Wednesday April 23, 2008

BOX OFFICE

Daily

Monday, April 21, 2008 (*millions)

	FILM	GROSS	TOTAL*
1	Forbidden Kingdom, The	$1,692,767	$23.0938
2	Forgetting Sarah Marshall	$1,679,100	$19.4044
3	88 Minutes	$557,025	$7.5142
4	21	$450,955	$70.4554
5	Nim’s Island	$430,176	$33.3242
6	Prom Night	$426,837	$32.5607
7	Street Kings	$408,861	$20.4670
8	Horton Hears A Who	$284,369	$144.7028
9	Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed	$238,804	$3.2096
10	Leatherheads	$210,125	$26.8153

PROJECTS ANNOUNCED

• MGM has won a bidding war for “The Zookeeper,” paying $2 million against $3 million for the comedy spec from the team of Jay Scherick and David Ronn. Studio’s attached Walt Becker (”Wild Hogs”) to direct and produce with producing partner Jennifer Eatz. Todd Garner will also produce through his Broken Road Prods. Garner came up with the original idea for “The Zookeeper”: After a lonely zookeeper decides to leave his job because he can’t meet a girl, the animals in his care intervene. Garner approached Becker to develop. Scherick and Ronn came aboard and took the idea out as a pitch before the WGA strike, then penned the script after the strike ended. It’s the third major material deal made since Mary Parent took over last month as head of MGM’s worldwide motion picture group. Since then, MGM’s bought Robert Ludlum’s “The Matarese Circle,” with Relativity on board to co-finance and Denzel Washington starring; it’s also purchased Ben Wexler’s comedy spec “Bobism” and set it up at ContraFilm. “Zookeeper” is also the second deal in a week for Garner, who’s attached to produce Johnny Rosenthal’s action-adventure “Iron Jack” for Sony. Scherick and Ronn’s credits include “Norbit,” “Guess Who” and “National Security,” and they’re currently writing “Fantasy Island” for Sony.

• “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” helmer Nick Stoller is reteaming with Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures for the comedy “Get Him to the Greek,” with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand attached to star. Stoller has been tapped to write and direct the laffer, which centers on a fresh-out-of-college insurance adjuster (Hill) who is hired to accompany an out-of-control rock star (Brand) from London to a gig at L.A.’s Greek Theater. Hill and Brand played supporting roles in U’s “Sarah Marshall”; Stoller is co-writing and will direct the comedy “Five-Year Engagement” for Universal, with Jason Segal co-writing and attached to star. He and Segal are also collaborating on “The Muppet Movie” for Disney. Stoller’s writing credits include the forthcoming Jim Carrey starrer “Yes Man.” Hill’s upcoming credits include the comedy “This Side of the Truth” alongside Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner. He will also lend his voice to DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon.” Brand will next be seen in the Adam Sandler starrer “Bedtime Stories” for Disney.

• Phoenix Pictures has snapped up Javier Rodriguez’s spec script “The Heretic” and is fast-tracking the Renaissance-era action-adventure thriller. Story revolves around a fallen priest-turned-hitman sent by a rogue archbishop to assassinate Martin Luther, only to discover that not everyone is telling the truth. Phoenix’s Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and David Thwaites will produce. Michael Connolly of Mad Hatter Films, which manages Rodriguez, will exec produce. Phoenix plans to start production by the first quarter. Phoenix is in production on action-thriller “Shutter Island,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese, and announced last week that it’s partnering with Gold Co. on “Amish Gone Wild.” It’s beginning production next month on spy thriller “Shanghai,” helmed by Mikael Hafstrom.

PROJECT UPDATES

• James Schamus and Ang Lee will reunite on Focus Features’ “Taking Woodstock.” Lee will direct and Focus prexy Schamus will pen the comedy based on Elliot Tiber’s memoir “Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, Concert, and a Life,” co-written with author Tom Monte. Set during the politically turbulent summer of ‘69, story follows an Everyman working at his parents’ motel in the Catskills who inadvertently sets in motion what would become the generation-defining concert. The pic will have one lead, based on Tiber, and a colorful ensemble. Speculation about original or period music was not confirmed, though the film is assuredly not going to be about the famed concert itself. Schamus is aiming to head into production before year’s end. Budget is anticipated to fall in the $5 million-$10 million range. Schamus has teamed with Lee on 10 films, including “Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and, most recently, “Lust, Caution.”

• Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” a 1920s-set mystery thriller starring Angelina Jolie, will be part of the competition lineup at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. The full slate of Cannes Official Selection entries is being announced today in Paris. “Changeling,” which Universal will release domestically in November, also stars John Malkovich, Amy Ryan and Colm Feore. Pic will be Eastwood’s fifth to compete in Cannes, after “Pale Rider,” “White Hunter, Black Heart,” “Bird” and “Mystic River.”

ACQUISITIONS/ FESTIVAL NEWS

• MGM has acquired domestic rights to “How To Lose Friends and Alienate People” and plans to release the comedy on Oct. 3 in conjunction with Autonomous Films. Pic, based on Toby Young’s memoir, centers on an English journalist who proves a failure on the staff of New York’s most prestigious magazine as his bad manners and vulgar pranks lead to monumental mishaps. Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson and Jeff Bridges also star. Robert B. Weide directed from a script by Young and Peter Straughan. The film was produced by Stephen Woolley and Liz Karlsen for Number 9 Films, with financing from Aramid, Film4 and the U.K. Film Council.

• The TorontoFilm Festival has recruited Montreal film critic and author Matthew Hays to its Canadian feature programming team and appointed Kathleen Mullen as Short Cuts Canada programmer. Hays, who has written on film for the weekly Montreal Mirror since 1993 and on popular culture and politics for a broad range of dailies and periodicals, teaches film studies at Concordia U and is the author of “The View From Here: Conversations With Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers.” He joins associate director of Canadian programming Steve Gravestock and Jesse Wente. Canadian features are now slotted throughout TIFF’s array of programming windows rather than having their own separate category. Mullen has programmed for the Provincetown Film Festival, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Film Program and the Vancouver Film Festival. She was the director of programming at Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival from 2000-05. The Toronto Film Festival runs Sept. 4-13.

BUSINESS NEWS

• Etchie Stroh of Moonstone Entertainment and Jay Firestone are partnering on Prestige Films, focusing on distribution of features plus a combined catalog of more than 50 films from their respective libraries. Prestige plans to present a range of pics in various genres and budget ranges. Shingle will make its debut at Cannes with two films going into production in the fall: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Nanny,” written and to be directed by Dana Lustig (”Wedding Bell Blues,” “Kill Me Later”) is the story of a washed-up rocker who ends up as the nanny in the house of his ex-groupie. “The Thing on the Doorstep,” to be directed by Stuart Gordon (”Stuck,” “Edmond”) and based on the novel by H.P. Lovecraft, follows a psychologist in his dealings with a patient who seems to be stuck in an “out of body” experience involving an ancient curse.

• Summer isn’t officially here, but the comedy glut at the box office sure is. Universal bows female-skewing “Baby Mama” this weekend — one week after the studio released the Judd Apatow-branded “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Also opening is Warner Bros.’ “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” which should grab the men. And right around the corner are “Sex and the City,” “What Happens in Vegas” and “Made of Honor.” It’s unusual for one studio to open two comedies back to back, as U is doing. Conventional wisdom would say that “Baby Mama” — starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler — and “Sarah Marshall” could cannibalize each other. Universal’s decision reflects the bind in which studios find themselves as the release calendar becomes more and more crowded: There just aren’t that many places to go. Originally, the R-rated “Sarah Marshall” was set to open May 30, but U decided to move up the release to April 18, one week before “Baby Mama,” to get out of the way of summer pics including New Line’s “Sex and the City,” which had moved onto the May 30 date. U couldn’t necessarily go any earlier in the spring with “Sarah Marshall,” particularly since there was already one Apatow-produced film in the marketplace: “Drillbit Taylor,” which Paramount released in March. While “Baby Mama” will play to females, John Cho-Kal Penn starrer “Harold & Kumar” should play well among younger men, also one of the key demos for Apatow’s raunchy romantic comedies. “Baby Mama” and “Harold & Kumar” are rated PG-13 and R, respectively. The heavily marketed “Sarah Marshall” opened to $17.7 million last weekend on the strength of younger women and men. Film came in second to Lionsgate’s Jet Li-Jackie Chan fantasy adventure “Forbidden Kingdom,” which opened to $21.4 million. “Sarah Marshall” cost $30 million to produce, so U is likely in good shape financially. Still, the studio is betting that the raunchy laffer will have the same strong legs as previous Apatow hits “Superbad,” “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” “Harold & Kumar” could have an edge going into the weekend, according to early tracking. Like “Sarah Marshall,” neither “Baby Mama” nor “Harold & Kumar” were expensive to produce. New Line’s “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” stoner comedy cumed just $18 million at theaters in 2004 but went on to become a smash hit on DVD. Sequel, which pokes irreverent fun at the Bush administration’s war on terror, is the first New Line title to be distributed by Warner Bros. since New Line was largely disbanded and made a label in the WB fold. If the audience is fractured this weekend, it only gets more intense next session, when Paramount/Marvel’s “Iron Man” and Sony’s romantic comedy “Made of Honor” officially kick off summer at the box office. The next weekend, on May 9, Warners bows “Speed Racer,” while 20th Century Fox opens “What Happens in Vegas” — another comedy. Also over the May 9 frame, Paramount Vantage opens laffer “Son of Rambow” in a limited run.

STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUES

• As contract talks with the majors enter their second week, the Screen Actors Guild has amped up pressure on the studios by signing interim deals on 95 indie features that allow actors to continue working — even if SAG strikes this summer. The development came with negotiators for SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers huddled Tuesday at AMPTP headquarters in their seventh negotiating session with neither side commenting. Talks, which have been proceeding with an absence of saber-rattling, will resume today. The interim deals, dubbed “guaranteed completion contracts,” are based on producers agreeing in advance to adhere to terms of the guild’s final contract agreement in exchange for being able to use SAG actors in the event of a strike. The completion contracts are available only to indie productions that have neither financing nor distribution deals with any AMPTP-repped company. SAG and the AMPTP had no comment about the completion contracts. But top execs have emphasized that such deals won’t impact major studios much since they’re holding off on starting any projects until SAG reaches a deal with the AMPTP. SAG’s strategy in signing the interim deals is similar to that of the Writers Guild of America, which signed 21 such pacts in the last six weeks of the writers strike. The first announced SAG deals came a week ago, when the Film Department disclosed it had pacts with SAG for nine pics and Roaring Leo had signed a SAG deal for “Shifting the Canvas.” The prospect of an actors strike after the current SAG feature-primetime contract expires June 30 has spurred feature production at the majors, with schedules designed so that shooting is completed by mid-June. SAG and the AMPTP have four more days set for negotiations through Saturday — probably enough time to complete a deal if negotiators can engage in hard bargaining and compromise. The majors will then launch talks on primetime with rival actors union AFTRA on Monday. If SAG hasn’t reached a deal by then, it faces the prospect of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists signing a deal with the majors and using that to expand coverage in areas of shared jurisdiction. AFTRA angrily split its negotiating partnership with SAG in late March. SAG also reiterated its talking points in an email sent Tuesday to members, notably leaving out its demands for improved DVD residuals and new-media terms that are better than those in the DGA and WGA pacts. Both those positions are non-starters for the majors. SAG asserted that average annual TV/theatrical earnings for members are $52,000 a year; overall compensation and session earnings are decreasing; and residuals fell 7% from 2003 to 2007 after adjusting for inflation; changes in the broadcast biz model mean fewer employment opportunities; reality TV has taken a big bite out of residuals and initial compensation. The email said SAG’s asking for increased minimum fees for performers, increased major roles minimums and compensation or pre-approval rights for product placement endorsements within scenes.

INDUSTRY MOVES

• Rodney Ferrell has been upped to senior VP of production at Fox 2000. He shepherded such Fox 2000 projects as the romantic comedy hit “27 Dresses,” the fantasy-adventure “Eragon” and the Russell Crowe starrer “A Good Year.” Ferrell is currently overseeing production of the David Frankel-helmed “Marley & Me,” starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and is supervising development of “Hell’s Angel,” “The Passage,” “The Wind in the Willows” and “Shadow Divers.” Before Fox, Ferrell worked with Steven Soderbergh and Jennifer Fox at Section Eight.

• Gale Anne Hurd’s production entity, Valhalla Motion Pictures, has hired David O’Leary as director of development. O’Leary was previously at Kopelson Entertainment, where he served as a creative executive. Valhalla also has named Ben Roberts as creative executive and Kris Henigman story editor. Valhalla is at work on Marvel comicbook adaptation “The Incredible Hulk,” to be released by Universal on June 13. It also just wrapped “Punisher: War Zone” for Lionsgate and Sony.

• Marvel Entertainment has tapped Sony Pictures’ former digital guru Ira Rubenstein to head up the comicbook giant’s online and mobile efforts. Company’s been aggressively eyeing the Internet and cell phones as ways to grow Marvel’s superhero business. Rubenstein, long considered a Hollywood innovator in the online space, will head up that expansion as executive VP of Marvel’s newly formed global digital media group. He will be based in New York and reports to John Turitzin, exec VP, office of the chief executive.Marvel recently digitized part of its vast library of books to launch Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, with readers paying monthly subscriptions of $10, or $5 if they sign up for a full year. It launched with more than 2,500 back issues, including the first appearances of Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk. Rubenstein will shepherd the growth of that venture, as well as Marvel.com and MarvelKids.com, and the creation of original animated content, strategic partnerships and mobile and casual games. Exec recently spent 12 years at Sony, most recently as exec VP of Sony Pictures Digital, where he extended Sony Pictures’ properties, including the “Spider-Man” franchise, “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” into the digital space through SonyPictures.com, mobile and casual games and strategic partnerships. He also oversaw the development of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment’s on-demand movie service Movielink.

TECHNOLOGY/ MULT-PLATFORM CONTENT

• “Prince Caspian” fans won’t have to wait for the DVD to get bonus footage. Disney Interactive Studios’ videogame adaptation of the upcoming tentpole from its sibling studio, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” will feature two exclusive live-action scenes shot by the film’s cast and crew. Vidgame will be only the second that has featured new scenes with the talent from a tie-in movie. The first was 2003’s “Enter the Matrix,” which had an original story with two of the film trilogy’s supporting characters. The “Prince Caspian” game’s two new scenes, which total about 2½ minutes in length, are meant to frame an early level that connects the story of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” with its sequel. The game’s other levels mirror the plot of the film and are bookended by live-action scenes from it. The scenes were directed by pic helmer Andrew Adamson and feature Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian and Vincent Grass as his tutor, Dr. Cornelius. “Caspian” game, which is being developed by Warner Bros.-owned Traveller’s Tales in England, also features extensive set and character designs and other digital assets from the movie. It comes out along with the pic next month.

• Sony is getting ready to launch its own online video service through the broadband-connected PlayStation 3 console as early as this summer. The service, which would compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Live platform, would offer standard and HD movies & TV shows for download in an open standards format allowing them to be viewed on a range of devices including, of course, Sony’s own handheld the PSP.

• Terrestrial web ITV is selling some of its best-known shows, including cult classic “The Prisoner,” via iTunes in Blighty. Users can choose from more than 260 hours of programming, with ground-breaking fare, such as the country house classic “Brideshead Revisited,” available alongside police dramas like “Inspector Morse” and spin-off show “Lewis.” Other archive fare covered by the deal includes “The Saint” and Gerry Anderson’s puppet classic “Captain Scarlet.” Single episodes of shows can be bought from £1.89 ($3.76) for viewing on a Mac, PC, video-enabled iPod or a widescreen TV with Apple TV. Shows will also be available to buy as a complete series. It is the first time ITV, under pressure to increase revenue from non-broadcast activities, has sold its shows via a third party. Deal was brokered by Steve Gallant, publishing director at Granada Ventures, which is being wound up as part of a restructure sparked by Airey’s arrival as managing director of Global Content last fall.

WEBSITES TO WATCH

A new animated series called Perfectland premiers on Think.MTV.com and MTV Mobile today as part of a wide-reaching go green initiative rolling out across MTV screens large and small.

Warner Bros. Television and Time’s Essence Magazine are teaming up for a series of new African American women-targeted multiplatform content initiatives, including a new video-centric Essence.com planned for this summer that will serve to incubate new shows for television under the Telepictures banner. An original digital daily entertainment news show for Essence.com called Extra on Essence will kick off the partnership.

SOURCES:

www.variety.com

www.cynopsis.com