MONDAY JULY 6, 2009 « Film News Briefs

July 6, 2009

MONDAY JULY 6, 2009

BOX OFFICE

Weekend Estimate

July 3-5, 2009 (*millions)

FILM GROSS

1 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) $42.5M

2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) $42.5M

3 Public Enemies (2009) $26.2M

4 The Proposal (2009) $12.8M

5 The Hangover (2009) $10.4M

6 Up (2009) $6.58M

7 My Sister’s Keeper (2009) $5.25M

8 The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) $2.5M

9 Year One (2009) $2.1M

10 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) $2.1M

PROJECTS ANNOUNCED

“T.J. Hooker” is headed for the bigscreen as an action comedy with David Foster, Ryan Heppe and series creator Rick Husky producing. Chuck Russell (“The Scorpion King,” “The Mask”) is in talks to direct. The writing team of Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson will script the story, which focuses on the relationship between the title character and his father. No actors have been cast yet for the feature. The TV series, produced by Aaron Spelling, debuted in 1982 on ABC and ran for five seasons, the last on CBS. William Shatner starred as a no-nonsense patrol sergeant, with Adrian Zmed, Heather Locklear, Richard Herd and James Darren as co-stars.

PROJECT UPDATES

Wim Wenders has halted production of his 3-D dance film featuring Pina Bausch following the German choreographer’s death on June 30, five days after being diagnosed with cancer. Wenders’ Berlin-based production company, Neue Road Movies, said all preparatory work on the planned 3-D dance film “Pina” has been suspended, but added that it would work with Bausch’s dance company in Wuppertal on how best to proceed with the project while doing justice to Bausch’s memory. Wenders was to begin actual production on “Pina” in September.

Nimrod Antal, the director of the horror film “Vacancy,” has been hired to direct “Predators” for Fox and producer Robert Rodriguez. Alex Litvak & Michael Finch have written the script, which the studio is hoping will revive the alien-hunter franchise in a solo outing for the first time since 1990. The dreadlocked menace, who first appeared in a Central American jungle stalking Arnold Schwarzenegger and friends in 1987, has had two solo features and a pair of matchups with the double-jawed badasses of the “Alien” franchise. In this version, a group of humans will find themselves stranded on a planet home to Predators and must survive the horrors they encounter. James Cameron pulled a similar move with his advancement of the “Alien” franchise in his “Aliens.” The new iteration, which Rodriguez (“Planet Terror”) has been hoping to make since 1994, when he was hired to write a screenplay for a second sequel, is scheduled for a July 7, 2010 release.

Jason Sudeikis is in final negotiations to join Drew Barrymore and Justin Long in the New Line romantic comedy “Going the Distance.” Sudeikis will play Box, a friend of Garrett’s (Long) who counsels him against trying to maintain his long-distance relationship with Barrymore’s character. Charlie Day and Christina Applegate also were recently cast. Geoff LaTulippe wrote the screenplay, which Nanette Burstein is directing.

Add another party guest to the “Saturday Night Live” reunion taking place on the set of the Columbia comedy “Grown Ups.” Tim Meadows, a 10-year “SNL” alum, joins former colleagues Adam Sandler, Maya Rudolph, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Chris Rock, Norm Macdonald, Tim Herlihy and Colin Quinn in the cast of the ensemble comedy about high school friends who get together 30 years after graduation. Sandler, who is producing with Jack Giarraputo via their Happy Madison shingle, wrote the script with Fred Wolf. Dennis Dugan (“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”) is directing.

BUSINESS NEWS

Warner Bros. has picked up most of Midway Games’ assets in bankruptcy court for the fire-sale price of $33 million, giving the studio rights to “Mortal Kombat,” “Spy Hunter,” “Joust” and several other game franchises. A Delaware bankruptcy court judge OK’d the deal last week, saying that the objections to the transaction had been resolved. Midway filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Sumner Redstone had sold his 87% stake to Mark E. Thomas last year for only $100,000 along with the assumption of $70 million of Midway debt. Midway’s creditors agreed last month to give Thomas a $5 million payment.

IFC Films has set Sundance entry “In the Loop,” with James Gandolfini, which premieres in theaters on July 24, to also preem on cable video-on-demand this month. Political comedy, which is gathering favorable buzz, drew comparisons with “The Office” when it preemed at Sundance. Nia Vardalos’ directing debut, “I Hate Valentine’s Day,” which bowed in limited theatrical release Friday, is also available this month on VOD.

ABC is staying in business with “The Unusuals” creator Noah Hawley, who has inked a blind deal with sister ABC Studios to write two new projects.

INDUSTRY MOVES

Charlize Theron has signed with WME after many years without a tenpercentery. Thesp, an Oscar winner for 2003′s “Monster,” will be repped by WME co-CEO Ari Emanuel. She continues to be repped by manager J.J. Harris. Theron has been without an agent since 2003, when Harris exited UTA to become a manager.

WEBSITE TO WATCH

http://www.kiva.org/

One of the more interesting economic applications to be developed on the web is the idea of microlending – extending very small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries who have no access to traditional credit. (This isn’t cyberbegging, as illustrated in this season of AMC’s Breaking Bad – these loans are paid back.) This San Francisco-based site has been facilitating bets on small businessmen in more than 185 countries since 2005 and the site just announced it is opening up its services to benefit cash strapped idea people right here at home. Loans can be placed in increments as small as $25, usually extended for a period from 6-12 months. What’s cool about the site is that it allows you track the progress of the venture you’re funding through the site’s social networking features. Kiva will send updates to your email, Facebook page or mobile account. The Kiva World app allows you to track loans across entire regions. The site has been a huge success in developing countries – attracting $75 billion in loans to date with a repayment rate of 98.35%, according to co-founder an CEO Matt Flannery. Now is a good time to unleash this web 2.0 largess on the U.S.