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Buzz News Roundup, 2/2

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:30:01 -0800

Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro, and Gael Garcia Bernal are reportedly circling Martin Scorsese's next drama Silence, based on the Shusaku Endo novel. - Variety
TNT has renewed Leverage for a second 15-episode season, which should air later this year. - TV.com
Kung Fu Panda swept the Intnl. Animated Film Society's Annie Awards this year, while Wall-E went home empty-handed. - Variety
Meanwhile, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle won the top award from the Directors Guild of America this year. - AP
And speaking of Slumdog Millionaire, star Dev Patel is joining the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's live-action film The Last Airbender. - ComingSoon
Kristen Johnston is "99.9 percent" going to play Patsy in Fox's Absolutely Fabulous remake pilot, while Kathryn Hahn is on board as Edina. - Entertainment Weekly
Both Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson recorded their Super Bowl performances in advance. - New York Times
ABC Family has renewed Greek, cut Kyle XY, and picked up three new shows, including the series based on 10 Things I Hate About You. - TV Guide

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Buzz News Roundup, 7/18

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:29:39 -0700

ABC Family has ordered 13 more episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
According to Variety, Don Cheadle will get to star in and produce a movie he has long wanted to make: a drama based on the memoir Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine and South America's Strangest Jail.
Will Ferrell and friends will be poking fun at both racism and split personalities in the movie 2-Face, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
The LA Times wonders if the Emmys are out of touch with what viewers are watching.
AdWeek has the story of how the Project Runway legal battle went down in court this week (short story: no decision yet).
A Chinese artist is suing DreamWorks over what he says is an "insulting" depiction of China's national symbol in Kung Fu Panda, Variety reports.
According to Pitchfork, Jarvis Cocker is working on music for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson's forthcoming film.
Billboard has the news that Jimi Hendrix will be the next musical artist to be used for Guitar Hero.

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Box Office: Cuteness Will Always Triumph

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:30:12 -0700

The cutest robot to hit the screen in a long time, Wall-E, proved irresistible to audiences over the weekend, earning the top spot at the box office with an estimated $62.5 million. According to Variety, this is the third best opening for a Pixar film after The Incredibles ($70.5 million) and Finding Nemo ($70.2 million).

The Angelina Jolie-James McAvoy action flick Wanted nabbed the No. 2 spot with a respectable $51 million, and Get Smart stayed strong in the third spot earning $20 million over the weekend.

While most had adorable robots on the brain this weekend, some were still looking for some big panda fun and kept Kung Fu Panda going strong at No. 4, beating The Incredible Hulk which landed in the fifth spot.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Box Office: Carell & Co. Outsmart the Guru

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:30:14 -0700

Looks like enough people were craving the silly fun of an updated Maxwell Smart story this weekend, making the Steve Carell-Anne Hathaway comedy No. 1 at the box office. The Mike Meyers comedy The Love Guru was expected to show Get Smart some stiff competition during the opening weekend for both movies. Instead, The Love Guru brought in $14 million to Get Smart's $39 million, and failed to crack the top three.

At No. 2 was Kung Fu Panda, which bumped the more recent Incredible Hulk to third place. The Love Guru came in fourth, followed by M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening.

This weekend the crown will most likely go to Pixar's latest (and much-promoted) project, WALL-E about a little robot with the saddest, most endearing "eyes" ever. The action flick Wanted, however, may entice that coveted young male demographic, and will probably do quite well for itself.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Box Office: Hulk Has Incredible Opening Weekend

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:00:53 -0700

It looks like fans can't get enough of Marvel superheroes on the big screen as the company scored another hit this summer with The Incredible Hulk. Despite average reviews and the fact that Ed Norton's conflict with the studio over the final cut of the film became widely known, The Incredible Hulk pulled in an estimated $54.5 million over the weekend.

Kung Fu Panda held strong in second place while M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening exceeded many expectations by landing in the third spot with about $30.5 million.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan was No. 4 followed by Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at No. 5 and Sex and the City at No. 6.

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Box Office: Kung Fu Panda Chops the Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:30:06 -0700

Po the panda and friends kicked some box office butt this weekend, winning the No. 1 spot handily with an estimated $60 million over the weekend. Kung Fu Panda is the second-best opening DreamWorks Animation has ever had behind Shrek the Third. In second place came the Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow comedy You Don't Mess with the Zohan, earning a healthy $40 million.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was bumped to the third spot and has grossed an estimated $253 million. The good news for the Sex and the City movie is that it has almost passed the $100 million mark domestically. The bad news is it experienced a steep decline that put it at No. 4. The super scary flick The Strangers dropped to No. 5.

According to Variety, box office watchers had expected way closer results between Kung Fu Panda and Zohan so a big congrats is in order to Jack Black and crew!

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Kung Fu Panda: Defies Expectations

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:30:20 -0700

Before seeing Kung Fu Panda, I guessed the plot went something like this: A big dopey Jack Black-voiced panda bear dreams of becoming a kung fu fighter but has to reach deep within himself to find the courage to do so. In the process, the naysayers that surround said panda will learn a little something about judging a book by its cover. And it turns out, this is basically the case. However, going into it I wasn't worried that I knew the storyline, I was worried that it would be dull. If this tired premise isn't done well, it's just boring and a waste of time.

But the truth is, I was surprised and delighted by the filmmakers' decision to just stick to making this movie what it should be: light, visually interesting, and funny. It's as if they were telling us (grown-ups): "Look, we know a movie about a panda doing kung fu is just fun and we're not going to bore you with animated animal soul-searching. Instead, we're going to give you a cute, totally conventional story, without pausing to explore what makes the praying mantis tick."

To which I would like to respond with: thank you DreamWorks! To see why I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this flick and why I think it's the perfect summertime family film, read more.

The word that keeps springing to mind when I think about this movie is "surprising." Jack Black is surprisingly restrained and while there is no mistaking that voice, this is a warmer and fuzzier Jack Black: charming, sweet, a little bumbling, but the nicest guy in the world. And all of those words also describe Po, the chubby, out of shape panda at the center of the story. Po works in his father's noodle shop but dreams of one day becoming a kung fu master like his idols, the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan), who have all been taught by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman).

According to a prophesy, it turns out Po is destined to save his village from a scary villain. Po's destiny makes the Furious Five resent him, and it means that the cranky Shifu has to teach the big clumsy panda kung fu. This is where I thought we'd be in for some predictable wax-on-wax-off moments, but again I was surprised by how lovely and irreverent the scenes were between Po and Shifu. Once it's time to get down to business and the kung fu really gets going, it is surprisingly good. It's no Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but it's genuinely exciting and well-executed.

Another example of smart decision-making has to do with Po's dad - who is a bird. The movie flirts with explaining how this is possible, but hilariously never goes for that father-son moment where he admits Po isn't really his. Instead, we just giggle along with the absurdity of it. In the end, it's a briskly paced movie that is aware of how many times the audience has seen this same thing (be it an animated feature or a martial arts film) and figures a way around all that monotony by piling on the charm and honing in on the sweet nature of the story. You'll probably leave wearing a surprised little smile.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures