Sonyliving Video Film

The ‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot Just Did Something Oh-So Right!

sonyliving — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:09:09 +0000

Back in March, MGM announced that they had acquired the rights for the "Tomb Raider" video game franchise from Paramount, who let their hold on them expire after "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" failed to find audiences. (That title certainly didn’t help.)
Now we have word from Variety that Marti Noxon, best known from her work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," has been hired to write the script for the new adventure of Lara Croft.
Why is this such a big deal, you ask? Hiring Noxon seems like a deliberate move to indicate what direction the new "Tomb Raider" movies will go in, something that should please the game series’ fans, especially those who liked the latest game.

As we discussed when MGM acquired the rights, making a move right now to revitalize "Tomb Raider" is hopefully an attempt to reinvent the series in light of the recent success of another badass female protagonist, Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games." The most recent entry in the game series takes Croft back to her origins, making her stronger and less of the pure eye-candy that her older polygon models cast her as. Plus, her use of a bow and arrow probably took more than a little inspiration from Katniss.
You simply do not hire Marti Noxon to write a dumb, sexist "Tomb Raider" rehash. This is hopefully the first sign of a more modern take on the character, one that gamers can be proud of, instead of embarrassed by, and ideally one that young girls can actually look up to for her character and not her supernatural cup size.

Universal Studios Theme Park Introduces Pricey VIP Experience

sonyliving — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 02:25:58 +0000

Universal Studios Hollywood is eyeing wealthier patrons’ pocketbooks as the summer swings into season. A new $299 per-person VIP ticketing option gets you into the park for a day with valet parking, continental breakfast, an unlimited front of line pass, catered gourmet lunch, and a seat on a cozy 16-person trolley. The VIP Experience, which one Uni rep likens to flying first class, also takes guests behind the scenes on the Universal backlot to sets of shows like NBC’s Parenthood and ABC’s Desperate Housewives Wisteria Lane street. Children under 5 years aren’t allowed, but Universal’s come up with a solution for families with the cash to spend: You can rent the entire trolley exclusively for a day for 16 people at $299 a pop, or just under $5K total. Disneyland, meanwhile, recently raised its prices for single-day and annual tickets.

Hot Trailer: ‘The To Do List’

sonyliving — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 06:32:50 +0000

Those who know Aubrey Plaza from her deadpan ex-intern on Parks and Recreation will see a decidedly different side of her in CBS Films’ The To Do List. The redband trailer has arrived, complete with raunchy jokes, sight gags and “other”. Plaza’s Brandy was her class valedictorian but managed to finish high school with her virginity intact. One raucous graduation party later, she decides to remedy the situation before starting college in the fall. Watch for Brandy stumbling over her unfamiliarity with certain terms of, er, endearment. Director Maggie Carey’s 1993-set comedy boasts the tagline, “From straight A’s to her first F.” Co-starring Bill Hader, Alia Shawkar and Johnny Simmons, it opens July 26:

Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘The East’, ‘The History Of Future Folk’, ‘Hannah Arendt’, ‘The Kings Of Summer’

sonyliving — Fri, 31 May 2013 03:18:05 +0000

Two Sundance titles will roll out the first weekend of June. Specialty newcomers this weekend run the gamut from star vehicles to niche special interest titles. Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page star in Fox Searchlight’s The East, which will open in several runs in a traditional platform launch. Variance Films is sending its genre-bending feature The History Of Future Folk exclusively in New York as will Zeitgeist Films for its Toronto biopic Hannah Arendt. And CBS Films will, appropriately, bow its Sundance pickup, The Kings Of Summer in New York and L.A.
The East
Director-writer: Zal Batmanglij
Co-writer: Brit Marling
Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
The East had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival and closed out the SXSW Film Festival in March. Director Zal Batmanglij along with star (and co-writer) Brit Marling traveled to over a dozen cities for college and word-of-mouth screenings, hosting Q&As. “Given the fact that the film will be the only one in the marketplace with a strong female lead as protagonist, we feel that this smart and modern thriller is well positioned as a film unlike any others in release,” noted, SVP Domestic Distribution at Searchlight. “We will be targeting the core art house audience as well as a younger demographic including college students for The East. Our marketing will be comprised of Broadcast, Print, Radio and a targeted online effort, including social media.”
In the film, Marling plays Sarah Moss, an operative for an elite private intelligence firm whose top objective is to ruthlessly protect the interests of their A-list corporate clientele. She is assigned to go undercover to infiltrate an anarchist collective known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations. Living amongst them in an effort to get closer to their members, she starts to fall in love with the group’s charismatic leader. Searchlight will open The East on May 31 in a total of four theaters in LA and New York. The film will open in the Arclight Hollywood and Landmark West LA in Los Angeles, and in the Sunshine and Lincoln Square in New York. The film will be released on a limited platform basis expanding over the next five weeks.
The History Of Future Folk
Co-Directors: John Mitchell, Jeremy Kipp Walker
Writer: John Mitchell
Cast: Nils d’Aulaire, Jay Klaitz, Julie Anne Emery, April L. Hernandez
Distributor: Variance Films
Variance Films became aware of The History Of Future Folk after a film critic sent a message via Twitter to the distributor’s exec Dylan Marchetti about the film. “[He said] it seemed up our alley. He was right,” said Marchetti. “On the surface, the film is a mix of several ingredients that really shouldn’t work — indie sci-fi, comedy, bluegrass music — but the filmmakers completely pulled it off and the film manages to be funny and sweet without ever being cloying- that’s really hard to make work, and it works on Future Folk incredibly well.” The multi-genre film centers on the real-life alien bluegrass band, Future Folk, which has been playing for NYC audiences for a decade. “The challenge on this film is that is plays well to several core audiences, some of whom will find the film On Demand (it releases on VOD June 4th via FilmBuff),” said Marchetti. “It plays to the so-called ‘hipster’ crowd, but it also plays to crowds who enjoy music, sci-fi, and even to older audiences who enjoy a well-made film. So what we’ve done is create a host of very unusual marketing materials, everything from a music video to a Taxi TV spot to a ‘press conference’ we had last week.”
Variance will also have band members at theaters opening night. Opening up against After Earth, Marchetti doesn’t see that film peeling off Future Folk‘s potential audience or vice versa. “I think the signal-to-noise ratio created by the constant glut of films clearly opening in theaters only so they can qualify for the ‘In Theaters Now’ folder on VOD is a far bigger challenge,” he said. The film will open in NYC this week followed by Los Angeles the following weekend. It will head out across the country throughout summer. “We think the film is great counter-programming to a lot of what’s out there, and even though the film is available on demand, we’ll have live music and Skype Q&As in the theater plus special events to drive the audience,” said Marchetti. “This is one of those films where the more people see it, the more people will talk about it, so we’re going to take our time rolling it out.”

The Dark Knight Rises Free Online

sonyliving — Thu, 30 May 2013 04:20:13 +0000

What the hell is wrong with people these days? Why does every impersonal, cliché, unremarkable movie instantly gets in the top 250? Let alone the top 10? I was rather entertained with the two previous movies, mainly thanks to Liam Nesson and Heath Ledger who are fantastic actors. Overrated movies in my opinion, but good enough movies. But there’s nothing to save this movie from Nolan’s lack of talent this time

Here are the flaws already present in the previous movie that have not been corrected, or got even worse:

-Batman’s grunting, worse than ever. Jesus Christ you would think after all the mockery that’s been done about it, he would at least try to improve that part a bit, but no it’s actually more ridiculous than ever. – The music is omnipresent during the whole movie. It goes basically “tchac boum tchac” for all the movie, including the dialogue scenes. horrible artistic choice you can see The Dark Knight Rises Free Online here. – The action scenes, dull as hell. How can anyone fin this ‘spectacular’ is beyond me: there’s no tension, intensity or drama in all of them. Nolan had too big a budget and decided to blow stuff up just for the hell of it.

But there are new flaws as well! – The villain’s motivations, which was what made the previous film interesting, are just completely incoherent! I won’t say much more not to spoil anything, but believe me you just spend the whole movie asking yourself: why? why do this? – The villain himself. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say all his back-story and charisma is destroyed by one silly, silly twist. – The villains’ deaths have to be the most underwhelming I’ve ever seen. – The references about the current economic crisis: awwww look at these evil traders getting pointed a gun at, didn’t they totally deserve it? Yawn. – The love interest. Wayne just randomly has sex with a woman he’s barely met. Why? no idea.

Overall this movie is dull as hell, and while I can see why people would like the first two movies, there really is nothing to save in that one.

The Elvis Presley Family Supports Potential Estate Sale By CORE Media

sonyliving — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:31:43 +0000

As we reported earlier this week citing the Financial Times, CORE Media Group is exploring a sale of Elvis Presley Enterprises, including the Graceland mansion, as well as Muhammad Ali Enterprises. There had been no official comment on the potential sale until now. Deadline has obtained exclusively a statement from the Presley family about the development. “Our family enjoys a strong working relationship with CORE and is supportive of their process,” the statement says. “Lisa [Marie Presley] will maintain her interest in EPE and ownership of Graceland Mansion and looks forward to whatever opportunities enable the best long-term interests of the family.” Lisa Marie Presley owns 15% of EPE, which manages the assets of the Elvis Presley estate, including the 100-acre property in Memphis, Tennessee. CORE’s predecessor, CKX, bought the other 85% in 2005. (The Muhammad Ali family retains 20% ownership in MAE.) The Presley and Ali assets are estimated to fetch more than $200 million but CORE is not dead set to sale and may retain the properties if it is not satisfied with offers.

Star Trek Into Darkness Tops US Box Office Chart

sonyliving — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:04:55 +0000

As expected given its success overseas and the incredible amounts of hype in the US, Star Trek Into Darkness easily made it to the top of the box office charts in the States this weekend. But though it handily knocked Iron Man 3 from the throne, it wasn’t quite such an impressive launch for the Trek sequel, as it scored $70.5 million, with $84 million if you include early openings according to studio estimates.Tony Stark and co proved that they’ve still got pulling power, taking home $35.1 million in second and blasting past $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The Great Gatsby was down one place to third with $23.4 million, while Pain And Gain also slipped a spot to fourth and $3.1 million. With no new family entertainment competition, DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods impressively jumped back up two places to fifth with $2.75 million.Jackie Robinson biopic 42 fell to sixth, earning $2.73 million, with Oblivion in seventh taking in $2.2 million. Mud clung to eighth place, adding $2.16 million while Peeples sank to ninth and $2.15 million. Rounding out the top 10, we have The Big Wedding, which made $1.1 million.To see Benedict Cumberbatch take on Robert Downey Jr in a box office brawl, head to Box Office Mojo.

‘Modern Family’ Gets Cable-Style Makeover For Launch On USA Network: VIDEO

sonyliving — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:23:24 +0000

How would hit ABC comedy Modern Family look and sound like if it aired on cable? Co-creator Steve Levitan offers a peek in a promo for the Emmy-winning series’ upcoming off-network launch on USA Network in September. The video, written by Levitan, was a highlight at today’s USA upfront presentation, where Modern Family, its cast and Levitan were the main attraction. Enjoy and keep in mind that the video is the result of what I hear were 17 cuts to tone the original down and make it suitable for public viewing. WARNING: foul language.

New Star Wars To Shoot In The UK

sonyliving — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:20:29 +0000

It might not seem like the most surprising news, but after the prequels were largely shot in Australia (with a few things filmed here), Star Wars Episode VII under J.J. Abrams’ direction will be coming back to the franchise’s ancestral home: the UK.There are no details as to where specifically Abrams and his cast and crew will be working, but depending on availability, the likes of Shepperton, Leavesden and Pinewood could all be under consideration alongside a few other choices."We’ve devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I’m thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilizing the incredible talent there can be a part of that," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in statement picked up by The Wrap. "Speaking from my own longstanding connection to the UK with films like Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Empire Of The Sun and recently War Horse, it’s very exciting to be heading back."Abrams will work from Michael Arndt’s script (assuming he’s finished in time) and Disney wants the film complete for a spring 2015 release. While no official statements have been released, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are all expected to appear to hand the new trilogy over to a fresh cast. The Mouse House also seems confident it can have spin-off films in cinemas between the main new trilogy releases, but nothing has been confirmed just yet.

Fox Picks Up Andy Samberg & Chris Meloni Comedies, ‘Us & Them’ And ‘Enlisted’, Almost Doubles New Series Volume

sonyliving — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:43:19 +0000

Having just ordered its new drama series for next season, Fox also has made its comedy pickups, ordering four new shows in addition to the previously ordered Dads, executive produced by Seth MacFarlane. They are the Andy Samberg starrer, now titled Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Surviving Jack starring Chris Meloni; Enlisted starring Geoff Stults; and Us And Them starring Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel. All have received 13-episode pickups. Additionally, the order for the Seth Green-Giovanni Ribisi starrer Dads, originally for 6 episodes, has now been upped to 13. The new comedies join newly picked up dramas Rake, Gang Related, Sleepy Hollow, and Almost Human. That is five new comedy series and four dramas, almost double the number of new scripted series Fox picked up last year (three comedies, two dramas). With American Idol on its last legs, the network is clearly stocking up on the scripted side and expanding its push in live-action comedy. Studio-wise, four of the new shows came from Fox sibling 20th TV, two each from Warner Bros. and Sony and one from Universal TV.
Fox’s four new half-hour series choices came out of the five half-hour pilots that had been in contention from the get-go. Over the past week or so, the fifth, To My Future Assistant, began to fade as I hear it came in below exceptions. Meanwhile, Surviving Jack (formerly I Suck At Girls) has been steadily rising, buoyed by what I hear were stellar testing results for Meloni. The former Law & Order: SVU star originally turned down the project, and it took a lot of effort on the part of the producers to get him to do it. It was all worth it as the actor helped secure the pilot a series pickup. Also playing in the pilot’s favor is the fact that Surviving Jack comes from veteran comedy showrunner Bill Lawrence. It is shaping up to be a strong pickup season for Lawrence whose NBC’s comedy pilot Undateable also looks very good to get a series order, along with Second Floor on TBS. Fun fact: Fox is reuniting Cougar Town co-creators Lawrence and Kevin Biegel, who is behind another newly picked up comedy series, Enlisted.