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"2012": $600 Million In 3 Weeks

8 December 2009 12:39 PM, PST | SneakPeek | See recent SneakPeek news »

Director Roland Emmerich' $200 million-budgeted, Vancouver-lensed disaster picture "2012", has so far grossed $148,958,486 domestic and $451,300,000 foreign for a worldwide total of $600,258,486 in 3 weeks.

According to reports, Emmerich received a 'traditional' $20 million advance against 20 percent of the first-dollar gross profits to make the picture. He owned the script, produced the film and directed, offering a take it or leave it deal with Sony/Columbia.

Some estimates peg Emmerich' take (so far) as $100 million.

"2012," uses 'end-of-days' prophecies to depict the world's demise after a solar meltdown.

The ensemble cast includes actors John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Woody Harrelson, following the aftermath of a global cataclysm in the Year 2012, leading to the 'end of the world', as survivors struggle for their lives.

Premise of the feature is inspired by theories that posit the ancient Mayans predicting a doomsday event occuring during the 2012 winter solstice.

Sneak Peek "2012"...

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- Michael Stevens

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Al Kennedy on Funny Bones

5 December 2009 4:10 PM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

Peter Chelsom, 1995

Funny Bones – it's a film about being funny and about being yourself, about being funny as an expression, a definition of self. I think it's a vastly under-appreciated piece that actually manages to apologise (fully and in advance) for its co-writer and director, Peter Chelsom, having gone on to direct the otherwise inexcusable Hannah Montana: The Movie.

The general scarcity of appreciation is, of course, no surprise – Funny Bones fits into no known genre and makes no compromises about its many, many peculiarities. It nods fondly in the direction of vaudeville pieces such as Duck Soup and has the humanity, imagination and emotional range of a good screwball comedy. The plot is a law unto itself. We begin all at sea and stay there – encountering violent death, magical powder, corrupt policemen, adultery, flashbacks, theft, comedy turns, despair, classic patter and commedia dell'arte. Tommy Fawkes, the son of famous comic George Fawkes, »

- AL Kennedy

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Sundance Reveals 2010 Non-Competition Slate

4 December 2009 5:24 PM, PST | newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news »

On Wednesday the Sundance Film Festival unveiled the films competing in late January 2010.  Yesterday they announced the rest of the line-up of independent films vying for attention for industry types and the curious public.

The entire list of 53 films is below, but here are a few that stood out to me from the premieres alone:

Mumblecore directors the Duplass Brothers, have a new, untitled movie starring an unusually high-profile cast compared to their usual improvisational crew.  John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and Catherine Keener.  Reilly and Keener are actually in two films at the 2010 festival.

The Company Men, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt about corporate downsizing.

Rodrigo Cortes’ Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds as a man buried alive in a coffin.  I’ve read the script and its great.  More on that as soon as I can.

The Runaways, the »

- Jeff Leins

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Sundance 2010 Non-Competition Line-Up Looks Strong

3 December 2009 3:30 PM, PST | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

Yesterday we got the list for the films playing in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and today we get the rest of the films that will be featured and there are quite a few that make 2010 look much stronger based on pedigree alone than I have seen in quite some time. Variety has a big write-up detailing the categories and more on the festival right here, but I am just going to offer up the titles and let you sort it all out.

The titles already in the RopeofSilicon database are linked.

Premieres

All films are from the United States unless otherwise noted Abel (Mexico-u.S.), the directorial debut of actor Diego Luna, written by Luna and Agusto Mendoza, about a peculiar young boy who, as he blurs reality and fantasy, takes over the responsibilities of a family man in his father's absence. With Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi, »

- Brad Brevet

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Nowhere Boy, The Runaways and The Company Men All to Premiere At 2010 Sundance Film Festival Out-Of-Competition

3 December 2009 2:58 PM, PST | FusedFilm | See recent FusedFilm news »

Sundance Institute announced today the lineup of films selected to screen in the out-of-competition section of Premieres. Some very anticipated films that we have been tracking are included. Films like The Runaways, starring Kristen Bell and Dakota Fanning as the 70s girl rock group headliners, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. We have also been following The Company Men and Nowhere Boy, so we are excited to see these films at Sundance 2010.

To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. The Premiere section is being presented by Entertainment Weekly.

Abel / Mexico, USA (Director: Diego Luna; Screenwriters:Diego Luna and Agusto Mendoza)-A peculiar young boy, blurring reality and fantasy, assumes the responsibilities of a family man in his father’s absence. Cast: Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi, »

- Kevin Coll

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2010 Sundance Film Festival Out-of-Competition Films: Premieres

3 December 2009 2:34 PM, PST | Collider.com | See recent Collider.com news »

Yesterday we gave you a list of all the films playing in-competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  We now have the list of the films playing out-of-competition and they’re divided up into four categories: Premieres, Next, Spotlight, and Park City at Midnight. Since combining these lists would be a lot to read for just one article, we’ve broken it up to give each category its own article.

Know that while there are a lot of films playing in-competition, most of the films to get buzz will be coming from the out-of-competition categories.  First up are the premiers which include John Wells’ The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner; Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s The Extra Man starring Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, and Paul Dano; Get Low starring Robert Duvall and Bill Murray; Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me starring Casey Affleck, »

- Matt Goldberg

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Full Sundance line-up announced...and it's a doozy!

3 December 2009 2:08 PM, PST | QuietEarth.us | See recent QuietEarth news »

In addition to the competition titles which were announced yesterday, Sundance has announced the remainder of their line-up and it includes some titles we’re already familiar with along with a huge number of premieres.

Also on the docket are two new series: Next which showcases low/no budget films and Spotlight which highlights films which festival programmers deem worthy of extra love including Enter the Void (review) and Lourdes (the trailer for which I really liked).

I’m particularly excited to see some of the titles in the New Frontier program but overall, the line-up is an impressive one but the Kristen Stewart fan in me is excited to see her turn as Joan Jett in The Runaways and I think it’s fair to say we’re all dying to see Vincenzo Natali’s hotly anticipated Splice (trailer).

In the Midnight section, Adam Green's Frozen is sounding mighty find, »

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Sundance 2010 Film Lineup *Updated*

3 December 2009 1:00 PM, PST | LatinoReview | See recent LatinoReview news »

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: Premieres To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly. »

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Natalie, Alec and Ryan Lead the Way at Gotham's Indie Awards

1 December 2009 5:00 AM, PST | Popsugar.com | See recent Popsugar news »

It was a celebration of movies and acting in NYC last night at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. Ryan Reynolds hit the red carpet solo looking dapper in his vest while Brooke Shields stood close to Rosie Perez and Alec Baldwin posed with Richard Kind. Alec recently said he would be retiring from acting in a couple of years, but first he's out to promote It's Complicated out this month. He also has a big award show to host this season when he and Steve Martin take on the Oscars together. Natalie Portman showed some skin before being honored during the show just days before her new film, Brothers, hits theaters. The night's big winner was The Hurt Locker while Stanley Tucci was also one of the night's honorees along with Portman. Chris Rock came out to support his documentary Good Hair, though the prize went to Food, Inc. The »

- Molly

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"The Hurt Locker" Shines at the Gotham Independent Film Awards! See Full List of Winners!

30 November 2009 8:01 PM, PST | Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news »

"The Hurt Locker" won big at the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at a ceremony held at New York City.s Cipriani Wall Street. The film beat "Amreeka," "Big Fan," "The Maid," and "A Serious Man" for the Best Feature Trophy.

"The Hurt Locker" also won the Best Ensemble Performance Award beating "Adventureland," "Cold Souls," "A Serious Man," and "Sugar."

(For the complete list of nominees, click here)

Presented by Ifp (Independent Filmmaker Project), the Gotham Independent Film Awards. is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season.

A total of 22 films received nominations in six competitive categories, including: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.

For the second year, the recipient of the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You award will »

- Manny

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2012 (Film Review)

16 November 2009 11:00 PM, PST | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

The world ends not with a bang or a whimper but a resounding 'Meh' in Roland Emmerich's 2012, the last and least of his end of the world film series. Emmerich, who first made a splash with Independence Day, a hipster update of George Pal's War Of The Worlds, returns to Pal's work with 2012.

An uncredited updating of Pal's When Worlds Collide, 2012 has the world coming to an end as Earth's core heats up creating floods that will soon kill all life on Earth. We follow a lowly scientist (an interesting Chiwetel Ejiofor), the Us President (Danny Glover, who seems to blandly repeat Morgan Freeman's dialogue from the superior Deep Impact), then jump to a down on his luck sci-fi writer/limo driver (a puffy John Cusack), his perky, estranged wife (Amanda Peet--a great actress given nothing to do), two movie-cute kids (One of whom is named 'Noah', »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (Pat Jankiewicz)

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Streep, DaFoe, Portman, Platt & More Set for 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, 11/30

16 November 2009 8:53 PM, PST | BroadwayWorld.com | See recent BroadwayWorld.com news »

According to Variety, the 19th Annual Independent Film Award ceremony is shaping up to be a starry evening. Presenters include Meryl Streep, Joel and Ethan Coen, Willem Dafoe, Ellen Burstyn, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Anthony Mackie, Oliver Platt, Jim Sheridan and Brooke Shields. The event will be hosted by Comedian Kumail Nanjiani at the ceremony, which will take place at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan. »

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2012 Review: Its The End of the Blockbuster (As We Know It!)

16 November 2009 9:24 AM, PST | t5m.com | See recent t5m.com news »

BBC film critic Jonathan Ross described 2012 as ‘insultingly lazy’. Nothing could be more accurate. This apocalyptic tale is the latest effort from Ronald Emmerich, director of Independence Day, Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow. As you may expect it is laden with special effects (the budget reportedly being around the $260 million mark). Aside from the overwhelming feeling of deja-vu (The Day After Tomorrow), the key problem is that you cannot, at Any point, take the story seriously. Particularly as the ‘script’ is riddled with cliché after cliché. The reluctant protagonist John Cusack is a prime example of a ‘disaster movie hero’, playing a (surprise surprise!) divorced writer alienated from his wife and daughter. There are many others however including: i) the seemingly mad hippy who turns out to be right about everything, ii) the pet dog who miraculously survives amongst all the destruction, iii) a surprisingly noble president (Danny Glover »

- t5m

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2012 Smashes Box Office

16 November 2009 2:00 AM, PST | Alt Film Guide | See recent Alt Film Guide news »

Roland Emmerich’s apocalyptic actioner 2012 destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $65 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Sony’s 2012 opened at 3,404 locations Friday, scoring an explosive average of $19,095 per theater while easily beating the $35.8 million opening gross of Emmerich’s previous film 10,000 B.C. Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, and Danny Glover, 2012 follows a group of individuals trying to survive a series of cataclysms as the world is about to come to an end. Pirate Radio, this week’s other wide release, made it only to No. 11, with $2.8 million from ticket sales [...] »

- Franck Tabouring

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2012 Opening Wipes Out The Competition

15 November 2009 5:05 PM, PST | HollywoodNorthReport.com | See recent HollywoodNorthReport.com news »

Sony's 2012, the Vancouver-lensed 'disaster' film, with the working title Farewell Atlantis, directed by Roland "Independence Day" Emmerich sold $225 million worth of tickets globally, as of November 15, according to distributor Columbia Pictures, North American grosses accounted for $65 million. Foreign box office came from 105 countries, led by France with $17.2 million, Russia with $15.3 million and Germany with $12.4 million. "2012, reportedly budgeted at $200 million, in which very available performer in Vancouver managed to work on (including yours truly as an 'Ark Boarding Officer'), uses 'end-of-days' prophecies to depict the world's demise after a solar meltdown. The ensemble cast includes actors John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Woody Harrelson, following the aftermath of a global cataclysm in the Year 2012, leading to the 'end of the world', with survivors struggling for their lives. Premise of the feature is inspired by theories that posit the ancient Mayans predicting a doomsday event occuring during the 2012 winter solstice. »

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Film review: 2012 and why it really is an epic disaster

15 November 2009 3:28 PM, PST | The Geek Files | See recent The Geek Files news »

The whole world disappears into yawning chasms and beneath thundering tsunamis in Roland Emmerich's $200million disaster movie 2012.

Unfortunately, so does characterisation, originality and good writing.

The computer-generated carnival of calamity makes for great spectacle but becomes brain-numbing and boring.

And yet you find yourself looking forward to the next set piece of destruction because the rest of the movie is so dull. The entire experience is woefully unengaging. Spoilers ahead...

Even the basic premise is flawed. The Mayan calendar does Not say the world will end in 2012; it merely comes to the end of a cycle in that year and continues well beyond it.

John Cusack (pictured below) is the central character, a novelist and limo driver who becomes caught up in the events and, in a story about mankind building giant arks, has a son called Noah. Funny.

At times, Emmerich seems to be telling the story with a wry smile, »

- David Bentley

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Box Office: '2012' explodes with $65M!

15 November 2009 1:33 PM, PST | screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news »

Weekend of November 13 – 15, 2009: Emmerich's action flick destroys everything!

Roland Emmerich’s apocalyptic action spectacle “2012” destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $65 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sony’s “2012” opened at 3,404 locations Friday and scored an explosive average of $19,095 per theater this weekend, easily beating the $35,8 million opening gross of Emmerich’s previous film “10,000 B.C.”

Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Danny Glover, the action adventure follows a group of individuals trying to survive a series of cataclysms as the world is coming to an end. »

- Franck Tabouring

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Emmerich's disaster epic 2012 opens with a massive $65 million.

15 November 2009 4:22 AM, PST | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »

Love his films or loath them, Roland Emmerich is the master of disaster with "2012" bringing in a gargantuan $65 million in U.S. sales on its debut weekend. Worldwide, the film starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrselson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover and Oliver Platt has already brought in over $225 million. This one's going to be big folks and clearly a year for Sony after the success of "District 9" and "Zombieland" among others. Doing well in its sophomore weekend, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' "A Christmas Carol" sang up 14% of the weekend gross with $22.3 million added, making the animated film's total over $63 million so far. JIm Carrey, Gary Oldman, Crispin Glover and Robin Wright Penn star in the Robert Zemeckis-directed and adapted family animated adventure. Overture Films' comedy "The Men Who Stare At Goats," starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges, showed a 51% change in its »

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'2012': The Greatest Irwin Allen Movie Never Made

14 November 2009 9:03 PM, PST | CinemaSpy | See recent CinemaSpy news »

Imagine taking every big disaster film ever made, from The Towering Inferno and Earthquake, to The Poseidon Adventure, and squishing them all together into one film. You'd essentially have Roland Emmerich's 2012, a movie so shapeless of plot and devoid of meaning, that it's actually half way entertaining. If — and here comes the caveat — you remember to check your brain at the concession stand, the film's ridiculously simple premise and mind-numbingly overwrought effects are actually kind of fun.

The story begins with the usual scientists-discovering-an-imminent-cataclysmic-event scenario, which coincidentally ties to the Mayan civilization's "prediction" that the world will end on December 21, 2012. (The Mayans actually never made such a prediction—but that's a whole other topic. And even if they had, they apparently didn't have the foresight to predict that the Spanish would conquer them...so, so much for "predictions.")

Of course, the "science" in the film is scientific gobbledygook—something »

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Featurette: 2012 Volcanic Eruption

14 November 2009 2:36 PM, PST | HeyUGuys.co.uk | See recent HeyUGuys news »

To coincide with the release of Roland Emmerich’s 2012, which is in UK cinemas Now, Columbia Pictures have released a new featurette based around the volcanic eruption in Yellowstone Park. I’ve embedded the featurette below or head over to Yahoo to view in HD.

2012 stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Thandie Newton.

Synopsis: Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and governments. 2012 is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.

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- David Sztypuljak

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

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