Movie News: SUPERMAN VILLAIN REVEALED!

Word is spreading around Hollywood that Warner Bros are looking to cast Viggo Mortensen in the role of General Zod for the brand new Superman movie.  This is fantastic news, as not only is General Zod one of the best villains in the Superman mythology, but Mortensen is a terrific actor who I reckon would be ideal for the part. 

The big question now,  is whether an actor of his stature will take a role in a comic book film.  Let's hope so!



Trailer of the Week: BAD TEACHER

Let's be honest, Cameron Diaz has made some pretty crappy films recently, including Knight and Day and The Green Hornet.  However, it seems 2011 could be the year she makes an impact on the big screen once again. 

This trailer for her new movie Bad Teacher is great and most importantly funny.  Yes, the whole premise is like a spoof of Michelle Pfeiffer's Dangerous Minds, but personally I don't care, especially during the car wash part! 

Also, somewhat surprisingly, Justin Timberlake plays the love interest. Ooo, it's like art imitating life...or something like that! 

Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think.

WARNING: THIS IS AN 18 RATED TRAILER.



UK Top Ten: 18-20th FEBRUARY 2011

Massive congratulations to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, as their latest comedy Paul has stormed it's way to the top of the UK box office with a massive £5.5m.  The second spot went to Gnomeo and Juliet (no real surprise as it was half term weekend), but it didn't even manage to get close to the number one movie.

The King's Speech is still bringing in big business and that'll grow even more, when it picks up a few Oscars over the weekend.  Sadly, Justin Bieber only managed to make it to the number nine spot, so not too many people thought it was worth spending £10 to watch the 'life story' of a sixteen year old boy.

Film	Weekend Gross	Total Gross Since Release
Paul	£5,517,121	£5,517,121
Gnomeo and Juliet	£2,223,978	£6,373,301
The King's Speech	£1,685,180	£37,127,599
True Grit	£1,466,979	£4,558,297
Big Momma's: Like Father, Like Son	£1,433,778	£1,433,778
Yogi Bear	£1,370,585	£3,862,364
Tangled	£1,295,709	£15,347,419
Just Go With It	£984,355	£3,766,707
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never	£820,592	£820,592
Black Swan	£693,332	£14,277,599

Movie News: X MEN: FIRST CLASS TRAILER!

It feels like we've had to wait for ages, but the first trailer for X Men: First Class has finally arrived! I really want this film to be great, as I'm a big fan of the series, yes even the third one was all right. 

The good news is we get to see a glimpse of some of the new mutants, the bad news is this trailer feels a bit flat and I'm not too sure why. Perhaps it's the slow dramatic pacing or the fact I feel like I've seen a couple of the set pieces in the other films.  Either way I'm willing to hold off any judgement until I've seen the whole movie, because they're probably saving the best stuff for that...let's hope so anyway!

Let me know what you guys think.

Movie News: DIE HARD 5 IS COMING!

I think John McClane is one of the best movie characters of all time, yeah, I said it! I've enjoyed all four of the Die Hard films and was excited to hear there was a possibility of a fifth one being made.  However, it seemed the only person talking about it was Bruce Willis, so I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen.  Well, it turns out that Die Hard 5 will be on the way to a cinema near you in the not too distant future.

20th Century Fox have announced that this movie will be directed by Noam Murro, who was hand picked by Willis to helm the project. Noam who? No, I had no idea either, but my friends at JoBlo.com have informed me that he made his name as a director of commercials.  His most recent work can be seen by clicking on the link below as he was responsible for this incredible trailer for Halo: Reach.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with this latest instalment to the Die Hard Series, I just hope they cast a decent bad guy, cause Timothy Olyphant just didn't do the business in the last one.

Movie News: Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher!

Here's Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, from the new film The Iron Lady. It's well known in Hollywood that Streep picks her roles carefully and can go seamlessly from The Devils Wear Prada to Mamma Mia via Doubt.

It looks like she's picked another winner, as this has 'critical acclaim' and 'award winning' written all over it. Mrs Thatcher has to be one of the most important female figures in recent history. It's clearly a fantastic role for any actress to take on, let alone one of Streep's calibre.

The movie has only just started filming, but I hear it could  be released before the end of the year, just in time for next year's awards season!

UK Top Ten: 28-30th JANUARY 2011

All the recent awards and nominations have meant that people have continued to see The King's Speech, but it wasn't enough to keep Tangled off the top spot.

Black Swan has also taken a lot of money considering it's a film about a slightly crazy ballerina, but The Mechanic was unable to break the £1m mark, even after some great reviews.

Film	Weekend Gross	Total Gross Since Release
Tangled	£5,106,612	£5,106,612
The King's Speech	£3,634,265	£24,905,378
Black Swan	£2,566,346	£7,305,659
The Mechanic	£921,554	£921,554
The Dilemma	£669,368	£2,292,011
The Green Hornet	£655,797	£4,905,398
Hereafter	£601,728	£601,728
Gulliver's Travels	£585,250	£14,502,379
127 Hours	£409,363	£6,605,229
How do you Know	£374,933	£374,933

Movie News: HOLLYWOOD'S TOP EARNERS OF 2010

1) JAMES CAMERON - $257 MILLION

No surprise to see Cameron at the top of the list, as Avatar made almost $2bn last year.  I'm guessing the other $1.75bn was spent on advertising and plastic 3D glasses?

2) JOHNNY DEPP - $100 MILLION

So Johnny Depp takes second place with an impressive $100m.  Here are the main chunks of cash - $40m for Alice in Wonderland, $35m for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and $20m for The Tourist. I know what you're thinking...he got paid $20m to be in The Tourist? He should have got double to be in that crap!

3) STEVEN SPIELBERG - $80 MILLION

As far as I remember Steven Spielberg didn't make many films last year, so how has he managed to land the number three position?  The strange but totally true answer is, that he earned $50m alone, from his 'Universal Theme Park royalties and consulting fees'! Are you kidding me?! $50m? Wow, that Jurassic Park ride is seriously popular! The rest of his money was from directing and producing The War Horse and from older film revenue.

4) CHRISTOPHER NOLAN - $71.5 MILLION

He may have missed out on an Oscar nomination for Best Director (he was robbed), but I doubt Christopher Nolan cares when he walks up to a cash machine and checks his balance.  He earned a staggering $69m from writing, directing and producing the incredible Inception. The rest of his money was from older film revenue.

5) LEONARDO DICAPRIO - $62 MILLION

He didn't write it, direct it or produce it, so how did Leonardo DiCaprio manages to make $59m from Inception alone?  The answer is a 'back end' deal.  Instead of being paid before starting a job, the actor signs a deal to receive a percentage of box office receipts. Not so good if the film flops, but brilliant if it doesn't! Inception made well over $800m, meaning DiCaprio received that huge pay cheque. The rest of the money was for Shutter Island. 

6) TIM BURTON - $53 MILLION

The majority of this money came from his 'back end' share directing Alice In Wonderland.  This film was a huge hit and by far Burton's highest grossing film, taking over $1bn worldwide.

7) ADAM SANDLER - $50 MILLION

I have absolutely no idea how Adam Sandler managed to earn so much money last year, especially as he hasn't been in a decent film for ages.  Somehow though, he still gets the big pay cheques, collecting $25m for Just Go With It, $20m for Jack and Jill, $3m for Grown Ups and $2m for his older film revenue.

8) TODD PHILLIPS - $34 MILLION

Let's face it The Hangover was a huge movie and it's director Phillips $39m in 2009.  He then went on to earn a further $13m for the same film in 2010 plus $15m for the sequel, which has just finished filming in Bangkok. He also picked $3m for directing Due Date last year and the rest is from his older film revenue.

9) TAYLOR LAUTNER - $33.5 MILLION

Wow! This guy has got a great agent. How the hell has he managed to make more money from the upcoming Twilight movies than Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart? It seems as though ten hours in the gym everyday for three years really has paid off for Lautner. He's been paid $25m to star in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and Part 2.  He also received £7.5m to star in Abduction. The rest is revenue from the other Twilight films.

10) ROBERT DOWNEY, JR. - $31.5 MILLION

I thought he might be higher up the chart, but it doesn't really matter, as RDJ made a big sum of money last year. $15 million for Sherlock Holmes 2, $12m for Iron Man 2 and another $4.5m from other film projects.