NEXT BOND MOVIE TO BE TITLED SKYFALL

With a title that evokes the tradition of James Bond movies like Goldfinger, Thunderball, Moonraker, and GoldenEye — but not Quantum of Solace — the long-delayed 23rd 007 movie was officially launched at a London news conference today (Thursday). It will be called Skyfall, director Sam Mendes announced, and its stars will include Daniel Craig [...]

MGM RETURNS TO MAKING CARTOONS

MGM, once the home of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s Tom and Jerry characters and a slew of additional cartoon creatures created by the likes of Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, and Bob Clampett, is getting back into the business of animation. Daily Variety reported that the studio will produce a feature-length animated movie, Punk Farm [...]

THE HOBBIT: WHAT YOU HEARD MONTHS AGO IS TRUE

On a slow holiday news day, MGM, New Line and Warner Bros. confirmed what had already been bandied about for months: that the first of the Lord of the Rings prequels will be titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the second will be titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again. They will be released [...]

DISH BUYS BLOCKBUSTER

DISH Network has become the winning bidder for Blockbuster, it announced today (Wednesday). In a statement following the auction, the satellite TV service said that its bid was valued at approximately $320 million but that after “certain adjustments” — particularly for Blockbuster’s cash and inventory — are made, DISH will actually pay approximately $228 million [...]

BIEBER TO MAKE MOVIE DEBUT AS AN ACTOR — WITH ASHTON KUTCHER

Justin Bieber is being paired with Ashton Kutcher to star in a “buddy comedy” from Sony Films about “a relationship between a 17-year-old and his thirtysomething self, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Thursday), citing a person who was briefed on the project. Surprisingly for a movie featuring the squeaky-clean Bieber in his first acting [...]

MGM REEDITING RED DAWN TO AVOID OFFENDING CHINA

In an apparent effort to placate Chinese officials, MGM is altering its upcoming thriller Red Dawn, erasing Chinese flags and other objects and substituting dialogue so that the invaders in the movie are transformed into North Koreans, the Los Angeles Times reported today. The alterations were undertaken without any official request by Chinese officials, the [...]

SONY TO HELP HEAL MGM

MGM may be ready to roar again following its reemergence from bankruptcy with new leadership, but, according to a report in today’s (Wednesday) Los Angeles Times, it will be supported staunchly by Sony Pictures, which now occupies the Culver City lot that was MGM’s home during its glory days. According to the newspaper, which cited [...]

JACKSON HOSPITALIZED; HOBBIT DELAYED AGAIN

Production of The Hobbit, the two-part prequel to the Lord of the Rings saga, which has been delayed numerous times by a dispute over distribution rights, wrangling over union representation, and most of all by the financial health of MGM, has been delayed yet again — this time by the physical health of producer-director Peter [...]

007 TO RETURN TO SCREEN IN 2012

It still doesn’t have a title and only a few months ago rumors were flying that the script was not up to snuff, but the producers of the James Bond movies said Tuesday that “Bond 23″ will hit the screen on Nov. 9, 2012. (The first Bond film, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery, hit the [...]

MGM WON’T HAVE TO FUND THE HOBBIT AFTER ALL

MGM has handed over foreign distribution of the two The Hobbit movies to Warner Bros. in exchange for Warners’ putting up the entire $530-million production budget for the movies, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Friday). A previous agreement called for the two studios to split the production costs, with Warners getting domestic distribution and [...]

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