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‘Iron Man 3′ Joins Movie And TV Production Exodus To North Carolina
“The rumors are true,” a North Carolina TV station announced when the governor flew to the hometown movie studio to break the news this past week. “Tony Stark and the third installment of the Iron Man movie franchise will fly into Wilmington.” Great news for North Carolina maybe but for the Los Angeles movie and TV community it felt like a punch in the gut. Thanks to the state’s generous 25% production credit, North Carolina’s EUE/Screen Gems Studios sealed the deal. Manhattan Beach-based Marvel Studios considered making the third movie in Los Angeles just like the first two, but the 25% credit proved too hard to resist. California has a 25% credit ‘
Participant Media Can Boast ‘Contagion’ #1 & ‘The Help’ #2; ‘Warrior’ #3 In Fewer Runs
FRIDAY PM: This is shaping up as 2011′s lousiest box office weekend in North America with only $70M total grosses. Yes, even worse than Hurricane Irene’s. But no surprise which new North American movie is No. 1 tonight.
1. With $8M and an estimated $22+M weekend, it’s Warner Bros’ Contagion playing in 42% more theaters — 3,222 — than its nearest newcomer. This Participant Media-backed disease movie looked like yet another yikes-you’re-all-going-to-die formula pic. But I’m surprised it didn’t generate more appeal what with Oscar-winning Steven Soderbergh directing 6 Academy Award winners or nominees: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne. That added oomph to credited screenplay writer Scott Burns’ material. “Yes, it was important to be provocative and to scare people,” a Warner Bros exec tells me about the $60M-budget pic. “But both the print and trailer and TV campaign present a more well-rounded view of the mystery. We did sell the visceral experience — a smart and thrilling look at a killer virus, the science behind it, and the aftermath.” Warner Bros took the film to Venice to solid reviews and conducted an aggressive consumer campaign. Besides, adult movies are working at the box office.
2. Entering its 5th weekend in release, DreamWorks/Disney’s hit dramedy The Help which is also backed by Participant Media made $2.6M going to $9M from 2,935 locations for the weekend. It’s estimated new cume of $137.4M by Monday.
3. This seemingly anticipated martial arts drama Warrior starring Tom Hardy (Bane … Read More
Hurricane Irene Blowing Away Box Office: “Business Is In The Crapper Right Now”
Theater chains are closing, location counts are dropping, and major releases are finding cover as Hurricane Irene prepares to come ashore along the Eastern Seaboard starting in 
North Carolina and heading due north. ”Landing Saturday night in New York? Couldn’t be much worse,” one studio exec complained to me. Said another, “Business is in the crapper right now. Any way you slice it business is getting creamed this weekend.” There’s no doubt that the state of emergency declared across the East Coast from North Carolina to Massachusetts because of the storm which is already bigger than the size of Europe could depress box office by 10%, 20%, or more. Considering that this weekend’s opening movies were only expected to debut in the $8M to $10M range even in fair weather, studios and distributors have a Mother Nature excuse when their films underperform between only $6M to $8M at the North American box office. (So I can’t humiliate them. Drats!)
I’ve just learned that AMC which operates the Empire 25 in NYC’s Times Square — the top grossing theater in the country — is closing all New Jersey theaters Saturday at 6:00 PM for the weekend as well as a bunch in states like New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Regal is leaving it up to individual managers to make the call unless otherwise instructed by local authorities but Hollywood distributors expect them to follow suit. Clearview Cinemas already announced all theaters are … Read More
Warner Bros Buys Pitch As Starring Vehicle For Ed Helms
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros has acquired a feature film pitch from scribe Rob Pearlstein as a starring vehicle for Ed Helms, who is coming off the success of the studio’s The Hangover Part II, which has just passed $500 million in global box office. Helms will also executive produce the project, which is being sheperded by Kim Roth, Erin Fredman and Anna Culp at Imagine Entertainment. Greg Silverman, Jon Berg and Andy Fischel will oversee for Warners. Brian Grazer will produce. Helms, repped by CAA and Principato-Young, next appears in Paramount’s Duplass brothers film Jeff Who Lives At Home with Jason Segal and is one of the voices in Universal’s The Lorax. He also will return in the fall for Season 8 of NBC’s The Office. UPDATE: Here’s some details about the screenplay: The plot of the comedic drama, titled True North, centers on pompous travel-show host Brian North (Helms), whose obsessive pursuit of fame and constant travel has alienated his wife and two kids. His plane crashes when on assignment in India, and he awakens from a coma two years later to discover everyone back in New York thinks he’s dead, and he’s had reconstructive surgery that has completely changed his appearance. He returns to Manhattan to win back his family by proving he’s a changed man, but it won’t be easy.
Summit Getting Every Dollar From 'Eclipse'
This weekend Summit Entertainment will re-release The Twilight Saga: Eclipse “allowing moviegoers to celebrate Bella’
Fantasia is committed more than ever to her daughter after overdosing
On Tuesday, we heard about Fantasia Barrino’
Kate Moss is noticeable . . . and the afternoon links
Kate Moss leaving the Stella McCartney boutique in west London (7/3) + I can never get enough of Francois Boufhal’s boobs [IDLYITW] + Lindsay Lohan has see-through boobs (NSFW) [Drunken Stepfather] + North Korea can keep Justin Bieber [PopEater] +… …read full story
Woody & Buzz, Adam & Kevin, All Beat Tom & Cameron: 'Toy Story' Terrific, 'Grown-Ups' Great, But 'Knight And Day' Not So Much
FRIDAY PM/SATURDAY AM UPDATE: This is shaping up as one of those memorable box office weekends because of the big summer movies so overperforming and underperforming that Hollywood will be talking about it for days. (I just hope Deadline can keep up with the comments because we’re already behind monitoring all of them!) Here’s the Top 10 (numbers refined in the AM):
1. More good news for Pixar and Disney. As expected, Toy Story 3 tops the North American box office for the 2nd straight week. Thanks to higher 3D ticket prices and a wide release into 4,028 theaters, the toon with massive appeal did $18.1M Friday, only a 56% drop following its [...]
Why Is Fox Searchlight Still In Swank Biz?
Maybe the answer is that co-presidents Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula are gluttons for punishment. Because I don’t understand why Fox Searchlight is staying in the Hilary Swank biz, especially after last year’s Amelia was such a total loser at the box office. Only $14.2M – despite an expensive marketing campaign that included a cheezy coffee table book about the movie. And the specialty division’s Boys Don’t Cry was way back in 1999. Yet they’ve just bought North American and some international rights for Tony Goldwyn’s Swank-starring Betty Anne Waters whose storyline is about a sister who proves her imprisoned brother’s innocence. Go figure.
Brooke Mueller, Rehab And Resort Are Not The Same
Brooke Mueller’s stepfather Jon Fiore told RadarOnline.com that his stepdaughter is receiving treatment at Two Dreams Outer Banks in North Carolina. He tells RadarOnline “she is recognizing that she needs help and she can’t do it on her own.” His c …read full story
Tiger Sets Sail While Elin Deliberates
(HMG) – Tiger Woods has apparently set off for a small cruise with some golfing buddies, after his yacht spent a week docked at a North Palm beach marina.
It isn’t surprising that he is wanting to get away from a few days. Not only has it come to light that he has been even more [...]
Summit To Distribute Polanski Latest
Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio will distribute in North America the thriller THE GHOST WRITER, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski who finished the pic while sitting in a Swiss jail fighting extradition to Los Angeles where he’ll face criminal charges. It remains to be seen whether the director’s legal problems will affect the pic which he produced with long time collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde. According to today’s statement, Summit International, which has a long-standing relationship with Polanski representing the sales of the rights to his films outside of North America, acted as sales agent [...]
Sony: Jacko's 'This Is It' $144M Worldwide
Sony announced today that Michael Jackson’
Dakota Fanning: Actress, Homecomeing Princess, Cheerleader
Homecoming Princess Dakota Fanning performs cheers during a Vikings football game in North Hollywood on October 30, 2009. …read full story
Ed Westwick Takes It Off – Nibbly Things
Ed Westwick Goes Shirtless for Arena Homme + [Towleroad]Friday Night Lights Returns [Lainey Gossip]Celebritweets: PicTwits edition [Wonderwall]‘Extra!’ Previews Kylie Minogue’s First Ever North American Tour [Pink is the New Blog]Rachel Stevens’ Sex …read full story
Amanda Righetti @ “Whiteout” Premiere in Westwood
Getting cast by a CBS show must’ve been the best career move for Amanda Righetti. She’s on The Mentalist as Grace Van Pelt and the show doesn’t look like it’s in jeopardy of being canceled. A big difference seeing that she tried launching both North Shore and Reunion on FOX after leaving The O.C. and those didn’t last more than one season.
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North Carolina Ups Film Incentive To 25%
UPDATES: Now North Carolina Expanding Its Studios
In these tough economic times when many states can’t figure out how to sustain their film incentives, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue yesterday signed a 25% increase into law. The higher incentive will be effective January 1st. Chris Cooney, co-owner and COO of EUE/Screen Gems Studios issued a statement that his phone is [...]