MOVIE NEWS: MICHAEL MOORE TO RELEASE NEW FILM IN OCTOBER

REPUBLICAN FAVE FILMMAKER MICHAEL MOORE IS BACK AT IT AGAIN. THIS TIME HIS TARGET IS THE ECONOMIC MELTDOWN THAT THE GLOBE IS INVOLVED IN CURRENTLY. HIS NEW FILM DEALS DIRECTLY WITH THAT, & I, FOR ONE, AM ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THE RELEASE SO I CAN CHECK IT OUT. OBVIOUSLY I WAS BEING FACEACIOUS ABOUT HIME BEING A FAVE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, BUT I LIKE MOORE. I DIG HIS CURIOSITY. PEOPLE HAVE CRITICIZED HIM FOR SLANTING THE TRUTH TO HYPE HIS FILMS, BUT I AM A BELIEVER IN TRUTH SEEKING, SO I TAKE NOTHING AT FACE VALUE. HE DOES AROUSE DEBATE THOUGH, WHICH I LOVE, & IS SOMETHING THAT I LOVE TO ENGAGE IN MYSELF. THAT’S BASICALLY WHAT I WANT MY BLOG TO DO. ANYWAY, CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE. ENJOY.

New Michael Moore Film Coming in October

Oscar-winning filmmaker to explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown that have led to what he has described as "the biggest robbery in the history of this country."

BEVERLY HILLS, CA—Overture Films and Paramount Vantage have announced that Oscar-winner Michael Moore's new documentary feature will be released domestically on October 2, 2009. The as-yet-untitled film will explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown and take a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as "the biggest robbery in the history of this country" - the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.

On this, the 20-year anniversary of his masterpiece "Roger & Me," Moore returns to the issue that began his career: the disastrous impact that corporate dominance and out-of-control profit motives have on the lives of Americans and citizens of the world. But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan.

Says Moore: "The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn't have enough wealth. They wanted more—a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money. Now, why would they do this? That is what I seek to discover in this movie."

Moore's new documentary, his first since 2007's widely-praised "Sicko," was first announced by Overture and Paramount Vantage International in May 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival and production began shortly afterward.

Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett, Overture's CEO and COO respectively, previously worked with Moore when they oversaw the release of "Bowling for Columbine" at MGM/United Artists.

"Everyone can relate to this subject matter and all have been affected," said McGurk and Rosett. "We think there should be plenty of people interested in hearing Michael's take on how exactly we got here and what we can do to move forward."

John Lesher, President of Paramount Film Group, added, "Michael is a master at capturing the most timely and critical issues shaping our world today. His unique, thought-provoking method of filmmaking is sure to bring dynamic insights into the state of the global economy that will have mass appeal to audiences worldwide."

The release date is a year and a day after the United States Senate voted to hand Wall Street a $700 billion bailout.

Moore has made three of the top six highest-grossing documentaries of all time including Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Fahrenheit 9/11," 2008 Academy Award nominee "Sicko," and "Bowling for Columbine," the Academy Award winner for Best Documentary in 2003. His debut film was 1989's groundbreaking "Roger and Me." Moore also created the Emmy-winning TV show, "TV Nation," and the Emmy-nominated show, "The Awful Truth," both of which featured his trademark style of presenting serious documentaries in humorous and engaging ways.

SOURCE: POPTOWER

BIG SURPRISE MOVIEGOERS, & EVERYBODY ELSE, HAHA, STAR TREK STRIKES BIG IN ITS FIRST THREE DAYS. HOW MANY OF YOU GOT A CHANCE TO GO SEE IT? I HAVEN’T YET, BUT I’LL DEFINITELY BE CHECKING IT OUT SOON. LEAVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS AFTER YOU READ THE ARTICLE BELOW, WHICH GOES INTO DETAIL ABOUT ALL THE RECENT MOVIE NEWS, BOX OFFICE TOTALS, ETC. ENJOY.

Star Trek' draws $76.5 million

'Wolverine' earns $27 million in second weekend

By Carl DiOrio

Paramount's "Star Trek" launched in stellar fashion during the weekend as the sci-fi prequel soared to $76.5 million in estimated domestic boxoffice in its stretched first frame.

Thursday evening previews contributed $4 million to the total and midnight Thursday performances $3 million as the well-reviewed film re-invigorated the studio's storied franchise with an opening smack in the middle of an unusually broad range of prerelease forecasts. Paramount execs had said they'd be pleased if "Trek" traveled anywhere north of $50 million during its first session.

Fox's Hugh Jackman starrer "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" finished second during the weekend, falling 68% from its opening grosses to register $27 million and push its 10-day cume to $129.6 million. Warner Bros.' romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, fell a modest 32% in its sophomore session to $10.5 million in third place, with a $30.2 million cume.

Summit Entertainment's urban-targeted action title "Next Day Air" bowed on the lower end of prerelease expectations with $4 million in sixth place.

Industrywide, the $150 million weekend notched a 20% improvement compared with the same frame last year, Nielsen EDI said.

Overall, 2009 is pacing 9% ahead of a year earlier, at $3.26 billion. The year-to-date uptick appears more modest because of seasonal fluctuations in the boxoffice calendar.

Among this weekend's limited openers, Sony Pictures Classics' Diego Luna-Gael Garcia Bernal starrer "Rudo y Cursi" unspooled in 70 bicoastal locations and grossed $210,647 million, or an acceptable $3,009 per site.

SPC's Atom Egoyan-directed "Adoration" bowed in 10 theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, grossing $43,734 million, or a sturdy $4,373 per venue.

And the Spanish historical drama "Little Ashes" from Regent Releasing and Here Media, opened in 12 locations, grossing $77,000, or a solid $6,416 per site.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, Vitagraph's fashion documentary "Valentino: The Last Emperor" added 10 playdates for a total of 37 and grossed $93,000, or an average $2,513 per engagement. "Valentino's" cume hit $830.040.

And Focus Features' Jim Jarmusch-directed thriller "The Limits of Control" added eight locations for a total of 11 and grossed $47,243, or $4,295 per site. Its cume is $127,018.

"Trek" made good use of positive word-of-mouth during the weekend to build on a core franchise fan base and tap into more youthful demos. Weekend grosses, fattened by outsized receipts in 138 Imax giant-screen venues, peaked with particularly robust Saturday night business.

Imax's $8 million in "Trek" loot bested by $2 million its previous top haul with last year's "The Dark Knight."

"Our network of auditoriums has been virtually sold out the entire weekend," Imax Filmed Entertainment chief Greg Foster said.

Helmed by J.J. Abrams, "Trek" features Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Capt. James Kirk and Spock, respectively. The bow marked a personal best for all three and for Abrams topped the $47.7 million opening of "Mission: Impossible III" in May 2006.

The successful "Trek" debut puts the prequel on track for a potential franchise-best theatrical run as its opening easily topped those of the previous 10 films in the space-exploration franchise.

The "Trek" franchise's most recent installment, 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis," unspooled with $18.5 million and rang up $43.3 million overall domestically. The top opener among all previous "Trek" releases came from 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact," which debuted with $30.7 million and rung up $92 million domestically.

Execs positioned "Trek" as a franchise reboot, much like Warners' 2005 Batman prequel "Batman Begins." Produced for a reported $140 million, "Trek" has Spyglass Entertainment as a 25% equity participant on the pic.

Rated R, "Air" was directed by hip-hop video director Benny Boom and stars rapper-actor Mos Def and Donald Faison (ABC's "Scrubs").

The release targeted core support among urban moviegoers, but no demographic information was available regarding opening audiences.

Looking ahead, Sony has this weekend's only wide opener: Imagine Entertainment's adaptation of the Dan Brown best-seller "Angels & Demons." Again helmed by Ron Howard -- with Tom Hanks reprising his role as Vatican expert Robert Langdon -- "Angels" effectively is a sequel to May 2006's "The Da Vinci Code," a $758 million worldwide grosser.

That will make for three straight weekends -- during the summer boxoffice's first three sessions -- in which a studio has opened a tentpole release. It will bear watching whether such high-profile films are able to co-exist successfully in the competitive marketplace as the balance of the all-important season will see a similar succession of major releases.

Find this article at:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4b5caa365ad73b3af61a0c6a6ee5dcee

CELEBRITY NEWS: JOJO SIMMONS ARRESTED

Say it ain’t so jo!! Please say it ain’t so. Unfortunately jojo simmons cannot say it ain’t so, unless he wants to lie. Lol. If you don’t know what I’m talking about read below for the story. Try to reserve the head shaking for after you’ve finished reading the article.

MTV reality star Jojo Simmons arrested for buying drugs

Posted in May 9th, 2009 by Claudette Rothman in Entertainment, crime

Jojo Simmons, the son of Rev. Joseph Simmons, a founding member of Run-DMC and nephew to Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records, was arrested Friday night after New York City police caught his buying drugs.

Jojo, 19, who appears in MTV’s reality show “Run’s House” with his family, was caught buying marijuana from a street pusher in the Washington Heights section of NY.

Police said the teenager was behind the wheel of his BMW, which has “JoJo” embroidered on the headrests, rolling a joint when the cops knocked on his window.

It is alleged that Jojo tried to escape by putting his car in reverse, which caused him to hit a parked car and when he tried to go forward, he struck another parked car.

Police said he then got out of the car and allegedly started fighting with them.

He was charged with attempted reckless endangerment, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and criminal possession of marijuana.

MOVIE NEWS: KEANU REEVES TO STAR IN DR. JECKYLL/MR. HYDE REMAKE

ANOTHER HORROR CLASSIC REMAKE? ARE WE GROWINGN WEARY OF THESE, MOSTLY BAD HORROR UPDATES? OR ARE WE READY FOR FRESH TAKES ON OLD HORROR GEMS? ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I’M ALWAYS READY FOR UPDATES, ESPECIALLY ON MOVIES THAT I FEEL WOULD BENEFIT FROM BEING REMADE, & THEREFORE EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO AN ENTIRELY NEW AUDIENCE. I’M NOT QUITE CERTAIN WHAT TO MAKE OUT OF THE MOVIE’S STAR, MR. REEVES. NOT THAT I DON’T LIKE KEANU, BECAUSE IN ALL ACTUALITY I RESPECT HIS INTELLECT & LOVE OF LITERATURE. HE OFTEN PLAYS AGAINST HIS PERSONALITY, WHICH LEADS PEOPLE TO BELIEVE HE’S TED FROM BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES. IN ANY EVENT, I DON’T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT HIM TACKLING THIS ROLE. HE IS UNDOUBTEDLY AT THE TOP OF THE SCI-FI MOVIE STAR PLATEAU, WITH WILL SMITH, BUT HORROR IS A DIFFERENT ANIMAL. I DON’T WANT TO GET TOO DEEP INTO CINEMA, I’LL SAVE THAT FOR MY FORTHCOMING ‘MOVIE GEEKZ’ BLOG, WHICH WILL BE UBER DOPE. I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED. ANYWAY, CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE, & LEAVE A COMMENT. ENJOY

Keanu Reeves to star in updated "Jekyll" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Keanu Reeves is about to develop a split personality as the star of a modern retelling of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Universal Pictures is developing the feature, with Justin Haythe, writer of "Revolutionary Road," penning the script. Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, writer-director of the "Pusher" trilogy of gritty thrillers, is in negotiations to direct the project, titled "Jekyll."

Robert Louis Stevenson's novella about a doctor who scientifically develops an evil self has become so pervasive in popular culture that the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" conjures the idea of a split personality. The story has been translated to the screen and stage dozens of times. Among the adaptations are comedy versions, kids' stories ("Jekyll and Heidi") and gender-switch tales (1995's "Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde"). The story has undergone modern iterations as recently as 2007, when the BBC aired a miniseries that set the story in the present as Hyde ran amok in London.

Plot details for this "Jekyll" are being kept locked in the laboratory.

Universal clearly is enamored with the tale; it also has been developing a take on it with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, but the two adaptations couldn't be more different.

Del Toro, who has an affinity for Gothic horror as well as creature features, aims to stick more closely to the Stevenson tale. His project is on the back burner, though, as he works on "The Hobbit" for New Line and MGM, a project that's expected to take up the next five years.

Refn's indie crime biopic "Bronson," starring Tom Hardy, premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Haythe wrote the script for "The Clearing," the Robert Redford-starring kidnapping thriller. He is working on the remake of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea."

Reeves most recently starred in the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

Source: Reuters