Shia LaBeouf has starred in the previous two Transformer movies
A Transformers 3 extra who suffered brain damage when a stunt went wrong is suing Paramount Pictures.
Gabriela Cedillo's family have filed a legal case in Chicago, claiming Paramount and the film's location managers breached a duty of care.
The 24-year-old was left partially paralyzed and unable to speak when a thick slab of metal became dislodged from a stunt car and struck her head.
Paramount said it would "continue to provide" help for Ms Cedillo.
The actress, who remains in care at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has no recollection of the accident.
According to the Chicago Tribune, she is permanently brain damaged, paralyzed on her left side and has her left eye stitched shut.
Ms Cedillo's older brother and legal guardian Adolfo Romo said the family was claiming in excess of $50,000 (£31,505) in damages.
"Never did we think she was going to be put in danger," he told reporters on Tuesday as legal papers were filed at Cook County Circuit Court.
The family's lawyer, Todd Smith added that the accident, which occurred last month, was "something that certainly should never have happened, something that we believe occurred as a result of carelessness".
In a statement, Paramount said: "Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with Gabriela, her family and loved ones.
"The production will continue to provide all the help we can to Gabriela and her family during this difficult time."
Extras on film sets are usually asked to sign liability waivers.
However, it will be down to the jury hearing this case to decide whether the studio owed a duty of care to Ms Cedillo.
The court will be looking for evidence that reasonable precautions were taken to prevent accidents.
Star Trek 2 begins filming in January
The sequel to popular ‘Star Trek’ directed by J.J. Abrams will begin shooting in 3D this month, and fans of the franchise couldn’t be more excited.
When ‘Star Trek’ hit theatres in 2009 it was a refreshing, and completely re-vitalized adaptation of the Star Trek universe. It kept die-hard fans content and proved to be even more tantalizing for sci-fi fans who love an adventure movie in space. Paramount made all the right decisions, and included original Star Trek series Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and new characters, which were all introduced cleverly into the 2009 hit.
The hype has been huge for another Star Trek movie but Abrams didn’t want to rush a sequel as he had other projects in the pipeline, most recently directing ‘super 8’. Whether the Star Trek sequel will match the stakes of the previous one is yet to be seen but after giving new life, to an edgier young captain Kirk, it’s fair to see we hope our new hero will face even stronger challenges in the universe.
2012 Box Office recovery depends of high quality movies
Box office takings were down 4% in 2011 for the US domestic market after a bumper ride on the back end of global phenomenon ‘Avatar’. 2011 was muted, and films underperformed particularly on the Thanksgiving weekend which is a huge audience draw, and came as a big disappointment to theatres.
Harrison Ford in 'Cowboys and Aliens'
Reviewing some of the Box Office flops, a lot of the worst performing titles for studios in 2011 had a pre-existing ‘character’ history or similarities to other movies we’ve already seen. ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford tied two leading men in a the kind of ‘Alien Vs Predator’ style remix of the wild west meets Men in Black. It looks catchy as a one liner, but we’ve seen Indiana Jones trilogy, and Men in Black 1 and 2, and well, this just felt like a combination of other movies.
Universal’s announcement to remake ‘The Thing’ was a big disappointment. Not only was the Kurt Russell original an absolute classic, but remaking it to fit a modern audience didn’t add significant desire for fans to go back and ‘watch it again in a whole new setting’.
Johnny Depp‘s unstoppable box office power with Pirates of The Caribbean 4 was essentially demolished when ‘The Rum Diary’ hit theatres in late October. It showed promise but in truth Hunter S Thompson’s already well known character in this movie didn’t enthuse fans to head to theatres. ‘Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas’ was a classic, and a hugely enjoyable movie, but we’ve had enough of cocaine, alcohol fuelled characters with absurd one-liners.
Each of these movies had a past, with characters we’ve already seen, concepts and genres already cross mixed, and remakes not enticing enough for fans of original movies to care.
It would seem that franchise fatigue has transitioned into ‘character fatigue’ and similar stories we’ve seen time and time again have made a string of movies fail in 2011. Studios are struggling to come up with new concepts, new scripts, original movies. Sequels are far too high in number, and there seems to be in my view ,a lack of investment in new writing talent. It’s inevitable that if the quality of your product continues to fall, so will the demand of it’s audience.
It’s a wake up call, for studios and the industry as a whole. Film quality has to go up. We need a new golden age for storytelling, with character’s we’ve not seen before. 3D should not be used as a concept either to make money. Special effects are losing their novelty, and story must come first.
My Opinion: I definitely agree with this article from filmindustrynetworkbiz.com I think that relaunching old franchises and films that had a success a long time ago is a mistake. I think that a lot of these old franchises were successful because they were released in a different time in the film industry, and trying to revamp them and bring them to this time in cinema will rarely work. I think we need to get new ideas and new characters in order to regenerate the film industry. I definitely think that special effects are losing their novelty, and that the story should come first. I never saw the excitement about the use of 3D and special effects in the first place and now I just think the industry is making movies simply to present the new technology they've developed.
Many short films failed in 2011 because of one major factor
Short films, documentaries, feature films and anything in between all have a place in our film industry. When filmmakers submit their finished movies to film festivals, there’s the excitement and anticipation of getting selected, and of course, the pain of rejection. However, some of that rejection comes from one major technical flaw, which I see particularly in short films and low budget indies: The lack of good sound design.
Sound, is by far the most important technical element that time and time again gets overlooked and put to the side, even by the most creative of filmmakers. After watching many short films this past year I have seen a pattern of success and failure. Those that failed to get their films off the ground excluding story elements, didn’t deliver acceptable sound design. Bad cinematography is more forgivable, particularly in low budget situations if story and editing are good, and sound is clear. However, when your movie soundtrack is bad, people will switch off almost immediately.
There is no ‘welcome sign’ for bad sound design. When people go to the cinema, good sound is an automatic requirement and we have been conditioned to expect it no matter what format or how low the budget is. It’s a harsh lesson, but if you are about to send your films to festivals, and the volumes of your actors are off key or inaudible, there’s only one thing I can recommend. Run back to that post office, grab your film, and head over to the studio right now and fix it.
Film's golden year 'was 1939'
Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh starred in Gone With the Wind
Movies Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz contributed to 1939 being voted the golden year of Hollywood in a poll of British film-goers.
The classic year also provided Wuthering Heights, the John Wayne Western Stagecoach and Of Mice and Men.
In second place was 1974, the year of mob drama The Godfather Part II and The Great Gatsby.
No single year in the past 29 made it in to the top five list, compiled from votes of 2,000 film-goers.
The year of 1939 was plumped for by almost 44% of those polled, with the sheer number of classics marking it out as a truly golden year for Hollywood.
Gone With the Wind picked up eight Oscars, including best actress for Vivien Leigh and best director for Victor Fleming.
Hollywood's greatest years
1. 1939
2. 1974
3. 1946
4. 1941
5. 1957 and 1971 (joint)
Fleming's The Wizard of Oz, which he co-directed, was also nominated for a number of Academy Awards in the same year.
Other classic titles of 1939 included Frank Capra's Mr Smith Goes to Washington, starring James Stewart, and Goodbye Mr Chips, which won leading man Robert Donat an Oscar.
Other winning years were 1941, which saw the release of Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon, and 1946, which provided The Big Sleep, festive favourite It's a Wonderful Life and The Postman Always Rings Twice.
In joint fifth place for favourite years was 1957, the year of the swashbuckling Zorro and the war drama Bridge On the River Kwai, and 1971 which saw cult classic A Clockwork Orange lose out on the best picture Oscar to The French Connection.
The survey, conducted by internet pollster YouGov, was commissioned to promote Sing-A-Long-A Wizard Of Oz, an audience participation version of the musical film.
Can the Film Industry learn from Modern Warfare 3?
After shifting 6.5 million copies in 24 hours, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 earned $400 million in sales, smashing records for a single day release of any entertainment product. The question is can the film industry learn from the success of the gaming industry?
The gaming industry has crossed over to cinema turning towards ‘Hollywood’ style marketing campaigns to promote new game releases. With ‘epic’ trailers, and superb sound design, trailers for video games are becoming a big viral phenomenon to spread the word, and get people excited about new games.
Hollywood studios have long used trailers as a means to promote their big releases, but why is it that no movie has ever grossed $400 million in one day? One thing’s for sure; the price of a game is roughly 3-5 times more than a movie ticket. However, the experience of a game lasts much longer than a 2-hour film. So in terms of product duration, games are always going to exceed the running user time of a film.
However, could we not envisage an immersive experience for film releases that brings the value and hype up to a new level to warrant a higher price? Going to the cinema is an outing for friends and family, but tickets remain below the price of a physical DVD or Bluray. Why would you want to spend more than the actual product when you could just buy it and skip the cinema?
3D has come closer to that reality, but charging too high a price for a movie ticket has put audiences off, and a slate of bad releases, according to DreamWorks Animations CEO, has done damage to the brand of 3D. Although 3D provides a new interactive experience, you are still getting the same value: a 2-hour movie that happens to have more of a visual ‘wow’.
So is there really any way for Hollywood to achieve the same success with movie releases? Perhaps. Digital sales could boost profitability on day 1 of release.
Here’s how:
People wishing to go to the cinema can check out the screening on the very day, but those who wish to stay at home could pay a ‘premium’ price to get a digital download (more than a DVD or a movie ticket). With the rise of home cinemas, audiences could share the box office experience in their own living room, which could boost box office revenues for studios and reduce losses to digital piracy.
The flip side to this is that digital copies would be available on the web and box office takings would fall. If there was a better way to control digital sales and piracy, this kind of ‘premium’ digital downloading could be rolled out as an alternative to the cinema.
In the end its only a matter of time before audiences fully embrace digital downloads, and the tangible product of a DVD or Bluray disappears.
Sylvester Stallone making history with Rocky:The Musical
Rocky Balboa
Sylvester Stallone turned up the heat in ‘Expendables 2’ but nothing prepared us for ‘Rocky: The Musical’. After 6 Rocky movies, you would think Stallone had run out of steam to make another remix, remake, or update in the series, but ‘Rocky: The Musical’ sounds like a lot of fun.
Rocky Balboa will once again rise from the ashes and light up the stage which is set to premiere in Hamburg, Germany in November 2012. Stage Enterainment will produce the musical which will feature some of the Rocky movies’ best hit songs including ‘Eye Of the Tiger’. The story of Rocky Balboa captivated audiences who kept coming back time after time at the cinema wanting even more. After all the training montages, you could say we’re fully trained to see this.
What sets a Rocky musical apart from a motion picture is that it will allow the producers to express the love story at the heart of the Rocky movies between Rocky Balboa and girlfriend Adrian Pennino. On top of that, heavyweight-boxing champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are also said to be onboard. The musical will be in German, however, if it is a success could we not see this becoming an international phenomenon? When it comes to Stallone’s personality, nothing is ever too small or impossible to achieve, and that is also one of the founding messages of the Rocky movies. Never give up pursuing your dreams, because anything is possible.
What is wrong with the British Film Industry today?
British films find it extremely difficult to gain international success. A small number are successful each year and it is argued that this number is growing, but it is a very small number compared with the US studios.
It has been argued that the size of the domestic British cinema market makes it impossible for the British film industry to successfully produce Hollywood-style blockbusters over a sustained period without U.S. involvement.
Also, the loss of control and profits, and the market requirements of the US distributors, are often seen to endanger and distort British film culture.
However, many Hollywood films with a British dimension (based on British people, stories or events) have had enormous worldwide commercial success. Six of the top seven highest-grossing films worldwide of all time have some British historical, cultural or creative dimensions: Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Harry Potter movies. This suggests that the British themes and stereotypes work well when incorporated into a Hollywood film but our industry is not really capable of creating a hugely successful film or film franchise without help from the U.S. industry. This could also be because of the cuts to funding for British Film Industry and the end of the UK Film Council. You see, it is not our lack of talented actors, directors or technicians that makes us less successful than Hollywood films, because many new British actors and directors have done fantastically in the U.S. and globally (e.g. Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt)
Also, Leavesden studios (home to the Harry Potter Series) has even been turned into a studio tour for the public in order to generate more money.
Also, the British Film Industry is no longer given tax relief which caused a number of problems and therefore they had to find somewhere else to get tax relief.
Sandra Hebron, artistic director of the London Film Festival stepped down after the closing of this year’s festival. She ran the festival for 9 years and transformed it into an international success.
In an interview with IndieWire, Hebron revealed how she felt it was time to move on. She had been working at the BFI for 15 years and while the festival has been growing over the past several years, she felt that it was the right time. Looking at this year’s success, and the diversity of films screened at the festival, she couldn’t have picked a better time to step down.
This year the London Film Festival became a much bigger presence in the film festival circuit partly because of it’s strong film selection mixed with celebrity appearances, but also because of it’s support of talented young filmmakers and its direction online. Film festivals are constantly looking for ways to attain audiences and what I think the BFI have done really well is to make their festival accessible. It’s well organized, their website makes it easy to find out what’s happening and it has the panache to go even higher. London is after all a major culture capital, and it makes sense to have a major film festival that showcases British talent as well as international filmmakers.
My Opinion: I think that although it's a shame Sandra Hebron has stepped down, it will be interesting to see if The London Film Festival has any dramatic changes in the next few years with a new director taking charge.
‘Expendables 2′ went from steroid filled action to tragedy yesterday when a stuntman was killed during an explosion, and a second crew member was badly injured.
None of the film’s big stars including Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone were reportedly on the set at the time as they had been shooting in another location.
The stunt in question involved an explosion on an inflatable boat on the Ognyanovo dam near Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia.
‘Expendables 2’ has reunited Hollywood’s biggest action stars and promises to be more explosive than the first, with major roles for Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had cameos in the first outing. Unfortunately for production company Nu Image, this tragedy dampens the atmosphere of the shoot and a police investigation is ongoing.
There is always a risk when doing stunt work, and although safety is of paramount importance on set, accidents do unfortunately happen. It’s thanks to those brave people carrying out stunt work that we truly appreciate the art when we go to the theatres. Action films and storytelling wouldn’t be the same without their risk taking.
My Opinion: This particular event has been focused on in the news a lot lately and reveals just how dangerous a stunt man's job is. I'm sure this terrible incident won't affect the outcome of the film of course, which I look forward to watching after I go back and watch the first one.
'Steel' edges 'Footloose' at domestic B.O.
Robo actioner stays strong; dance remake steps aside
'Real Steel'
'Footloose'
In one of the weakest October frames on record, a competitive dance-off took place for the domestic B.O.'s top spot: DreamWorks' "Real Steel" grossed an estimated $16.3 million, while Paramount's dance redux "Footloose" debuted with an estimated $16.1 million.
Winning more easily overseas, "Real Steel" nabbed $23.3 million from 28 territories (41% of the international market).
Domestically, the weekend's overall totals reached only $83 million, according to one studio's estimates. That puts the 2011 frame just slightly above the lowest-grossing October weekend, 2007's Oct. 5-7 frame with $79.7 million overall.
The Stateside slowdown has some bizzers scratching their heads, since mid-October usually is a fine time at the B.O. This time last year, for instance, "Jackass 3D" became the month's highest opener ever with $50 million. B.O. pundits attribute the market's downslide in part to a recent teen malaise -- a boon demo for pics like "Jackass" and even "Footloose" (with teen girls, that is).
The battle between "Real Steel" and "Footloose" came down to Sunday's projections, with Disney estimating that DreamWorks' "Real Steel" will do better that day, thanks to the film's stronghold among family auds. "Footloose," which drew a considerable over-35 femme crowd, could still see a Sunday bump, as moms and daughters visit the multiplexes.
"We live in a world where everyone obsesses over rank," said Par vice chairman Rob Moore. "But we believe this film will have a strong multiple."
To that point, "Footloose" played exceptionally well in the heartland, with Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City the film's top two markets, respectively. Moore said films tend to have longer legs in the heartland, since auds in that region typically are less focused on opening weekend. ("Footloose" received an A CinemaScore rating.)
Also bowing this weekend, 20th Century Fox's adult-skewing comedy "The Big Year" failed to take flight, with a paltry $3.3 million through Sunday.
Universal's "The Thing" -- a prequel to John Carpenter's original 1982 film -- debuted in the U.S., earning a projected $8.7 million. That's considerably lower than expected; pre-weekend tracking had the film pegged to earn in the low-double digits. Internationally, the film earned $1.5 million from 5 markets, including Australia, where it opened to a weak $590,000 on 127 screens.
Dave Hollis, exec VP of theatrical exhibition sales and distribution at Disney, pointed to the overseas success so far of "Real Steel," saying it mirrors the domestic perf.
"We're playing in an environment where something original is playing to a broad swath of audiences," Hollis said.
Not unlike "Cowboys and Aliens," which underperformed at the summer box office, "Real Steel" also is a fresh property from DreamWorks. Though the latter film managed to hook an often lucrative (but unpredictable) family market. "At the end of the day, it's about the story and characters -- 'Real Steel' has something to offer for everyone."
After eight films, nine Academy Award nominations, and years of inspiring millions of fans worldwide, Spike TV will say goodbye to the “Harry Potter” films as it presents the ultimate farewell tribute to the blockbuster franchise at its “SCREAM Awards 2011.”
The sixth annual event, which honors all things sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic books, will tape at Universal Studios on Saturday, October 15 , and premiere on Spike TV on Tuesday, October 18
Two-time Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr. will attend to accept SCREAM’s prestigious Hero Award. With wildly successful films like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Iron Man,” Downey has captivated fans and critics alike with his daring and iconic interpretations of some of cinema’s most beloved characters.
Academy Award winner and star of “National Treasure,” “Kick-Ass,” and “Ghost Rider,” Nicolas Cage will be on hand to reveal an exclusive new footage from “Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance” and to accept the Maverick Award to recognize his fearless and intriguing body of work. Appearing in over 60 films, Cage has blazed his own path through Hollywood and created some of the most memorable, eccentric and indelible roles.
“The superstars and superheroes who are coming to SCREAM this year do it because they love and appreciate these fans for their unparalleled passion,” said Casey Patterson, executive producer of “SCREAM Awards 2011″ and executive vice president of event production for Viacom Media Networks Entertainment Group. “We have a lot of Scream-worthy surprises for the fans this year.”
Spike TV’s “SCREAM Awards 2011″ will also feature world premiere footage from some of the biggest releases of the next 12 months. The show will include never-before-seen previews of “Total Recall,” “The Woman In Black,” “Paranormal Activity 3” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” with many more films to be announced shortly.
The official sponsors of Spike TV’s “SCREAM Awards 2011″ are GEICO, Samsung, Subaru and Taco Bell.
Casey Patterson, Michael Levitt and Cindy Levitt serve as executive producers for “SCREAM Awards 2011.” Greg Sills is supervising producer, Austin Reading is producer and Hamish Hamilton will direct.
My Opinion: I'm sure many Harry Potter fans will be upset that they can't win another SCREAM award. But I am looking forward to seeing Robert Downey Jr win the Hero award! I'll also be looking forward to seeing the previews of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and "The Woman In Black"
Lion King 3D dominates the Box Office!
Walt Disney’s classic ‘The Lion King‘ has earned more than $60 million at the box office after it was re-released in 3D.
After a turbulent year for 3D movies, the success of ‘The Lion King’ could boost the revival of the format, if quality stays high. The box office numbers could also show how older hit movies targeting younger audiences and families could be re-released for 3D.
Earlier this year DreamWorks Animations CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said that the overall quality of films playing in 3D had been low, and the industry had put too much emphasis on selling rather than filmmaking. It’s pretty obvious that if a film gets rave reviews, the viral nature of good publicity always gives a boost. One good example of this is ‘Hangover Part 2′. The hype for the film was immense on the web, but when it was released, stories continued to emerge about how funny it was, which gave it prominence in social media, and more box office ticket sales.
My Opinion: I agree that 3D movies have been mainly about selling the 3D aspect rather than the actual story, so seeing The Lion King, (which already is a very popular and entertaining story) in 3D should be very interesting. Although, I do think The Lion King is an amazing film without being in 3D so I'm not sure there is much need to re-release it in 3D.
WAR HORSE AND TINTIN SWAP RELEASE DATES!
Spielberg's 'War Horse' to open on Christmas
DreamWorks swaps dates, sets 'Tintin' for Dec. 21
Steven Spielberg's next two movies are swapping release dates, as DreamWorks will now open its awards contender "War Horse" on Christmas Day, while "The Adventures of Tintin" will now bow on Dec. 21.
Paramount is releasing "Tintin" in the U.S. and English-speaking territories such as the U.K. and Australia, as well as most Asian markets, including Japan. Sony will distribute in all other overseas territories, principally in Latin America and Europe.
Disney is releasing "War Horse" through its Touchstone banner. New release date is designed to take advantage of the Christmas holiday, which falls on a Sunday this year.
My Opinion: I have seen War Horse at the theatre and even though it was amazing, I am really looking forward to watching on film because in the theatre they obviously can't use a real horse, so I'm interested to see how the relationship between the boy and the horse is played out in the film.! I think the decision to swap the release dates was a very smart move because The Adventures of TinTin would have a more specific target audience whereas anyone would go and see War Horse and at Christmas, people will be looking to see a more emotional and moving film rather than an adventure film.
TITANIC IN 3D!
James Cameron is making Paramount and his home studio Twentieth Century Fox happy by retro-fitting the second-highest-grossing film of all time, 1997’s Titanic, in 3-D. The studios plan a worldwide rerelease on April 6, 2012 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sailing.
The filmmaker and studio promise top-of-the-line quality, of course. Cameron and longtime Lightstorm producing partner Jon Landau are overseeing the 3-D conversion.
Said Cameron:
“There’s a whole generation that’s never seen ‘TITANIC’ as it was meant to be seen, on the big screen. And this will be ‘TITANIC’ as you’ve never seen it before, digitally re-mastered at 4K and painstakingly converted to 3D. With the emotional power intact and the images more powerful than ever, this will be an epic experience for fans and newcomers alike.”
My Opinion: Everyone pretty much saw this one coming. I don't think it's really necessary to re-release this in 3D because it already won 11 oscars in 2D! I highly doubt that it will be received that well again. I think Cameron should leave Titanic as it was, go ahead and re-release it in better quality on it's anniversary, - just not in 3D.
ALL STAR CAST FOR CLOUD ATLAS!
The feature adaptation, directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, will shoot in Scotland, Spain and Germany from September 16.
Hugh Grant has joined the cast of Cloud Atlas alongside Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon and British actors, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess and Ben Whishaw.
The film is based on David Mitchell’s novel which charts the progress of a soul across six separate existences spanning centuries, adapted by The Wachowskis and Tykwer.
Shooting will take place in Glasgow (which recently played host to World War Z), Spain and Germany, with two full units working simultaneously.
Focus Features Interntational are handling sales, with Warner Bros distributing in the US.
My Opinion: Hugh Grant has been confirmed as part of the cast of Cloud Atlas. It should be very interesting to see Grant in something other than a rom-com so I'm looking forward to it! The story sounds very interesting, if not complicated, but with such an all-star cast including 2 time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks I'm sure it will be worth watching.
