VIACOM KEEPS ON TREKIN' Viacom stock went where no other media stock had gone on Monday – up. Surprisingly strong ticket sales for the new Star Trek,produced by Viacom-owned Paramount, buoyed the company’s shares and kept it from becoming swept into the overall market vortex. To be sure, it did no more than tread water, inching up just 0.04 percent, but on a day when the Dow Jones fell 156 points, that was regarded as a solid accomplishment....
SEACREST: A $45-MILLION IDOL Ryan Seacrest will earn $45 million over the next three years for continuing to host American Idol, the Hollywood Reporterreported today (Monday), citing no sources. The trade publication said that the deal with CKX, Inc., which purchased Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment (which produces American Idol) for $200 million in 2005, will be announced today. It will effectively treble Seacrest’s current salary of $5 million per year. Seacrest is one of the media’s busiest figures....
ACTOR FOX’S ADS HURTING GOP, SAYS STUDY Michael J. Fox’s political commercials supporting embryonic stem cell research may be harming Republicans according to a study conducted earlier this week and reported today (Friday) by CNSNews.com, a unit of the conservative Media Research Center. According to the study by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, support for such research increased from 78 percent overall to 83 percent after those surveyed viewed the ad by Fox, whose Parkinson’s symptoms are apparent in it....
Syfy’s pilot 12 Monkeys has cast Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull in the project’s two lead roles. Also joining in key positions behind the camera are Natalie Chaidez (In Plain Sight, V, Heroes) as Executive Producer/Showrunner and Jeffrey Reiner (Helix, Friday Night Lights, Caprica) who will direct the pilot and also serve as Executive Producer. The 60-minute pilot is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment, producer of the original Bruce Willis-Brad Pitt theatrical movie directed by Terry Gilliam and released by Universal Pictures....
In celebration of the recent release of the horror flick, House of 9 on DVD, we’re giving away copies of the film to some lucky readers of the site. CLICK HERE to enter! Visual Entertainment announces the release of the thought provoking, psychological thriller House of 9 on DVD February 14, 2006. In the tradition of frightening horror classics such as The Cube, House of 9 reveals the limits of fear, desperation and greed that turn normal humans into beasts....
Filled with intrigue, deception and plenty of secrets MovieWeb is celebrating the release of Separate Lies by giving away DVDs of the movie Premiere Magazine’s, Glenn Kenny calls an “expert thriller.” Movie Picture to learn the truth and enter the contest today! Deception is revealed and lives unravel in the “expert thriller” (Glenn Kenny, Premiere) Separate Lies arriving on DVD February 21, 2006 from Fox Home Entertainment. Featuring an all-star cast including Emily Watson (Punch Drunk Love, Breaking The Waves), Tom Wilkinson (In The Bedroom, Gosford Park) and Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Separate Lies weaves a shocking tale of murder and adultery that is “certain to be one of the year’s best films” (Jeffrey Lyons, WNBC)....
Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is quickly moving into production over at Warner Brothers. According to Variety, the film will begin shooting in early 2008 with a revised storyline that could expand into two more feature films. This new version of the old franchise will be similar in scale to Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, and will have an event sized budget. At the same time, Warner Brothers is also producing a small screen adaptation of The Terminator entitled The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which will air on Fox during its midseason run early next year....
With such well put together DVDs like Halloween - 25 Years of Terror in it’s enormous collection, Anchor Bay Entertainment has stood out for some time because of it’s commitment to horror films. Very few companies seem to spend the time and energy that Anchor Bay does in making DVDs of cult or genre movies the experiences that they ultimately become. I can think of few companies that handle “cult classics” with as much tender loving care as this company....
Marvel Studios prematurely announced an upcoming event that will allow fans the opportunity to meet members of S.H.I.E.L.D. just as Joss Whedon embarks on shooting his epic superhero ensemble adventure The Avengers. This press release also reveals that Kevin Pennington, who was last seen on 90210, has been cast as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Wendell Vaughn. Here is the Marvel Studios press release for The Avengers initiative. This event isn’t “official” at this time....
Netflix has unveiled a trailer for another one of its original content, titled The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself. Based on the Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green, it’s described as an “edgy, YA drama that’s grounded in the modern day,” except in a world where witches live among us. The trailer makes the distinction between the two types of witches—the Blood Witches and the Fairborn Witches. The show follows 16-year-old Nathan (Jay Lycurgo), the illegitimate son of the “devil himself," the world’s most dangerous witch....
The money keeps on rolling in for The Batman. After an impressive debut in theaters last weekend, which saw The Batman scoring the second-highest opening of the pandemic with a $128.5 million opening. This weekend has brought in another $66 million haul for the hit film from director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson, a number that’s still very high and far above the film in the second place spot....
Science fiction movies are expected to have a high budget with all the special effects and demanding production setups. However, history has proven that even high-budget films do not guarantee a blockbuster performance. One such example is the animated movie Mars Needs Moms, which has a budget of $150 million yet only raked in $39.5 million in sales. Meanwhile, one good example of a box office hit with a low budget is the original installment of the horror film Paranormal Activity....
On the heels of landing the cover for Fangoria’s issue #14, The Black Phone, from director Scott Derrickson and screenplay writer C. Robert Cargillon for Joe Hill’s short story, has been pushed back from Feb. 4, 2022 to June 24, 2022. Looks like we can make that nightlight purchase this summer. The trailer and images have captured audiences with its casting of Ethan Hawke, whom we’ve come to know as a gentler creature than the kidnapping monster he’s portraying in the 70s era horror thriller....
The release date for Prime Video’s highly anticipated superhero college spinoff series Gen V remains unknown. However, according to Deadline, the streamer seems happy with its first season and is making plans for what could be an even more thrilling season 2. Gen V takes place at a college for young adult superheroes, run by the company Vought International. The show follows the experiences of young superheroes as they compete with each other and test their abilities, morals, and relationships while trying to achieve the highest ranking at the school....
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post: “There is a moment in James and the Giant Peach when the Ladybird says: “We are now about to visit the most marvelous places and see the most wonderful things!” The Centipede replies, “There is no knowing what we shall see!” Netflix and The Roald Dahl Story Company share a deep love of storytelling and a growing, global fan base....
In a story from Mania, comic guru/screenwriter Rick Remender is reporting that Sam Worthington has inked a deal to appear in a film version of the upcoming Radical Publishing comic, The Last Days of American Crime. Remender created and wrote the comic (he is also writing the screenplay) which is illustrated by Greg Tocchini. The story is set in near-future America. The government “is set to roll out mind-control technology that will kill the criminal impulse in all citizens....
It seems like every week another actor either denies or pleads ignorance about internet rumors suggesting they are being headhunted to appear in a Marvel movie, and after a whole week of watching Andrew Garfield swear, swear and swear again that he is not in Spider-Man: No Way Home – even though we are all pretty certain that he is – it looks like the baton of Spider-Man rumor denial has now passed to Sandra Bullock....
Saturday Night Live has scored the show’s highest metered-market household rating since January 2011. The Feb. 11 telecast, with host Alec Baldwin and musical guest Ed Sheeran, scored a 7.2 rating, 18 share in “live plus same day” household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 3.6/18 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters. The 7.2 in metered-market households is the highest for Saturday Night Live since Jan....
Science Fiction is a popular genre that takes aspects of real-life science and amplifies it into something that is fictional. For example, Jurassic Park takes the concept of recreating dangerous dinosaurs to a new level by advancing the science of it. But what if it wasn’t fiction? What if the science in these films could be applied to real life? That is becoming more and more common. Throughout the film industry, science fiction is becoming more science and less fiction....
Before it opens anywhere else in the world, Captain America: The First Avenger will open first in Comic-Con. Convention goers in San Diego will be the first audience to see one of the summer’s hottest super heroes beginning at noon PST on Thursday, July 21st, 1-day ahead of its US opening. The movie will play exclusively at the UA Horton Plaza with Captain America-themed festivities happening throughout the day. To help kick-off the day, Paramount and Marvel will host an exclusive free fan screening at 10 A....
