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5 articles from 2008

16 June 2008 10:41 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Movie theaters across North America saw a lot of green inside and out over the weekend as The Incredible Hulk debuted with an estimated $54.5 million. It marked the second superhero movie from Marvel Entertainment to open at No. 1 at the box office in just over a month. Iron Man hauled in over $100 million in its debut on May 2. Although most critics agreed that the latest film version of the Marvel classic was an improvement over Ang Lee's Hulk five years ago, the new film actually earned less than its predecessor, which took in $62.1 million. Meanwhile, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, starring Mark Wahlberg, opened with a better-than-expected $30.5 million, according to Media by Numbers. Most box-office forecasters had predicted an $18-22-million opening for the thriller. Last week's top film, Kung Fu Panda, fell to second place with $34.3 million, while You Don't Mess With the Zohan, the latest Adam Sandler comedy plunged to $16.4 million. The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers:1. The Incredible Hulk, $54.5 million; 2. Kung Fu Panda, $34.3 million; 3. The Happening, $30.5 million; 4. You Don't Mess With the Zohan, $16.4 million; 5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $13.5 million; 6. Sex and the City, $10.2 million; 7. Iron Man, $5.1 million; 8. The Strangers, $4.1 million; 9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $3 million; 10. What Happens in Vegas, $1.7 million.

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13 June 2008 10:36 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

While early reviews of The Incredible Hulk mostly concluded that the new version was a great improvement over Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk (as we reported Thursday), several critics are expressing disagreement with that assessment today. Among them is Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times who calls the Ang Lee film "rather brilliant" and says that the new one "sidesteps the intriguing aspects of Hulkdom and spends way too much time in, dare I say, noisy and mindless action sequences."

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12 June 2008 10:36 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Marvel's The Incredible Hulk, who first muscled his way into theaters in 2003 and had to fight off critics upon his arrival, returns at midnight tonight (Thursday), and he's earning a bit more respect -- and probably more green as well. Claudia Puig in USA Today says the new Hulk "is more viscerally angry and packs a bigger wallop than Ang Lee's talkier, more introspective version" and that while there are plotholes, "as a popcorn movie steeped in action, it keeps our attention." Lou Lumenick says that when it comes to fans of the comic book and the TV series, the new Hulk "squarely hits the target." However, he adds, the sequel is "only fitfully successful in engaging the middle ground -- us nonhard-core fans." Mick Lasalle in the San Francisco Chronicle says that the new film does not attempt to make "a thinking-person's action movie," as Ang Lee attempted to do with his Hulk. Instead, he remarks, the film "embraces its identity as a sci-fi-summer-action-blockbuster extravaganza." The trade papers predict that the film will show lots of strength at the box office. "This loud and quick-moving production will shake loose ample coin in all markets," writes Todd McCarthy in Daily Variety. Adds Kirk Honeycutt in the Hollywood Reporter: "The film is poised to carry the weekend buoyed by an unbeatable combination of buzz and hype."

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23 January 2008 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Movie star Heath Ledger has been found dead in his Manhattan, New York apartment. The actor was declared dead by medics at his Broome Street, SoHo home at 3:30pm on Tuesday, according to the New York Police Department. A police spokesperson reveals Ledger was discovered by his housekeeper, after he failed to answer the door to a masseuse he had booked to give him a massage. While prescription drugs were found at scene, there were no illegal drugs discovered. The Australian Brokeback Mountain star, 28, was just about to start promoting the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight, in which he plays movie villain The Joker. Born in Perth in 1979, Ledger made a name for himself in a series of brooding roles on the big screen; he was nominated for a 2006 Oscar for his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in the gay-themed drama Brokeback Mountain. Fiercely private, Ledger has openly spoken about his public shyness, but he hit the headlines for romances with Heather Graham, Naomi Watts and his Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams, the mother of his two-year-old daughter Matilda Rose.

A star field hockey player and athlete, Ledger turned his attentions to drama in his teens and, when a friend headed to Sydney, Australia to chase an acting dream, the star-to-be went along for the ride. He landed a break as a gay cyclist in 1996's Sweat - a TV drama about a group of Olympic hopefuls - and then he portrayed the best friend of a rapist in low-budget 1997 movie Blackrock. Hedger left Australia to find acting work in America in 1999 and landed the lead in Aussie director Gregor Jordan's crime thriller Two Hands. That film helped him land the lead hunk role in teen movie hit Ten Things I Hate About You. He went on to play Mel Gibson's son in The Patriot and Billy Bob Thornton's troubled offspring in Monster's Ball. Both roles earned Ledger high praise from critics. But then came a string of critical flops - A Knight's Tale, Ned Kelly, The Four Feathers, The Order, Lords Of Dogtown, and The Brothers Grimm. But then followed Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain in 2005, which Ledger has often described as a major turning point in his professional and personal life. As awkward cowboy Ennis Del Mar, Ledger regained his position as one of Hollywood's top stars. The role led to a Best Actor Oscar nod and the coveted role of The Joker in the upcoming The Dark Knight, for which he's already receiving great acclaim. Ledger has also won acclaim for his role as Robbie Clark in quirky Bob Dylan-inspired movie I'm Not There. The tragic star was last seen publicly on the London set of director Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus on Saturday.

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4 January 2008 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Chinese film stars Tony Leung and Wei Tang spent two weeks filming sex scenes for Lust, Caution - because director Ang Lee found the experience "exhausting." Lee admits he was forced to halt filming several times as shooting the steamy scenes was too challenging. He explains, "If we were shooting a porno film, we would have done all those scenes in two days. After half a day, I'd have to call a stop because it's so exhausting. Physically it's not that difficult, but it's mentally exhausting."

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5 articles from 2008