When the ratings came in, it was clear they’d made the right choice: Ratings were the highest in years and there was a 20% bump in the key demographic. Go Seth!

But another demographic was unhappy. Not just unhappy, but angry. A close friend sent me a blistering New Yorker column by Amy Davidson referring to MacFarlane’s “ugly, sexist, racist Oscars.”

Whoa! Did she see the same Oscars I did? Because the presentation I saw was a veritable paean to women. Women were showcased in a way I can’t recall men having been. What’s more, gay men were showcased too and it’s long been de rigeur in…

In every interview he did last year—including our interview with him from December — Christopher Nolan maintained that his take on Bruce Wayne and Batman was over with “The Dark Knight Rises.” Now, however, Latino Review (via Forbes) is reporting that Warner Bros. —after possibly scrapping Will Beall’s draft—is in talks to get the secretive director on board for the future of their superhero slate with a little help from his friends.

“Well, I’m producing Superman now and I’m enjoying time off and taking a break” is what Nolan said last year when we asked him if he was done with…

Lesson #1: Please Don’t Make it About Intergalactic Trade and Taxation Laws

This may come as a shock to any accountants out there, but very few of us want pretty much the first words we read when we sit down to watch a family-friendly adventure film to be, “The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute”.

You know what would have been a better subject for the Star Wars prequels? ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING. Anakin’s quest to “Bring Balance to the Force” by finding and confronting Darth Sidious. A mysterious virus decimating the Jedi. Hell, even an uprising staged by a…

Jack the Giant Slayer (CinemaScore: B+) picked up significantly over the weekend, earning a $28 million opening on 3,525 screens. This is better than it was tracking on Friday, likely due to the fact that families waited until the weekend to see the film. Still, it’s nowhere near what the movie needed to take in on its opening weekend, and will likely not even come close to making up for its almost $200 million budget.

...

As the first $100 million movie of 2013, Identity Thief made $9.7 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. Down 31% from last weekend, Universal’s Jason Bateman…

Things are really ramping up for Matt Reeves’ upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. In addition to the returning Andy Serkis, recent reports name Jason Clarke and Kodi Smit-McPhee as two of the sequel’s principal cast. Now, ComingSoon.net has learned exclusively that Gary Oldman will be boarding the project as the leader of a human colony!

Yawn. Maybe I need to make time to watch the Planet of the Apes thing that James Franco was in, but I was so put off the franchise by the installment with Mark Wahlberg that I can’t muster up any “give a care.”

Actress Emma Watson is in very early talks to take on the role of Cinderella for Disney.

We had learned late last month that Kenneth Branagh replaced Mark Romanek as director. The film’s script is by Chris Weitz. Cinderella has already cast Cate Blanchett in the role of the Evil Stepmother.

Disney wants to begin shooting this fall and release next year. It’s the latest in a line of live action fairytales: Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful (out next month), and Maleficent (out March 2014) have been highly publicized and so far successful.

Those who’ve been following…

Warner Bros has pushed the release date for The Hobbit: There And Back Again to December 17, 2014 from its original date of July 18, 2014. This is the final film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy adaptation of the JRR Tolkien novel. Hobbit 3 now avoids going up against X-Men: Days Of Future Past and so far is solo in the December 17th spot.

Still seems ambitious to me. I would love to make films like this some day (dream on, right?), but knowing how filmmaking works, at least in the indie world, I can’t imagine trying to get this all done in that amount of time.

Hey, there’s actually something I want to see this weekend! Jack the Giant Slayer and I’m going to be really disappointed if it’s not any good! Don’t disappoint me Singer! Because really, there’s not much else in the box office at the moment.

New This Weekend

21 and Over - R
So, I’ve been seeing the preview for this around — and I would love to have those few minutes of my life back. Seriously, this looks so bad I don’t know how anyone could want to see this. Please don’t go see it.

Straight-A college student Jeff Chang has always done what he was supposed to do. But when his two…

Some new scenes, mostly scenes we’ve already seen, but cut together in new and interesting ways.

I can’t help it, I think this is going to be a great film. Morgan Freeman and Tom Cruise in a sci-fi thriller, what’s not to like? And if this trailer is to be believed, the plot is headed towards a somewhat Matrix like deception perhaps? Time will tell, and we’ll know on April 12.

I’m looking forward to it.