produce the adventure drama with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Revel Guest.

Spielberg was quoted as say, "From the moment I read (the book), I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make. It's heart and it's message provide a story that can be felt in every country."

"War Horse" is a children's fiction novel by Michael Morpurgo, first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward publishers in 1982, and was runner-up for the prestigious Whitbread Award in the same year.

The epic feature will be released by Disney and DreamWorks on the 10th of August, 2011.

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Ang Lee authorized to make movie on Teresa Teng

By Siewaun
Reference: english.cri.cn

According to CRI, Chinese website M1905.com reports that the life story Taiwan super star singer Teresa Teng will be put on big screen.

Director Ang Lee revealed that he was given the authorization by Teresa Teng's family to make a movie about her life.

Mainland Chinese actress Tang Wei was choosen by Lee to star as Teng because Teng's family says Tang Wei has a very similar face and temperament to Teresa Teng, and they consider Tang Wei to be the only actress who could play Teng.

According to M1905.com, the family has signed a contract with the investment company Polybona, and will wait until Lee completes his other project before starting with this project.

There have been other works in memory of Teresa Teng, whose 15th death anniversary is coming up in four days, which is on the 8th of May.

"Comrades, Almost a Love Story," a 1996 Hong Kong film starring Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai, and directed by Peter Chan, is about how Teng's song made a young couple fall in love. Hong Kong singer Faye Wong has also made records of all Teng's songs, with approval by Teng's family.

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Jones, Huston, Parsons have joined "The Big Year"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Rashida Jones "I Love You, Man," Anjelica Huston ("The Royal Tenenbaums," "When in Rome") and Jim Parsons "The Big Bang Theory" have joined Fox 2000 comedy "The Big Year." The movie stars Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson in the lead role.

Rosamund Pike, JoBeth Williams, Brian Dennehy, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Anderson and Tim Blake Nelson also joined in, while Kevin Pollak and Joel McHale are in negotiations.

Director David Frankel ("The Devil Wears Prada," "Marley & Me") will direct from script written by Howard Franklin, which was adapted from Mark Obmascik's 1998 novel of the same name.

"The Big Year" tells of three men (Martin, Black, Wilson) who try to outdo each other during a year-long competition to spot the rarest birds in North America.

Jones stars as the love interest of Black's character as an avid birder in the contest. Huston plays an avid birder who captains ocean-going expeditions. Parsons plays the author of a popular avian blog.

Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld, through their Red Hour Films banner are co-producing the comedy with Karen Rosenfelt and Deuce Three Productions' Curtis Hanson and Carol Fenelon.

Shooting which will be taking place in locations throughout Canada, begins today.

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Box office Apr. 30-May 2 Results

1 A Nightmare on Elm Street - $32,205,000
2 How to Train Your Dragon - $10,825,000
3 Date Night - $7,600,000
4 The Back-up Plan - $7,240,000
5 Furry Vengeance - $6,500,000
6 The Losers - $6,000,000
7 Clash of the Titans - $5,980,000
8 Kick-Ass - $4,450,000
9 Death at a Funeral - $4,000,000
10 Oceans - $2,621,000

Source: Boxoffice.com
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Richard Gere, Topher Grace going after "The Double"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Richard Gere and Topher Grace will star in Hyde Park and Imagenation Abu Dhabi's espionage thriller "The Double."

Michael Brandt, who co-wrote scripts for "Wanted" and "3:10 to Yuma" with Derek Haas, will be making his directorial debut with this thriller. Brandt also co-wrote the script with Haas.

Movie centers on a mysterious murder of a U.S. senator bearing the marks of a Soviet assassin code-named "Cassius," who was long thought to be dead. A retired CIA operative (Gere), who spent his career in direct confrontation with his Soviet nemesis, teamed with a young FBI agent (Grace) to hunt him down.

Hyde Park's chairman Ashok Amritraj and exec-VP of production Patrick Aiello are co-producing with Haas and Industry Entertainment's Andrew Deane. Imagenation's chairman Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei and CEO Edward Borgerding are executive producing.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in June in Detroit.

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Dwayne Johnson offers to give "Protection"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Dwayne Johnson ("Race to Witch Mountain," "Tooth Fairy") is set to star in the leading role in Mayhem Pictures' indie action thriller "Protection."

Simon West ("Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," "When a Stranger Calls") will direct the $35 million budget movie from the script written by Brandon Noonan.

Movie follows a mercenary Mexico City security operative forced to smuggle the daughter of a threatened high-ranking judge and the judge's chief legal counsel across the border while being pursued by corrupt cops, drug lords and white-collar U.S. criminal forces.

Stuart Ford and Robert Lawrence, IM Global Founder and CEO, will co-produce with Mayhem Pictures' Gordon Gray and Mark Ciardi. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones will executive produce.

Shooting is scheduled to begin this fall in New Mexico.

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