George Lucas (Mostly) Lacks Self Awareness

George Lucas (Mostly) Lacks Self Awareness
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

“I could see where things were headed. The toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire. It’s a shame. They make three times as much on toys as they do on films. It’s natural to make decisions that protect the toy business, but that’s not the best thing for making quality films,” former Lucasfilm insider and producer of the first two “Star Wars” films Gary Kurtz told Hero Complex in 2010. He also said “the first film and ‘Empire’ were about story and character, but I could see that  George [Lucas]  George’s priorities were changing.”

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Visiting the Sundance Film Festival this…

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‘Monopoly’ Movie Will Be Sort of Like ‘The Goonies’

‘Monopoly’ Movie Will Be Sort of Like ‘The Goonies’
Adam Chitwood — Collider

Steve recently spoke with producer Randall Emmett, whose independent production company Emmett/Furla Films acquired the rights to Monopoly from Hasbro, and during the course of their conversation he provided a status update on the film.  He revealed that shooting begins this summer, a big cast and director announcement is coming soon, and the Goonies-esque story involves a treasure map and revolves around a bunch of kids being chased by an adult.

What is even happening here? Who thought this was a good idea? No, no, no, no, no…

Justin Lin Will Direct the Next ‘Star Trek’ Film

Justin Lin Will Direct the Next ‘Star Trek’ Film
Kayla Iacovino — TrekMovie.com

After the announcement that Bob Orci would no longer be manning the director’s chair for Star Trek 3, rumors began flying as to who would take his place. Many questions about the switch remain unanswered, but we finally know who will be the next leader of Trek on the silver screen. Justin Lin, who directed ‘Fast and Furious 6′ has reportedly taken over the role.

I have a bad feeling about this (wrong franchise for that language, I know). The spirit of Fast and Furious is not exactly what I want in a Trek film. I have recently been re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are a lot…

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Dean Devlin Says ‘Stargate’ Reboot Movie Before Third ‘Independence Day’

Dean Devlin Says ‘Stargate’ Reboot Movie Before Third ‘Independence Day’
Darren — Gateworld

Writer-producer Dean Devlin tells Nerd Report that he and director Roland Emmerich are currently working on just one of theIndependence Day sequels — and waiting on the third installment for now.

That means that when Stargate rolls around on Emmerich’s directing schedule, it may only have to wait for one Independence Day movie and not two.

“Unfortunately, we have to wait until we finish Independence Day for that,” Devlin said of the Stargate reboot. “Roland wants to direct that one too. Hopefully we go into that right afterwards.”

“He’d like to direct the first one. I don’t know if he…

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‘Dumb & Dumber To’ Taken No. 1 Domestic Box Office Spot

‘Dumb & Dumber To’ Taken No. 1 Domestic Box Office Spot
Rodrigo Perez — The Playlist

Despite reuniting Jim CarreyJeff Daniels and directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly twenty years after the fact, Universal’s “Dumb & Dumber To” took the weekend slot with an impressive $38 million; much higher than most original estimates that pegged the film for around a $25 million opening. And the number is a huge increase from the $16.3 million “Dumber & Dumber” grossed its opening weekend in 1994 (adjusted for inflation that’s about $31 million). Impressively, 47% of the audience was under the age of 25, which was a surprise since many thought this was a comedy that skewed much older to…

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Christopher Nolan Responds to Sound Issues with ‘Interstellar’

Christopher Nolan Responds to Sound Issues with ‘Interstellar’
Carolyn Giardina — The Hollywood Reporter

“I’ve always loved films that approach sound in an impressionistic way and that is an unusual approach for a mainstream blockbuster, but I feel it’s the right approach for this experiential film,” Christopher Nolan said, speaking for the first time in detail about the use of sound in his new film Interstellar.

Describing his approach to the movie’s sound mix as “adventurous and creative,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview Friday, “Many of the filmmakers I’ve admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways. I don’t agree with the idea that you can only…

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Marvel Subpoenaes Google in ‘Age of Ultron’ Trailer Leak Case

Marvel Subpoenaes Google in ‘Age of Ultron’ Trailer Leak Case
Kate Erbland — The Dissolve

The Hollywood Reporter shares that Marvel has subpoenaed Google to get the goods on the person they believe was responsible for the trailer leak. The outlet shares:

“The entertainment company says in court documents that someone using the name ‘John Gazelle’ posted a file of the film on a Google Drive account. On October 22, a lawyer at Marvel parent Disney sent Google a takedown notice pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, requesting that Google expeditiously remove the file.But Marvel wants more identifying information about the alleged infringer. The company is going after…

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‘The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies’ Battle is 45 Minutes Long

‘The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies’ Battle is 45 Minutes Long
Russ Fischer — /Film

Peter Jackson doesn’t shy away from the idea of making epic-length stories, and of creating conflicts within them that match the overall scope of his Middle-Earth films. The Lord of the Rings films are known for absolutely massive battles, but the final Hobbit film,The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the only one which actually features the word “battle” in its title. Accordingly, the actual Battle of the Five Armies will be truly massive: 45 minutes long.

MAKE. IT. STOP!

I think Peter Jackson is off his meds (still). But hey, while we’re at it, we might as well split this movie…

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Hasbro Working on ‘My Little Pony’ For Release in 2017

Hasbro Working on ‘My Little Pony’ For Release in 2017
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

Hasbro Studios will deliver a “My Little Pony” animated movie to theaters in 2017. Joe Ballarini (“Ice Age: Continental Drift”) is writing the script for this one, which will help Hasbro expand the brand which already includes toys, video games, comic books, straight-to-DVD movies, and much more. Of course, “My Little Pony” has seen another rise in pop culture thanks to bronies—aka adult dudes  and teens—who have fallen in love with the series “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.” It’ll be interesting to see what mix of elements Hasbro lands on to court the young girls they want to buy…

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‘Top Gun 2’ Back On The Map with ‘Street Fighter’ Writer

‘Top Gun 2’ Back On The Map with ‘Street Fighter’ Writer
Oliver Lyttleton

I feel the need, the need to open my copy of Final Draft: a potential sequel to “Top Gun” has been gestating for awhile, with the project officially going into development a few years ago, with Peter Craig (“The Town”) penning a script, and original director Tony Scott and star Tom Cruise said to be returning. But the project ground to a halt two years ago when Scott passed away, and little’s been heard since.

But it looks like something’s happening: The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimerhave hired a new writer for the project, one Justin Marks. The scribe…

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