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Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger trade jabs at 'Expendables 2' Comic-con gig...
Could there be any doubt over what the first two words would be out of Arnold Schwarzenegger's mouth at Comic-Con?
"I'm back," said the former California governor, who has leaped back to acting with a series of upcoming action roles including "The Expendables 2," which Schwarzenegger came to promote at the fan convention.
Schwarzenegger joined fellow stars Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Couture on a panel to preview footage for Comic-Con.
Quoting his famous line from the "Terminator" films, Schwarzenegger said that after eight years away from action films while governor, he took some ribbing from his co-stars, who also included Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, Liam Hemsworth and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
"'Well, we know you've been out of the business for eight years. Let me show you how to load a gun again and, Arnold, here's how you throw a punch,"' Schwarzenegger recalled his co-stars joking.
But after the verbal sparring of state government, Schwarzenegger found he was able to pick up where he left off as an action star fairly fast, doing fun things like taking out a knife and killing a guy and cutting his head off.
"You wish you could do some of those things when you're in politics, but you know, you can't," Schwarzenegger said.
The sequel to Stallone's 2010 hit, "The Expendables 2" casts the band of tough guys into vengeance mode after they're betrayed on a mission. The movie arrives in theaters in Aug. 17.
After the preview, Comic-Con organizers presented their Inkpot Award honoring pop-culture contributions to Schwarzenegger, who also has filmed the crime thriller "The Last Stand" since leaving the governor's office.
Stallone, who also co-stars with Schwarzenegger in the upcoming prison thriller "The Tomb," recalled first meeting Schwarzenegger at the Golden Globes for 1977, when his boxing saga "Rocky" won for best picture and Schwarzenegger won as best new star for "Stay Hungry."
"Who is this guy as big as the whole table?" Stallone recalls wondering of former body-building champion Schwarzenegger. After hearing the Austrian's name called for his award, Stallone thought, "No one has a name like that. This guy is doomed, over, flash in the pan."
Schwarzenegger shot back that Stallone set the tone for his own accent-heavy acting career.
"When I came to America 44 years ago, Sly was my English teacher," Schwarzenegger said. "So blame him."
Stallone replied in classic Rocky monosyllables.
"Yo," he said. "Hey."
News Update: Sly Stallone's son dead...
Sylvester Stallone's rep, Michelle Bega, told celebrity news website TMZ, "Sylvester Stallone is devastated and grief-stricken over the sudden loss of his son Sage Stallone. His compassion and thoughts are with Sage's mother, Sasha. Sage was a very talented and wonderful young man. His loss will be felt forever."
WWE angle at Comic-Con...
WWE ran an angle today yesterday with Alberto Del Rio "invading" the Mattel panel at the show. Del Rio showed up during Sheamus' Q&A and engaged in a promo back-and-forth with the World Champion. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GMGMsASNsYw
WWE At Comic-Con...
WWE Superstars appearing with Mattel at the San Diego Comic Con include Daniel Bryan, Alicia Fox and Arn Anderson. Former WWE stars who showed included Lita.
Less Hollywood movie studios do Comic-Con...
Hollywood's movie studios are heading to Comic-Con with less fan fair this year.
Hit by average presentations in the past that resulted in costly box-office duds like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Green Lantern," the major studios will not arrive in full force in San Diego for the annual event.
Although Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate are making presentations and pitching their product for fans, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures are skipping the show this year.
With the no shows of those three studios, footage from such movies as the Tom Cruise science-fiction epic "Oblivion," zombie film "World War Z" and superhero sequel "The Wolverine" that might naturally appeal to Comic-Con fans won't be seen by the estimated crowd of 130,000. Fox, Universal and Paramount appear to have concluded that it's not worthwhile to attend the show if they don't have clips, trailers or other materials ready that would sufficiently wow audiences.
"It's only worth going if you can debut stuff that will really impress," said Michael Moses, co-president of marketing at Universal. "Treating it as a deadline and forcing yourself to rush pieces can be a big mistake."
It wasn't long ago that Comic-Con was considered a "must go" among Hollywood studios. In 2010, for example, six of the seven biggest were in attendance. Last year, five came.
Studios ordinarily spend several hundred thousand dollars for a major presentation at Comic-Con, including projecting footage of their films on giant screens (sometimes in 3-D), supplying the crowd with giveaways, and flying actors and filmmakers in on private jets.
In the mix of the most elaborate and expensive set-ups of recent years were an arcade built by Disney to promote "Tron: Legacy" and a "Scott Pilgrim" experience, complete with T-shirt printing, built by Universal across the street from the convention center.
Those movies were box-office disappointments, however, leading studios to become more skeptical about heading to San Diego any time they have an upcoming picture that might appeal to audiences that dress up like their favorite superheroes.
"For the vast majority of movies, I believe Comic-Con is neutral at best and a killer at worst," said Jim Gallagher, a former president of marketing at Disney who now runs the marketing consultancy firm Apples and Shovels. "It's difficult for any film to stand out, but if the audiences think you don't have the goods, you can get crushed by bad buzz."
Indeed, some of the biggest hits of recent years never showed up at Comic-Con, including "The Dark Knight" and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."
But several studios are still trying to make a splash this year.
Lionsgate is promoting its highly anticipated sequel "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2," "The Expendables 2" and "Dredd 3-D," the latter of which will have its first public screening this week at Comic-Con.
In an unusual move for a production company that doesn't handle its own marketing, Legendary Entertainment is setting up a booth and hosting events. Previously known for co-financing such films as "300" and "Inception, "Legendary is preparing to roll out its own slate of comics and movies next year, including director Guillermo Del Toro's "Pacific Rim," and is eager to establish itself as a brand with the fanboy crowd.
Warner Bros. will be showing footage from director Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which hits theaters in December, as well as next year's Superman reboot "Man of Steel."
Disney is presenting clips of its animated films "Frankenweenie" and "Wreck-It-Ralph," the prequel "Oz: The Great and Powerful" and Marvel's "Iron Man 3."
Sony will show off its remake of "Total Recall," the Bruce Willis science-fiction film "Looper" and "Elysium." The latter movie, made by "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp and starring Jodie Foster and Matt Damon, comes out next March but so far has been intentionally kept almost a total mystery to fans.
"The best opportunity at Comic-Con is to go in with a movie people know little about and wow them with your material," said Marc Weinstock, Sony's worldwide marketing president.
Fewer movies, however, doesn't mean the crowds at Comic-Con will have any shortage of Hollywood presentations.
Sensing a growing opportunity at the event, television networks will be out in full force this year, with panels for "Game of Thrones," "The Big Bang Theory" and "The Walking Dead" scheduled in the same cavernous, 6,500-person capacity hall where the biggest movie presentations take place.
The season premiere of "Breaking Bad" will debut at Comic-Con before airing Sunday on AMC.
Is Jessica Biel Wolverine's Newest Villain? Scoop From Comic-Com...
We already know Hugh Jackman has one villain to go head-to-head with in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine sequel, but will he be battling Jessica Biel too?
Deadline reported this morning that she was set to star in the film, but don't pre-order your tickets just yet, fanboys.
"That's not totally true. It's a little too early to say," Jessica explained at today's Total Recall Comic-Con press conference.
Don't get too upset though, X-Men fans, because it sounds like the wheels are moving.
And after getting the chance to kick ass in Blade: Trinity and now again in Total Recall (catfight with Kate Beckinsale, anyone?!), we think she'd make quite the formidable foe to Jackman's Wolverine.
The villainous Viper—the role Biel is rumored to be taking on—has no superpowers of her own but is strong, fast and knows how to handle a weapon.
Oh, and she's a great blackmailer. A skill she uses, in Marvel lore, to force Wolverine to tie the knot with her.
Stay tuned for more updates on Jessica, Jackman and friends.
WWE partners with Tout, joins $13.4m investment round - July 11 2012...
WWE today announced an investment in and strategic partnership with Tout, a deal that provides better visuals than the rest of the $13.4 million in series B financing the social video platform announced.
New investors WWE, 819 Capital, Gordon Crawford, and Stan Shuman & Jack Schneider from Allen & Co. join previous investors including Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Horizons Ventures and Seavest Ventures.
Tout enables users to share 15-second video clips automatically and in real time, and other users can respond. Tout updates can be sent to the user’s choice of Tout.com, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, SMS and email contacts.
WWE will feature Tout across its network of WWE.com, television, live events, digital, print and more than 100 million social media followers. WWE is making a big splash regarding Tout on July 23, during the 1,000 episode of Monday Night Raw. Additionally, WWE Superstars will interact with fans via Tout question and answer sessions leading up to the event.
Or to quote WWE’s language, “Starting with the historic 1,000th episode of Raw on July 23 at 8/7 CT on USA Network, WWE takes interactivity to the next level when Monday nights go RAWactive!”
Looking forward, WWE will launch “Tout Tuesdays” giving fans the opportunity to discuss what happened the previous night on Monday Night Raw.
“WWE is in a class by itself as a media giant who has innovatively grown their business through social media,” said Michael Downing, CEO of Tout. “We could not envision a better partner to show how the Tout platform powers high-impact, real-time engagement across broadcast TV, digital and live events.”
Tout has 23 million users, a number the WWE partnership will undoubtedly swell. Wendy Williams, Ryan Seacrest, Erin Andrews, Dr. Oz, Jeff Probst, Mitt Romney, CBS, National Geographic Channel, CNBC’s Fast Money, C-SPAN and ESPN are among Tout’s existing users.
“WWE looks forward to partnering with Tout to grow this innovative social media platform,” said Vince McMahon, WWE chairman and CEO. “Tout’s real-time video technology will become a critical component of fan interactivity in our weekly television programming and will be utilized to connect WWE directly with our fans in new ways.”
INTERNET SENSATION LUCAS CRUIKSHANK AKA “FRED” FACES LIFE IN THE WORST SUMMER CAMP EVER IN THE NEW NICKELODEON ORIGINAL TV MOVIE COMEDY, FRED 3: CAMP FRED, PREMIERING SAT., JULY 28, AT 8 P.M. (ET/PT)
Tom Arnold, WWE Superstar John Cena, Desperate Housewives’ Charlie Carver, Victorious’ Daniella Monet, Supah Ninjas’ Carlos Knight and As The World Turns’ Jake Weary Also Star in Third Installment of Hit Franchise
Los Angeles, Calif., - July 12, 2012 - School’s out for the summer and the fast-talking, hyper teenager “Fred Figglehorn” is headed to camp in the brand-new TV movie starring internet sensation Lucas Cruikshank, Fred 3: Camp Fred, premiering Sat., July 28, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
Based on one of the most popular internet characters of all time, the third installment of the hit TV movie franchise also features Tom Arnold as Floyd the camp director, WWE Superstar John Cena as Fred’s imaginary dad, Charlie Carver (Desperate Housewives) as Hugh Thompson the resident jock, Daniella Monet (Victorious) as Fred’s sassy best friend Bertha, Jake Weary (As The World Turns) and Carlos Knight (Supah Ninjas) as Fred’s rivals.
In Fred 3: Camp Fred, Fred’s mom (Siobhan Fallon Hogan) enrolls him in the world’s worst summer camp - the dilapidated Camp Iwannapeepee. Fred is miserable until he meets a motley group of campers who teach him what camp is really about – making new friends. Together, Fred and his new friends, “Magoo” (Joey Bragg), “Dig” (Adrian Kali Turner, Bad Teacher, The Walking Dead), “Spoon” (Leah Lewis), and “Chatter” (Matthew Scott Miller), are determined to muster up the strength and confidence to beat their rivals at the nearby posh Camp Superior in the annual Summer Camp Games.
Fred 3: Camp Fred is executive produced by Brian Robbins of Varsity Pictures, Michael Green, Gary Binkow and Evan Weiss of The Collective, and Lucas Cruikshank. The movie is written by Drew Hancock (Supah Ninjas, FRED: THE SHOW) and directed by Jonathan Judge (FRED: THE SHOW, Big Time Rush).
Fred 3: Camp Fred will be supported by the new site at www.nick.com/fred and will serve as a first-look location for fans to get information and fun facts about the movie and view exclusive footage for Fred and his world. New content will be added to the site regularly leading up to the movie premiere and over the next several weeks, the site will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, an interactive map of Camp Iwannapeepee, letters from Fred, quizzes, teaser clips, games, photo galleries and more.
Camp Fred marks the third TV movie, following previous hits Fred: The Movie and Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred. Nickelodeon recently green-lit Marvin, Marvin, a new original half-hour comedy series starring Cruikshank, which follows the exploits of Marvin, an alien teen who is trying to fit into life on earth while living with his human family. In 2008, the Nebraska teenager created the popular ‘Fred’ character in a series of YouTube videos which have been viewed more than 900 million times. The latest digital iteration of the character features a new animated series on the FRED YouTube channel titled “IT’S FRED.” In 2010, Cruikshank was named one of “10 Comics to Watch” by Daily Variety and was listed among the 50 Top Digital Power Players by The Hollywood Reporter.
Producer Brian Robbins, founder and president of Varsity Pictures, is one of entertainment’s most prolific producers. In features, Robbins has directed and/or produced films such as Disney’s Wild Hogs, Dreamworks’ Norbit, Paramount’s Coach Carter, Disney’s The Shaggy Dog, Sony’s Radio and Paramount’s Varsity Blues. Robbins is currently in post production on his next feature The To-Do-List for CBS Films. Robbins is also responsible for numerous popular and critical television hits, including the long-running CW series Smallville and One Tree Hill, Disney Channel’s series Sonny with a Chance and Spike TV’s original scripted comedy, Blue Mountain State. Robbins was also the producing force behind series such as Nickelodeon’s All That, WB’s What I Like About You and HBO’s Arli$$.
The Collective is a leading entertainment management, production and distribution company. The Collective’s mission is to unlock the value of the direct relationship between artists and their fans by identifying, developing building and maximizing opportunities for creative talent across a multitude of media platforms. Clients include Linkin Park, Counting Crows, Enrique Iglesias, Slash, Alanis Morissette, Godsmack, Martin Lawrence, Emile Hirsch, Eliza Dushku, Eddie Izzard, Lucas Cruikshank and Dane Boedigheimer, creator of internet sensation “The Annoying Orange.” The Collective, through it's Collective Digtial Studio division, has most recently produced the hit television series "The High Frutose Adventures of Annoying Orange" airing on Cartoon Network, and the blockbuster feature length original web series "Video Game High School," from FreddieW creators Freddie Wong, Brandon Laatsch andRocketJump.com co-founder/producer Matt Arnold. Based in Beverly Hills, The Collective employs a staff of more than seventy employees.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).
Ric Flair’s 1000th RAW Status...
A number of WWE sources advise that Ric Flair is not expected for the 1,000th RAW episode later this month. Regarding Flair’s upcoming appearance for ICP’s Gathering of the Juggalos, he will not be wrestling but will be hosting the main stage which features music performances.
Dave Batista News Update: Movie and MMA Match...
The news of Batista appearing in “Man With the Iron Fist” was not the big announcement that he and his agent have been hyping for months. Batista says that announcement is still coming and that fans are going to flip out. He wrote on Twitter:
“Follow @JohnnyRyanJr he’s leaking the announcement this week. You fans are gonna f***ing flip out.”
Batista News Update...
Dave Batista, 43, is making his MMA debut. From his Twitter: "I'm making my MMA debut oct 6th live on PPV check it! BOOOOM there's the announcement. Sorry haters!" Show takes place October 6 at the Duncan Doughnuts Theater in Providence, Rhode Island. He'll be facing a guy named Rashid Evans who is 1-2 as an amateur. Batista has been training in MMA for quite awhile now and recently got his blue belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. TMZ claims the fight will air somewhere.
WWE Greatest Matches in RAW History...
WWE’s website has ranked the top 50 greatest matches in RAW history. Here are the top 10:
10. Owen Hart vs. The British Bulldog: European Title tournament finals (March 3, 1997)
9. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H: Falls Count Anywhere Match (Sept. 22, 1997)
8. Rob Van Dam vs. Edge vs. John Cena: WWE Championship Triple Threat Match (July 3, 2006)
7. The Rock vs. Mankind: WWE Championship Match (Jan. 4, 1999)
6. Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena: WWE Championship Match (July 25, 2011)
5. The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy: Undisputed Championship Ladder Match (June 1, 2002)
4. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels: World Heavyweight Championship Match (Dec. 29, 2003)
3. Bret Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid: WWE Championship Match (July 11, 1994)
2. Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect: Loser Leaves WWE (Jan. 25, 1993)
1. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (April 23, 2007)
Legendary Indian Wrestler Dara Singh Passes Away, WWE Stars Comment...
India's most popular professional wrestler, Dara Singh, passed away Thursday morning at the age of 83 due to cardiac arrest.
Singh wrestled internationally from the 1940's through 1983, when he retired. He went on to have a successful movie career in India, and was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996.
William Regal commented on Singh's passing on his Twitter account, writing, "Very sad indeed to hear of the passing of the legendary Wrestler Dara Singh.I wrestled for him in India in 1992.A truly elegant gentleman."
Jim Ross also commented on his passing, writing on his Twitter, "Legit legend. Big rival of Lou Thesz. RIP."
Sheen quits Twitter; Off WWE RAW?...
According to TMZ, Charlie Sheen is officially off Twitter, which puts his status in question as "Social Media Ambassador" for the July 23 Raw recognizing 1,000 episodes. Sheen tweeted Thursday around midnight, "Reach for the stars everyone. dogspeed cadre. c out." Sheen commented to TMZ about quitting Twitter, "Thank you all for your amazing support. Trust me when I say please ‘follow’ me to my next endeavor. It’s gonna be epic.”
Charlie Sheen Screws Over WWE Two Weeks Before 1,000th Raw...
WWE is “losing.”
Two weeks before Charlie Sheen, star of the new FX sitcom, Anger Management, is scheduled to join WWE as the Celebrity Social Media Ambassador for the historic 1,000th episode of Raw SuperShow, the award-winning actor is giving the heave-ho to social media.
TMZ.com reported Thursday night that Sheen plans to shut down his Twitter account within days, or possibly hours, due to his belief that the social media platform is not worth his while.
During the three-hour milestone event July 23 at 8/7 CT on USA Network, the “winning” actor is scheduled to entertain his 7.7 million Twitter followers and the WWE Universe all night long with his unique 140-character analysis of the action.
Sonnen will rest, then decide on UFC future; Not Signing With WWE...
MANILA, Philippines – Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight contender Chael Sonnen will give himself some time to rest before deciding on his next career move following a technical knockout loss to rival Anderson Silva of Brazil.
Sonnen lost to Silva for the second time in his career at UFC 148 in Las Vegas, once again failing to win the UFC middleweight championship.
Following his loss, one of Sonnen’s coaches, Neil Melanson, went on record saying he believes the fighter may hang up his gloves, but Sonnen said he has not made a decision on his future yet.
“I don’t think any athlete should begin to think like that or think about that until you let about 30 days go by,” Sonnen said, as quoted by ESPN.
“In anything in life, you don’t want to make a decision based on emotion,” he added.
Sonnen said he plans to take a month off before making a decision.
“You have highs and very big lows in this sport. You don’t want to make any drastic decisions,” he said.
Sonnen came close to defeating Silva when they first fought at UFC 117, but succumbed to a triangle choke late in the fifth round.
In the rematch, Sonnen again had success in the first round, taking Silva down easily. But Silva took control in the second round, and when Sonnen slipped after attempting a spinning backfist, the Brazilian pounced.
Sonnen said he doesn’t want to announce his retirement, only to make a comeback after a while.
“I think that it’s an insult to the fans when guys like to come out and say ‘I’m retired.’ What they really mean is, ‘I’ll see everybody in 18 months, because I’m coming back,’” Sonnen said.
“I don’t want to do that. But when I get to that point in my career, I’ll make a statement, and I’ll never look back,” he added.
'Amazing Spider-Man' Tops Box Office, Snares $140 Million Over Six Days...
After a record-setting opening day, "The Amazing Spider-Man" remained strong through the weekend, helping the Sony/Columbia production earn $140 million in less than a week in theaters. Oliver Stone's "Savages" also opened with a decent $16 million in revenue, though music documentary "Katy Perry: Part of Me" struggled to find an audience and racked up just $7 million. Seth MacFarlane's "Ted" also continued to hit with its target demographic, hauling in $32 million and pushing its 10-day total to an enormous $120 million in domestic revenue.
With a $230 million production budget and a very large built-in fan base, expectations were understandably high for "The Amazing Spider-Man." The Sony/Columbia reboot didn't take long to find its audience, racking up $35 million in revenue on Tuesday alone and putting up solid numbers throughout the rest of the week. "The Amazing Spider-Man" ended up with $65 million in weekend revenue, helping it to hit the lofty industry expectations.
Globally, "The Amazing Spider-Man" also got off to a good start by bringing in more than $200 million in revenue outside of the U.S. After already eclipsing $340 million worldwide, "The Amazing Spider-Man" will easily cruise past $500 million in worldwide revenue in the coming weeks, though it's still unclear whether it will be able to challenge the franchise-best $890 million that "Spider-Man 3" brought in. Without any major new competition until "The Dark Knight Rises" opens in a couple weeks, "Spider-Man" should remain a box office stalwart and continue to put up some big overall numbers throughout the rest of the month.
As mainstream action audiences came out in droves to see the new version of "Spider-Man," older audience members turned up for Oliver Stone's thriller "Savages." Backed by some decent critical reviews, "Savages" ended up with a decent $16 million in opening revenue - a strong total for a $45 million production. "Savages" also doesn't have to worry about too much new competition next weekend, opening the door for another decent revenue haul.
While "Spider-Man" and "Savages" mainly hit with their target demographics, "Katy Perry: Part of Me" wasn't quite as fortunate. "Katy Perry" managed just $7.15 million over the weekend and $10.25 million in its first four days following its Thursday release. Though these are unimpressive numbers for a release of more than 2,700 total venues, "Katy Perry" also comes with a slender production budget of just $12 million. "Katy Perry" won't end up as one of the most lucrative music documentaries released in recent years, but it should end up as an overall success for distributor Paramount.
Aiming at a much different demographic than "Katy Perry" this weekend was "Ted," which headed into its second weekend with plenty of buzz. After dominating the box office a week ago and posting $54 million, "Ted" dipped just 40% from its opening totals and finished the weekend with $32 million. Now with $120 million domestically in just 10 days in theaters, "Ted" is easily the top R-rated hit of the year and might even challenge $200 million in the U.S. if it can remain strong in the coming weekends.
Also continuing to hit with its intended audience was Pixar/Disney's "Brave." "Brave" earned $20 million in its third weekend in theaters, pushing it to a very solid $174 million in its first 17 days. Foreign numbers have been slow so far for "Brave," though that should also change as it gets released in its biggest overseas markets in the coming weekends. The only real problem for "Brave" is the impending release of "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which opens this weekend with an enormous built-in family audience.
Next weekend, the release schedule will slow down, as "Ice Age: Continental Drift" is the only new title slated to hit theaters in wide release. Though not as touted as some other animated franchises, "Ice Age" has been a great success for Fox, with enormous worldwide revenues despite production budgets roughly half the size of Pixar releases. The following weekend, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" brings a similar amount of hype as "The Avengers" and is a lock to dominate the box office well into August.
Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 7/6/12 - 7/8/12 (In Millions):
1. The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony/Columbia): $65 [$70]
2. Ted (Universal): $32.59 [$32]
3. Brave (Disney): $20.16 [$18]
4. Savages (Universal): $16.16 [$13.5]
5. Magic Mike (Warner Brothers): $15.61 [$21]
6. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection (Lionsgate): $10.20 [$11.5]
7. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (Paramount/Dreamworks): $7.70 [$6.4]
8. Katy Perry: Part of Me (Paramount): $7.15 [$13]
9. Moonrise Kingdom (Focus): $4.64 [$2.6]
10. To Rome with Love (Sony Classics): $3.50 [N/A]
Hugh Jackman Joined By Six Additions to Cast of The Wolverine...
If director James Mangold's (3:10 to Yuma) The Wolverine hadn't been beset by weather, script and scheduling problems — title star Hugh Jackman opted to star in the musical version of Les Miserables rather than wait for those issues to be sorted out — the movie would currently be in post-production, with potentially enough edited footage to offer at least a teaser at this week's San Diego Comic-Con. As it is, Mangold is spending his time in the casting room, rather than the editing room, as he tries to put together a cast to support Jackman. In the last several days, six actors have joined the cast of The Wolverine, which takes Logan (Jackman) far away from his X-Men teammates and his wilderness retreat in Canada to Japan, where he must fight against the Silver Samurai and the deadly Hand ninjas at his command.
Written by Chris McQuarrie (Valkyrie), with rewrites by Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard), The Wolverine is based on the classic Marvel Comics limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and 300. The series stripped away Wolverine's superhero trappings and thrust him into a Japanese underworld brimming with feudal warriors and mystical ninjas. According to the list compiled by Empire from various sources, the cast will include: Hiroyuki Sanada (Speed Race) as Japanese crimelord Shingen Harada, leader of Clan Yashida; Tao Okamoto as Shingen's daughter and Wolverine's love interest, Mariko Yashida; Will Yun Lee (Total Recall remake) as Mariko's mutant half-brother, Kenuichio Harada, a.k.a. the Silver Samurai; Rila Fukushima as Yukio, an assassin who drugs Wolverine before his duel with Shingen; Hal Yamanouchi (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) as Yashida; and Brian Tee (Wedding Palace) as Noboru Mori, a corrupt minister of justice betrothed to Mariko.
The Wolverine is set to begin shooting next month. It will primarily be filmed in Jackman's native Australia, but will also shoot on location in Japan.
Next Showing:The Wolverine is slated to open July 26, 2013 (Reelz)
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson In Highest Paid Actors List...
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was listed at #4 on the Forbes annual list of the highest paid actors in the world over the past year. Johnson was reported as earning $36 million this past year, behind only Tom Cruise ($75 million), Leonardo DiCaprio ($37 million) and Adam Sandler ($37 million).
'Amazing Spider-Man' finishes weekend with $62M...
LOS ANGELES (AP) "The Amazing Spider-Man" had a slightly slower start at the box office than initially estimated, taking in $62 million domestically over opening weekend.
The final numbers Monday came in $3 million lower than the $65 million that distributor Sony had projected a day earlier, but it still was a healthy start for the new take on the Marvel Comics superhero.
Since opening last Tuesday, "The Amazing Spider-Man" has taken in $137 million domestically. Its worldwide total is about $340 million since it began rolling out overseas the previous week.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:
1. "The Amazing Spider Man," Sony, $62,004,688, 4,318 locations, $14,360 average, $137,022,258, one week.
2. "Ted," Universal, $32,202,395, 3,256 locations, $9,890 average, $119,849,740, two weeks.
3. "Brave," Disney, $19,612,370, 3,891 locations, $5,040 average, $173,969,341, three weeks.
4. "Savages," Universal, $16,016,910, 2,628 locations, $6,095 average, $16,016,910, one week.
5. "Magic Mike," Warner Bros., $15,642,337, 3,120 locations, $5,014 average, $72,829,107, two weeks.
6. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," Lionsgate, $10,177,029, 2,161 locations, $4,709 average, $45,822,984, two weeks.
7. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," Paramount, $7,520,690, 2,861 locations, $2,629 average, $195,905,126, five weeks.
8. "Katy Perry: Part of Me," Paramount, $7,138,266, 2,730 locations, $2,615 average, $10,240,213, one week.
9. "Moonrise Kingdom," Focus Features, $4,519,195, 884 locations, $5,112 average, $26,780,989, seven weeks.
10. "To Rome with Love," Sony Pictures Classics, $3,104,328, 806 locations, $3,852 average, $4,863,538, three weeks.
11. "People Like Us," Disney, $2,194,535, 2,055 locations, $1,068 average, $9,190,902, two weeks.
12. "The Avengers," Disney, $2,168,124, 1,125 locations, $1,927 average, $611,127,884, 10 weeks.
13. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," Fox, $1,944,534, 1,657 locations, $1,174 average, $34,050,910, three weeks.
14. "Prometheus," Fox, $1,815,500, 1,105 locations, $1,643 average, $122,390,274, five weeks.
15. "Snow White & the Huntsman," Universal, $1,768,355, 1,152 locations, $1,535 average, $149,756,565, six weeks.
16. "Men in Black 3," Sony, $1,680,714, 879 locations, $1,912 average, $173,089,690, seven weeks.
17. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," Fox Searchlight, $741,091, 359 locations, $2,064 average, $41,991,873, 10 weeks.
18. "Rock of Ages," Warner Bros., $639,406, 701 locations, $912 average, $36,974,619, four weeks.
19. "That's My Boy," Sony, $621,656, 400 locations, $1,554 average, $36,100,833, four weeks.
20. "Bol Bachchan," FIP, $561,996, 98 locations, $5,735 average, $561,996, one week.
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
Roger Moore croons 007 birthday song...
PARIS — One-time 007 Roger Moore has teamed up with a former Bond Girl to record a song marking 50 years of the spy's on-screen adventures, a James Bond fan club said on Wednesday.
The 84-year-old British actor took over Bond film duties from Sean Connery in 1973, making his debut in "Live and Let Die" before completing the sequence with "A View to a Kill" 12 years later.
He teamed up with Irka Bochenko, his co-star in the 1979 film "Moonraker", for the anniversary duet titled "Happy Birthday Mr. Bond!", the spy's French fan club told AFP.
Extracts will be posted online at www.jamesbond007.net ahead of the record's release in September.
Hundreds of items -- from tuxedos to bikinis and vodka martinis -- went on show at London's Barbican Centre last week to mark 50 years since Bond made the jump from Ian Fleming's novels to the silver screen with the 1962 "Dr No".
The next Bond movie, "Skyfall", directed by Sam Mendes with Daniel Craig as the glamorous spy, will hit world screens from October.
Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino Talks WWE, Vince McMahon...
Bruno Sammartino appeared on Inside The Ropes on Thursday night. Here are some highlights...
Memories of WrestleMania 1: “When McMahon contacted me after Vince Sr died, he asked me if I would come back saying he wanted to carry on his fathers tradition and who better to do that with than me because I’d been there for so many years. I agreed because he said I’d do broadcasting once every three weeks. Everything turned out to be not true. He did not keep in his father’s tradition. He made changes that I personally didn’t care for. I saw the disgusting steroid and drug use that bother me tremendously so things started going bad for me in that relationship. As for that WrestleMania, I had no idea how big it would be. I was there as a second, with my son on the ring. I was so unhappy at the time. I just wanted to get away from there.”
The Changes in Wrestling He Didn’t Like: “Not that we had girl wrestlers, they brought them in skimpy. The wrestling, they started getting more vulgar, the profanity, the language. Everything had changed. Triple H having sex with a corpse in a casket. You can imagine what that would do to someone like me who had been in the business 25 years and see this. To see Steve Austin, the champion, he had a can of beer in his hand and they had to bleep every word, there were little kids in the audience. It appalled me.”
Thoughts on Hulk Hogan: “People get fooled by publicity. Hogan wasn’t a good champion at all. In 1985, Hogan had been champion for a year and a half. Vince asked me to put on the tights because the house was down. He would do a good house the first time, but if he came back the second, or dare the third time, he couldn’t draw. He wasn’t a great performer. It did not work. He would use him more for merchandise and pay per view events. He was not a good for a champion like previous people.”
Backstage Incident With Ric Flair In 2004: “He’s an idiot. A first class pathetic idiot. He wrote a book and said something that wasn’t very complimentary about me, I haven’t read it so I don’t know. So I’m standing in the hallway at the show talking to 2, 3 people and my back was turned to him. When I turned round and he saw me, I started walking towards him to say hello and he turned away and ran. Later he told one of the Hebner brothers that he wanted to come say hello to me but I turned my back on him and ignored him. Which is a complete bold class lie.”
Why He’s Not in the Hall of Fame: “I am in the Hall of Fame. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Only wrestlers get inducted there. When you talk about McMahon’s Hall of Fame, I absolutely wouldn’t have any part of it because of my feelings for him and his company. Secondly, it’s not a legitimate Hall of Fame. When you have kids and you wanna go see a building, there’s nowhere to go. It’s just a marketing campaign. Look who’s in it, game show hosts, Drew Carey. A baseball player, football player. I’d be embarrassed to be in that Hall of Fame.”
What He’d Do if He Wa Inducted Into the Hall of Fame Post-Humously: “I don’t know the law….that’s something an attorney would have to tell me. I don’t know what the law is on that. That’s a good question. I’m glad you asked me that because I’m going to ask my lawyer about that.”
Chris Jericho Band News: Fozzy new album...
Fozzy's next album, "Sin And Bones," will be released on August 14th. The lead single from the album, "Sandpaper," will premiere this Thursday on RevolverMag.com and July 17th on iTunes.
Stone Cold Steve Austin appearing in movie 'Grown Ups 2"...
WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is listed for the movie "Grown Ups 2" that stars a who's who of top comedy stars and other notable actors. In addition to Austin, the list of actors includes Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Maya Rudolf, Taylor Lautner, Steve Buscemi, Salma Hayek, and Alexander Ludwig from "Hunger Games." Mainstream news outlets covered the movie this week due to the addition of Paulina Gretzky - the daughter of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky - to the cast list.
Vince McMahon interviewed by WWE.com on RAW...
Vince McMahon was interviewed about the Raw 1000 on the WWE website. McMahon noted that the “Raw” name was one he came up with.
McMahon was asked about WCW Monday Nitro and the competition it provided for the company in the 1990s, saying, “Generally speaking, good competition is great for a product. It keeps you on your toes, and forces you to adapt.” He also noted that at the time, he wasn’t watching WCW but had others tell him what was going on, since he was focused on improving their own product.
When asked about Raw running WCW out of business, McMahon said that they didn’t, noting, “I don’t think we drove WCW out of business. That was certainly never our intent. That was the mindset of Ted Turner and WCW, but not WWE. See, if you spend all of your energy trying to kill the other guy, your product suffers. If you don’t kill the other guy, then he’s going to come back at you, and when he comes back, you won’t have done anything to make your house better. It’s no different than being in a fight and knowing that, if the other guy keeps on hitting you, that son of a bitch is going to wear himself out pretty fast.”
The idea of bringing Raw back to the Manhattan Center, where the first show was broadcast live in Raw 1993 was suggested to McMahon. He commented, “Actually, we’ve thought about it. But, the thing about nostalgia is that people, and WWE fans, tend to be more nostalgic about Superstars, rather than places. The audience is interested in the personalities, rather than how the business has evolved.”
McMahon also commented on balancing the product for fans today and the Attitude era fans, noting, “It’s a delicate balance. Prior to Raw, back in the territorial system, my father was on to something. He believed the future of the business was in “entertainment” more than the rest of the promoters. Raw stays true to that concept, because Raw is a variety show. You name it, and Raw has it. Action, drama, athleticism…Raw really does have it all.”
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