This just in from The Hollywood Reporter and rottentomatoes.com: As of this writing the Blue Sky / Fox GGI film Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has grossed nearly $660 million (U.S. dollars equivalent) internationally. By the middle of next week, the film is expected to take the #3 spot for highest grossing films ever internationally, right behind Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Fourth go-round, anyone?
Movie News
NIMH Returns… with Mrs. Frisby
Yahoo Movies is reporting that Paramount Pictures is developing a feature version of the Newbery Medal-winning children’s book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien. “Director Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is in talks to write the screenplay. The movie would be the second theatrical go-round for the book, which MGM brought to the screen in 1982 as the animated film The Secret of NIMH, directed by Don Bluth.
Robert C. O’Brien’s book has been a staple in children’s bookstores and libraries since it was first published in 1971. The story centers on a mouse — the titular Mrs. Frisby, renamed Mrs. Brisby in the MGM movie — faced with a crisis when her son falls ill and she must move her family to escape a farmer’s plow. Mrs. Frisby enlists a group of former lab rats, whom she soon discovers possess advanced technologies and run a highly evolved society, dividing labor in the manner of a human community.
The new NIMH will likely combine live action and animation in the manner of Alvin and the Chipmunks and other kiddie hybrids.” No word yet on cast members or a planned release date, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do!
The Fantastic Mr. Fox is coming… from Fox!
People are talking about the new stop-motion animation film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the book of the same name by the late Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The film is the first foray into animation for director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), and it’s being released by (who else?) 20th Century Fox. For those who don’t know, the story tells of Mr. Fox, who regularly steals chickens and ducks from three mean human farmers (named Boggis, Bunce and Bean) to feed his family. When the farmers conspire to have them all killed, the foxes conspire right back with a group of badgers, moles, and other undergroud dwellers to take care of the humans once and for all. The cast includes the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep as Mr. and Mrs. Fox, respectively, as well as Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Jarvis Cocker, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe — several of whom have been frequent Wes Anderson collaborators in the past. The film is scheduled to be released on November 13th of this year, and the first trailers are scheduled to hit theaters on July 31st.
Guinea Pigs Gone Wild!
In a surprising development that few in or out of Hollywood were expecting, Disney’s 3-D guinea-pig-secret-agent film G-Force topped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince AND a brand new romantic comedy (The Ugly Truth) for the top spot at the U.S. box office this past weekend, earning more than $32 million according to studio estimates. This is from The Los Angeles Times: “”We knew we had a really good-playing family movie, but when you’re competing against a film like Harry Potter, you can never presume anything,” said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group. Although critics had few nice words for G-Force, audiences were pleased, giving the movie an average grade of B-plus, according to market research firm CinemaScore. That presages a healthy box-office run that could see it ultimately earning more than $100 million.” The film was directed by Hoyt Yeatman and produced by Mr. Action Movie himself, Jerry Bruckheimer.
Mad Monster Party… Again?
Word is out that a new CGI re-make of the classic Rankin/Bass comedy/horror film Mad Monster Party is in the works and has actually been green-lit. Warner Brothers optioned the new film about four years ago, but now there’s word that it might actually happen.
What furries want to know is: Will the werewolf have that cool gypsie outfit again?
There’s a fan site for the original 1967 film that’s closely following news of the remake. Check out www.madmonsterparty.com to find out more.
Comic Book Tie-In
Just in time! Titan Comics has released Monsters vs. Aliens, The Comic, a new full-color 4-issue miniseries. The comic is here, of course, to tie-in with the new hit 3D CGI film from Dreamworks. The comic follows the plot of the movie — Captured classic monsters band together to save the earth from an evil alien invader — and also includes the secret files that General W.R. Monger keeps on various monsters, secret installations, presidential candidates, and more…
Award Season Recap
Awards season came barreling in again — with a few unexpected results. As largely expected, Disney-Pixar’s robot tale known as Wall-E won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature. Then along came the Annie Awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society… and Wall-E was shut out, taking home nothing that night. The big winner? Kung Fu Panda! Not only did it win Best Animated Feature, but between the feature film and the Secrets of the Furious Five DVD short, Dreamworks took home 15 of the 17 awards that the Panda franchise was nominated for. Among them were multiple awards for Directing, Writing, Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, Best Production Design, Best Music, Best Voice Acting (Dustin Hoffman as Shifu), and Best Video Game. The big winners for the night in the TV animation categories were Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, and Avatar, The Last Air Bender. Wallance and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death won for Best Animated Short Subject.
… and then along came the Oscars, and once again, Wall-E took home the statue for Best Animated Feature.
[And don’t forget — now it’s Furry Fandom’s turn to vote for the Ursa Major Awards! Visit www.ursamajorawards.org to find out more — Rod O’Riley, ye ed-otter]
New Disney 3D — from 2D!
Word has come down the pipe that Disney/Pixar will be revisiting some old favorite animated movies and re-releasing them in the new (and very popular) True 3D format. First up is a double-feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, coming this October. That’s to be followed by a special True 3D version of the 2D classic Beauty and the Beast, to be released in February of 2010.
Where the Wild Things Are
A brand new, more-detailed trailer for the long-awaited film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are is up on the Internet in several locations. The film version of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book is being directed by Spike Jonze — who, it turns out, has been filming this since 2005. The release date has been pushed back several times, and now sits at October of this year. Of course, the big question on every furry fan’s mind is: How are the monsters? Interestingly, unlike the typical Hollywood thing these days, the studio (Warner Brothers) is not being coy about their design — they’re all there in plain sight in the trailer, cavorting in all their glory. The creatures were created by the Jim Henson Company, and feature CGI morphing faces.
Check out the trailer at the following locations:
www.thetraileraddict.com
www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare
http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–N9klJXbjQ&feature=channel_page
