First Trailer For Sci-Fi PASSENGERS Looks Like An Awesome Ride!

Director Morten Tyldum's PASSENGERS looks VERY promising. First of all the casting is intriguing with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence headlining (Michael Sheen and Laurence Fishburne are no slouches either). But what I find most interesting is the mystery behind being woken up too soon on an epic space journey. Let's hope what has been done before is not repeated here - perhaps something original. I don't think that's too much to ask from screenplay writer Jon Spaihts.

Here's the movie's storyline:
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are two passengers onboard a spaceship transporting them to a new life on another planet. The trip takes a deadly turn when their hibernation pods mysteriously wake them 90 years before they reach their destination. As Jim and Aurora try to unravel the mystery behind the malfunction, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction... only to be threatened by the imminent collapse of the ship and the discovery of the truth behind why they woke up.

Should look amazing in 3D. Can't wait to see this!

PASSENGERS opens on December 21.

Sony Pictures Shows 30-Minutes of The Amazing Spiderman 2 at CinemaCon

Tim here, and in my continuing coverage of CinemaCon we got a special treat during the Sony Pictures presentation: 30-minutes of The Amazing Spiderman 2! We got to watch the beginning of the film, a little action sequence a bit later in the film, and a lead in to the climatic end. All followed by a sizzle of all the footage previously seen in trailers.

Before describing the footage, the biggest news Sony revealed is that their decision to have 3 villains in this movie had to do primarily with setting up the Sinister Six, which they plan on bringing into the franchise, and as well spin-off films. They mentioned Venom.

We opened with the beginning of the film, which gives another perspective to the beginning of the last film and explains what happened to Peter's parents. We move forward to the present, a year after the events of the last film, and Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) is in his prime. He has tried to keep his promise to Gwen's father by keeping away, and it seems his crime fighting nearly keeps him away from his high school graduation as Gwen (Emma Stone) calls him from the ceremony to figure out where he is. It sets up an early relationship with Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) that is then returned to in the next sequence we got to see. We also meet Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti) who is in the midst of a heist that Spiderman works to foil.

Max is now Electro, and is discovering just what his powers are capable of in the middle of Times Square. Peter is with Gwen reconnecting as "friends" when his Spidy senses tell him something is amiss nearby. We witness the first battle between Spiderman and Electro, which works great in 3D. The next short sequence is when Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) attempts to get the upper hand on the Spider by teaming up with Electro.

The footage was screened in S3D, which was a nice change since most of the previous footage shown by studios has been in 2D. Although, I can tell it's a conversion for the pure live action elements, the rest works in the same Hybrid manner that Gravity did. Since Spiderman and Electro are so often CGI created in the computer the stereo works great. As much as I wish they had shot it natively, it still will work fine in the 3D format.

Pretty exciting stuff coming from Sony this year! The Amazing Spiderman 2 hits theaters in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 2, 2014.

ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US Hits A High Note With $15.8M And Top Box Office Draw!

Hats off to director Morgan Spurlock, Sony Pictures and his team behind the debut concert movie offering ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US. It's quite a feat to win the weekend with a concert movie but they have indeed pulled it off with a $15.8m ($33m worldwide) take. Lee Daniels' THE BUTLER came in second with $14.9m. But what I found interesting was that Spurlock pulled it off in only 2,725 theaters while Daniels enjoyed 3,330.

And a big congratulations to 3ality Technica and in particular Ted Kenney who served as one of the 3D Producers on the movie! Well done. It takes a rare and particular skillset to pull off shooting superlative 3D concert movies and Ted has it in droves.

The production shot using Sony F55’s and F65’s on the 3ality Techica rigs with FUJINON CABRO 19-90MM, OPTIMO DP 16-42MM and OPTIMO DP 30-80MM lenses.

The movie's audience was 87 percent female and 65 percent under the age of 17 which was to be expected.

Says Wikipedia: The film portrays Simon Cowell as singularly responsible for putting the five individuals together in the aftermath of their X-Factor auditions (Cowell himself appearing in the film to say "I made the decision in about 10 minutes"). But according to sources it was reportedly Nicole Sherzinger, then a stand-in judge on the talent show, who originally suggested the idea to bring the five individual contestants together and try them out as a group. The film makes no reference to Sherzinger in its account on how the boyband was formed.

Here's the movie's storyline:
Billed as an intimate all-access look at life on the road for the global music phenomenon, THIS IS US follows the lives of the five members of the boy band, One Direction. It contains live concert footage from London's O2 Arena, and footage from their lives pre- and post-X Factor appearance, and gives insight into the preparation for their concerts and ultimately what it is like to be One Direction.

I haven't seen the movie yet but all of that will be rectified shortly as my daughter's favorite band is none other than ONE DIRECTION. She's been looking forward to this movie for a long time!

ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US is now playing.

One Direction And Morgan Spurlock Team Up For New Behind The Scenes 3D Movie: 1D3D

First of all, my daughter is going to LOVE this news. She simply adores this band along with all of her friends. Morgan Spurlock will be helming 1D3D, a behind the scenes 3D movie of the phenomenon known as  One Direction. They're a boy band out of the UK and they have been burning up the charts of late with hits such as LIVE WHILE WE'RE YOUNG.

TriStar will be releasing the movie on August 30, 2013.

Here's the press release (emphasis is mine):

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures announced today that it's making a 3D film showcasing London-based global music sensation One Direction. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) will direct the film, which TriStar Pictures will release on August 30, 2013 (Labor Day weekend).

"This is an incredible opportunity and an amazing moment in time for the band," said director/producer Spurlock. "To capture this journey and share it with audiences around the world will be an epic undertaking that I am proud to be a part of."

Simon Cowell said, "I'm delighted we're making this film and Morgan is the perfect person to give that access-all-areas, behind-the-scenes look into what it's like to be One Direction today. What the band have achieved is incredible, they and their fans have made history around the world – this is for them."

Spurlock emerged in 2004 with his Academy Award®-nominated feature Super Size Me, in which he subjected himself to eating only at McDonald's for 30 days. He has since gone on to produce other acclaimed documentary features such as Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, as well as non-fiction TV series including FX's30 Days and CNN's upcoming Inside Man. He was nominated for an Emmy Award and Writers Guild Award in 2010 for the Fox TV Special The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice!

One Direction – Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – were discovered by Simon Cowell on the U.K.'s "The X Factor" in 2010. The band quickly gained a following to become one of the competition's all-time most popular acts, finishing in the final three and garnering a gigantic and loyal fanbase along the way. In March 2012, One Direction's debut album, "Up All Night," made U.S. history, as it was the first time a U.K. group's debut album entered the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at No. 1. The band has sold over 13 million records worldwide. Today, One Direction released their sophomore album, "Take Me Home," which includes the No. 1 single, "Live While We're Young."

Morgan Spurlock, Ben Winston, Simon Cowell, and Adam Milano will produce the film. Executive Producers will be Richard Griffiths, Harry Magee, Will Bloomfield, Matthew Galkin, Jeremy Chilnick and Doug Merrifield. Hannah Minghella, President of Production for Columbia Pictures, and Lauren Abrahams, Vice President of Production for Columbia Pictures, will oversee production for the studio.

Follow @1D3Dmovie on Twitter for exclusive updates about the movie. The official movie account on Twitter will announce news using the hashtag #1D3Dmovie.

About Sony Pictures:
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in 159 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/

I will be sure to keep you updated on this movie just as I'm sure my daughter will keep ME updated :-) More soon...

Special 3D Double Feature Event In Los Angeles: Watch INFERNO 3D And DARK COUNTRY With Thomas Jane

I'm friends with actors Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman as well as writer Tab Murphy so of course when I heard about this screening of DARK COUNTRY I wanted to publicize it right away. TJ has been instrumental in his participation and passion for modern 3D and I'm very grateful for his contributions. If you're a fan of Jane's too, be sure to drop by and check these movies out and meet the man himself. Details below. You will love DARK COUNTRY.

A screening of classic and contemporary “Desert Noir 3D” films, INFERNO 3D (1953) and DARK COUNTRY 3D (2009), sponsored by the LA3D Club, will take place at the Downtown Independent Theater on Sunday October 28 at 7pm. On hand to introduce the films will be the “Czar of Noir,” Eddie Muller, founder of the Film Noir Foundation, and Thomas Jane, director and star of Dark Country 3D. Jane will also be doing a book signing at 5pm at the theater for his new graphic novel publication of Dark Country, with art by Thomas Ott.

Inferno 3D is the only 1950s 3D film produced by 20th Century Fox studio. Presented here for the first time in a brand new digital restoration by film historian Daniel Symmes, Inferno makes striking use of 3D in telling the tale of a treacherous wife (Rhonda Fleming) who leaves her millionaire husband (Robert Ryan) in the Mojave Desert to die.

Click to enlarge

Dark Country, released by Sony Pictures/Stage Six in 2009, is a 3D horror/noir thriller starring Thomas Jane, Lauren German and Ron “Hellboy” Perlman. About Dark Country 3D, Muller has written that “the movie is a delirious dream of the dark pulpy stuff we loved as kids—and always will.” The evening of this big Desert Noir 3D double bill will also feature a display of historic 1950s 3D promotional materials in the lobby of the Downtown Independent Theater and a question and answer period between Muller and Jane before the screening of Dark Country 3D.

The Downtown Independent Theater is located at 251 South Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.
More info about this screening and other LA3D Club screenings is at: la3dclub.com, Info: 323-709-6450

ENJOY!

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA Sends Bruce Willis For A Loop!

Sony Pictures is enjoying a one - two punch at the box office this weekend with their new animation HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (HT) taking top spot. By a lot.

HT is looking at a potential $40 million weekend! I've liked the trailers leading up to it so I'm not all that surprised. I thought LOOPER would do a bit more and at least challenge, but it's not. A solid $6.9 million on Friday, but not enough to hold off HT with $11 million.

I expect to see HT keep up the momentum throughout the weekend and probably hit north of $40 m.