With Rock of Ages opening on Friday, I got to thinking about some of the more recent movie adaptations of musicals — those from 1980 on (sorry, Grease). Though there are purists who will always prefer Broadway, a lot of shows have inspired entertaining, sometimes even award-worthy, movies, like Hairspray, Chicago, and Dreamgirls. Click through to see all the movies and let us know if we forgot to mention your favorite!
Could Meryl Streep, Coiln Firth, and Pierce Brosnan be warming up their vocal cords for a Mamma Mia sequel? That's what recent quotes from stars of last Summer's hit makes it sound like. Amanda Seyfried said the very nebulous, "I've been talking to some insiders and it's not something that they haven't been working on."
It's not a huge shocker that sequel-happy Hollywood would want a follow-up to the massively successful musical, and I'd certainly be in line for a ticket if it came to theaters. I know in general some fans will be crying foul anyway over a sequel, but what's your opinion on it?
There are many reasons I'm psyched to see Jennifer's Body, the horror-comedy flick out in September. First of all, a horror comedy? Yes, please. Secondly, the trailer hints at signature campy Diablo Cody dialogue some of us have come to love. ("You kill people!" "No, I just kill boys.")
But one of the main reasons I can't wait to see it is that I adore Amanda Seyfried. She was great in Mean Girls, shined in Mamma Mia!, and I bet will be hilarious as the nerdy girl who is befriended by bad girl/boy killer played by Megan Fox. Talented, cute, and funny — with just a touch of vulnerability. What's there not to like?
All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia is a lot of things: fun, sparkly, full of handsome middle-aged men, kind of a hilarious hot mess, etc. It's also now a Golden Globe nominee, which is not something I would have imagined possible for this movie but there you have it! Still, a lot of people will be excited to add this one to their Netflix queues (or to receive it as a gift) to sing along and dance to in the privacy of their own homes (I'm looking at you, Mom).
The special features are totally what you would expect to accompany this musical on DVD. They include — what else? — a sing-along that includes onscreen lyrics for 22 musical numbers, as well as a deleted musical number titled "The Name of the Game." There's also commentary from director Phyllida Lloyd, a featurette on the making of the movie, and some deleted scenes and outtakes.
Two more releases up next so read more
Is it November already? Yup! And that means it's time to get going on holiday shopping. So, welcome to this year's round of Buzz Gift Guides for all the entertainment lovers in your life. Starting us off: Gift ideas for your mom.
I've often had a tough time shopping for mom, usually because her stuff tends be nicer than mine in general. But if your mom has a weak spot for entertainment, today's holiday gift guide might provide you with some fun suggestions.
OK, my mother loved Mamma Mia! when it came out in theaters. The gift of Meryl will keep on giving come Dec. 16 when the DVD hits stores. If your mom boogied down to this with friends in the theater, I bet she'd love it if you were thoughtful enough to pre-order it just in time for the holidays.
I stumbled upon Cinematherapy Goes to the Oscars recently and for moms that consider themselves movie buffs, this little book is a great companion, full of thought-provoking insights into Academy Award-winning movies. Many of the women in my life are fans of author Jodi Picoult and her latest book, Change of Heart, will be released in paperback on Dec. 2 (or you can get it now in hardcover).
One of my mom's absolute can't-miss TV shows is Brothers and Sisters (especially because of "that Sally Field character"), and just this Fall the second season of the show was released on DVD. And finally, for the lady who loves a little romance in her life, check out A&E's Literary Classics: Romance DVD Collection Two. The movies star folks like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Paul Rudd in movies like The Great Gatsby and Vanity Fair.
Check out HolidaySugar for all of our holiday coverage and gift guides.
One of the most interesting pieces of box office news this past weekend was the Labor Day sales bump for Mamma Mia!. The movie was in its seventh week in theaters, but it actually saw its sales go up after several weeks of drops. Getting most of the credit: special sing-along screenings in almost 300 theaters, which alone brought in $1.2 million over the long weekend. Hey, I can understand — who hasn't belted a cheesy ABBA tune or two in their day?
Of course, Mamma Mia! is just the latest in a tradition of sing-along screenings. Hairspray held some sing-along events, there was a popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer sing-along (until it got itself in trouble with Fox), and of course there's the king of all sing-alongs, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Heck, even R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet got some sing-alongs earlier this year. So I'm wondering: Have you ever been to one of these events? Tell me your stories in the comments!
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
The day after my wedding, one of my bridesmaids and I, exhausted from the weekend's events, popped into a matinee of Mamma Mia. While our reviews were mixed (please, please let me never hear Pierce Brosnan sing again), one element of the film got an enthusiastic thumbs up: the gorgeous textiles. I was absolutely inspired by the film's bedding, tablecloths, and pillows. The bright colors, suzanis, folksy embroidery, and busy patterns were absolute eye candy.
Interested in integrating some of these patterns into your home? Find out where you can get them when you read more
For the third weekend in a row, The Dark Knight was No. 1 at the box office, narrowly beating The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for the top spot. The Mummy earned about $42.5 million while The Dark Knight earned $43.8 million. Thanks to this win, The Dark Knight has just about crossed the $400 million line in domestic ticket sales.
Variety notes that most box office watchers had predicted this would be the weekend Batman would lose his crown, but I'm not all that surprised. The third addition to the silly action-adventure Mummy franchise failed to meet even the lowest critical expectations earning far worse reviews than the two before it.
Somewhat hilariously, Brendan Fraser now has two movies in the top five box office earners this week, as the 3-D adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth is holding strong at No. 5. So that would make him. . . a fairly hot box office commodity. Wow.
Elsewhere in the top five, Step Brothers came in third place and Mamma Mia! took fourth.
Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.
