2008 August 07 « Entertainment Today and Beyond

BOX-OFFICE Expectations for two new Releases and early talk about INDIANA JONES 5!

This Week’s Radio Show: In this episode of Entertainment and Beyond Radio, Chuck and Michael dissect the Mummy’s third outing – Review the record box-office for Dark Knight and analyze the latest trailers for Harry Potter, Pineapple Express, The Spirit, Bill Maher’s Religulous and Oliver Stone’s movie on the life of President Bush titled “W” – plus we remember Jaws and Primary Colors, among other film classics. LISTEN HERE and let us know what you want to hear about. email Chuck

Industry experts are predicting a 35 to 40 mill first five days for the R-rated comedy, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Warner Bros sequel, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 is expected to pull in around 25 mill. Both films opened on Wednesday, a strategy used to get a head start on NBC’s Olympic coverage. The big question in terms of box-office will be whether The Pineapple Express will be a niche film or have a much broader audience. I think the answer to that lies somewhere in-between.

I can’t help but shake my head when I read on the MTV Movie Blog that George Lucas is thinking about ideas for a fifth INDIANA JONES movie. Here’s the thing – it took him nineteen years to come up with the Ho-Hum KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL yet he’s already brainstorming about another installment in the franchise. The one good thing he said in the interview was that it would be an Indiana Jones movie and Shia Labeouf’s Mutt Williams character might not even be in it. I could easily say after this installment that people won’t care if they make another one, but I know that’s just not true. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has pulled in close to 800 million worldwide. The character of Indiana Jones is clearly part of our pop culture, so YES there will still be strong interest even though Harrison Ford is 66 years old. Personally, I’d like to see one more Dr. Jones movie, just NOT with Lucas and Spielberg involved creatively. Nineteen years is a long time for the two to come up with something really good and then not deliver. Here’s a LINK to article

August 7, 2008 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | Reviews | Leave a Comment

ZACH AND MIRI No Longer NC-17 Rated, Glad STATHAM is around, Fishbourne heading to CSI?

Word has it that director Kevin Smith has won an appeal with the MPAA that gives his new comedy ZACH AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO an R-rating instead of its previous NC-17. No surprise here as the Weinstein company, the movies backer, will do whatever it takes to get the film in a position for wide release – something an NC-17 would have derailed.

With DEATH RACE coming out in a few weeks, the film’s star, Jason Statham, appears to be the only real non A-list superstar to be a viable action draw at the movies today. With the success of the TRANSPORTER films and this year’s very entertaining heist thriller THE BANK JOB Stratham has filled a niche left dormant for at least a decade or so. Remember the days when Steven Segal (his best film’s: Under Siege 1&2) Jean Claude Van Damn (best film: Sudden Death) and Chuck Norris (best film: Delta Force) carried the mantle before wearing out their welcome with moviegoers. The 35-year-old Statham, who has a martial arts background and does his own stunts, appears to have found his niche in Hollywood’s middle ground as he also has sequels to TRANSPORTER and CRANK coming out within the next year. I’m glad he’s around as the pumped up B movie has become a lost art. I loved the Charles Bronson era in movies when he really brought class to the B movie genre with the Death Wish sequels and a whole bunch of other entertaining throwaway films. I think Statham’s doing a pretty good job leaving his mark on this genre.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, producers of the CBS mega hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation are in talks with actor Laurence Fishbourne to replace the departing William Peterson as that program’s main lead. While Fishburne remains one of Hollywood’s very best character actors (In the last few years he’s appeared in 21, Bobby, Mission Impossible 3 and Akeelah and the Bee) there’s big money in television and CSI is certainly the right program to jump into as it still attracts more than 16 million viewers a week with no end in sight. Producers reportedly were also considering John Malkovich and Kurt Russell which would have also been great choices. There’s no doubt if Fishbourne comes aboard his contract will be very lucrative indeed!