August 2008 News Archive (Page 21)

According to James Franco, not only has a Pineapple Express sequel been discussed, but those behind the comedy have come up with a super idea for it.

A Superbad idea, that is!

“Even before Superbad came out, I think the studio was trying to get [Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg] to write a sequel, but they really didn’t want to write a sequel," Francol told MTV. "I guess the kids would go to college or something like that [that was the studio's idea]...

And so, an answer to that was to do a Superbad/Pineapple Express crossover, an unprecedented crossover movie with two directors, Greg Motolla and David Gordon Green, each directing half of the movie and somehow these characters get together, which doesn’t make sense at all, but could work.”

The Superbad boys get into enough trouble when drunk. Can you imagine them high?

How would the two worlds of sex-crazed teens and pot smoking be combined? Franco knows.

“I could sell them [the characters from Superbad] something, but I think we’d want some action, so you know, somehow the kids get in trouble somehow and we have to get them out of it. And Seth plays characters in both movies, so somehow we’d have to kill one of them off.”

Hey, as long as McLovin is there, we're there.

The Dark Knight climbed to seventh place on the all-time domestic blockbuster list this week, surpassing the first Spider-Man to become the highest-grossing comic book movie of all-time in North America.

The Batman Begins follow-up added $5.67 million on Tuesday to bring its massive gross to $405.7 million - and it's only been in theaters for 19 days! Spider-Man reached $403.7 million domestically during its entire run in 2002.

Up next for The Dark Knight on its run at the top spot ever? Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which sits at number-six with $423.3 million.

Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow (and your absolutely atrocious sequel to one of the best movies in history). Your time has come.

Hollywood might officially be out of new ideas.

Message board website TrackingB.com reports that Shane Black, who wrote the first Lethal Weapon, has penned a script for Lethal Weapon 5. The site adds that he contacted producer Joel Silver and said that he wanted to continue the story.

In this version of the cop franchise, Riggs (Mel Gibson) is about to retire, but pulls Murtaugh (Danny Glover) out of retirement to solve one final case.

TrackingB.com says that Gibson and Glover would be open to a return, but no deals have been signed.

Lethal Weapon 5? Really?!? Aren't these guys too old for this $hit?

The Road is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Cormac McCarthy. It comes out on November 26 and is already generating Oscar buzz.

Starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron and 11-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee, the movie was shot in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans and on Mount St. Helens in Washington state for scenes of devastation.

"It's tangible, the misery and hopelessness and the bleakness," Mortensen said of the shoot, which helped create the atmosphere for a film based on a post-Apocalyptic world. "It gives you much more to work with if you're filming in that world instead of a green screen."

As for the popularity of the story?

"I think what's made this story so universally loved is because it's really about protecting your child, no matter what the circumstances," the actor said. "At its core, it's a love story."

Here's your first look at Viggo and Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road:

Simply put, James Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter that Avatar "is the most challenging film I've ever made."

Entourage fans that saw how much Cameron and Vince Chase went through on Aquaman might disagree; but we digress.

The Oscar-winning director points to the film's budget of 60% CG animation and 40% live action as the reason for its challenge.

Still, when it comes to Avatar, the innovative filmmaker and digital 3-D pioneer and champion has never shifted his emphasis from storytelling.

"You have to make a good film that would be a good film under any circumstances," he said. "You have to put the narrative first. The reality is no matter how many (3-D) screens we get, you are still going to have a large number of people - possibly the majority of people - who see the film in a 2-D environment."

From selling paper to doing battle with Nazis.

The Hollywood Reporter states that The Office star B.J. Novak in in talks to porttray one of the soldiers in Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's movie about a band of Jewish resisters in Vichy-era France.

Novak is expected to play PFC Utivich, a soldier of slight build who hails from New York.

Previously on the big screen, Novak has had bit parts in Reign Over Me and Knocked Up.

Johnny Depp is at the center of two intriguing movie rumors these days.

First, he's supposedly being considered as the next Batman villain. Reports have connected him to The Riddler in the eventual follow-up to The Dark Knight.

Now, Entertainment Weekly is leaking word that Depp may portray the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's upcoming take on the fairy tale, Alice in Wonderland.

A 3-D movie of that classic slated for release in 2010. It will star Mia Wasikowska in the title role.

The source said the film will be live action until Alice jumps down the rabbit hole and meets the odd tea party host. The question is whether Depp himself will don a Hatter outfit, or lend his voice to the computer-generated version.

There's been no comment yet from Disney or Depp on the rumor. But allow us to say: sounds awesome!

Charlize Theron turns 33 today.

The Oscar-winning actress most recently starred in Will Smith's summer blockbuster, Hancock. It received mixed reviews.

There's nothing mixed about how men feel about this actress, however. She's absolutely stunning.

Keep doing whatever you're doing, Charlize Theron. It's working.

Iron Man is still making money.

Tropic Thunder comes out next week.

He's signed up for a new Sherlock Holmes movie.

Needless to say, Robert Downey Jr. is a busy man, as he explains in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

On his crazy schedule since Iron Man: “Right now, my BlackBerry is literally overloading and crashing, and the phone is never not ringing. It’s crazy. Like a Super Bowl. Like a landslide. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”

On moving forward in his life: “I’m such a work in progress at the moment, it’s crazy, and life wants me on edge, I swear to you. But as long as I don’t forget the past, I’m cool. One must always be mindful, just like you might forget that old girlfriend who tried to slit your throat, but she’s really still hot. If you remember the stitches more than you remember the pussy, you’re going to be just fine.”

Simply based on the star power of Pineapple Express - everything Seth Rogen touches these days turned to comedic gold - there's little doubt this movie will fare well at the box office.

But does that mean it's actually funny? Here's a collection of what many film critics have to say...

- It is uneven, overly long, makes utterly no sense -- but still manages to work as stoner escapism with a lot of pretty explosions... -- Jam! Movies

- Pineapple Express presents viewers with an oxymoronic experience: the action stoner film... -- Dallas Morning News

- How much you enjoy Pineapple Express may depend on what associations (or substances) you bring into the theater with you. As an action comedy, it's just a bad trip... -- Baltimore Sun

- James Franco's Saul Silver can step into the pantheon of iconic movie stoners joining Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli and Jeff Bridges's Dude... -- Reeling Reviews