Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’ Makes All of the Money and It’s Still Not Enough
There‘s going to be a lot of blood and ink spilled across the internet on the subject of the opening weekend for ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.’ Yes, the third film in the series did open significantly lower than its predecessors. Yes, there are definitely people at Lionsgate wringing their hands and trying to figure out why the film opened below expectations. And yet, that opening weekend is still massive. It’s three day total is larger than most movies ever have a chance to make in their entire runs. So, let's have some perspective as we dive into this week’s top 10.
Read the ‘Interstellar’ Prequel Written By Christopher Nolan
Like so many major films released these days, ‘Interstellar’ has a comic book tie-in. But unlike most comic book tie-ins, this one is actually written by the original film’s director and is premiering online. And yes, you can read the whole thing right now, free of charge. We’re going to jump straight into spoilers right at the end of this sentence, so if you haven’t had a chance to see Christopher Nolan‘s science fiction adventure yet, you may want to consider turning around.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Proves That It Pays to be Stupid
‘Dumb and Dumber To’ arrives two decades after the first film was one of the bigger hits of 1994 and no one knew what to make of it ... until it topped the box office this weekend and made it look easy. Now, the idea of two middle-aged actors returning to two of the most idiotic characters in modern movie history doesn't seem so desperate and crazy. It seems canny.
Our Worst Fears Realized; They’re Turning the Universal Monsters Into Superheroes
The likes of Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man have no business aping the Marvel “shared universe” structure in the first place. They're monsters! Let them monster! Any of our well-intentioned blogging-into-the-wind was too little, too late because the head of Universal has pretty much come and out said that they're taking the horror out of their horror icons.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Ouija’ Scares Up a Victory Over ‘John Wick’
It feels like common sense: of course the horror movie released a week before Halloween is going to win the weekend war at the box office over the action movie. And yet, most horror movies continue to get released as far away from the season of the witch as possible. Can the recent success of 'Annabelle' and this weekend's 'Ouija' change that?
‘Batman vs. Superman’ Rumor: Jena Malone Cast as Robin
There's a reason why people have been pretty tight-lipped with 'Batman vs. Superman' details. It seems that everyone, even the extras, face a $5 million lawsuit if they divulge anything at all. But that hasn't stopped one member of the film's background talent, who went to local Detroit news station with some new story details, including the identity of Batman's sidekick, Robin.
Scarlett Johansson Offered $10 Million to Star in ‘Ghost in the Shell’
The last time we heard from DreamWorks' planned live action adaptation of 'Ghost in the Shell,' the studio was courting 'The Wolf of Wall Street' star Margot Robbie for the lead role. Now, things have changed and a bigger name has been thrown into the mix: Scarlett Johansson, aka, Black Widow, aka, 'Lucy,' aka, the most bankable female action star of the moment.
‘Django Unchained’ and ‘August: Osage County’ Actress Misty Upham Found Dead
It's sad news to end the week with: actress Misty Upham, who recently appeared in 'Django Unchained' and 'August: Osage Country,' was found dead at the bottom of a Seattle ravine. Her body was discovered by a search party led by her family, who are now accusing the local police of failing to assist in the situation in any way.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Gone Girl’ Vanquishes the Competition
'Gone Girl' may have barely won its first weekend at the box office over 'Annabelle,' but in its second week of release, it emerged as the real victor. Fighting off tons of new competition, David Fincher's thriller held onto the number one spot and made it look easy.
The ‘SNL’ Jan Hooks Tribute: Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig Present ‘Love Is But a Dream’
The unfortunate and untimely death of the great Jan Hooks this past week sent the comedy world into mourning, with countless writers and comics stepping forward to pay tribute to the late 'SNL' star. It could have been easy for this week's new episode to gloss over the passing of one of their own (it is a comedy show, after all), but 'SNL' has always been a slightly class institution -- it remembers those who came before.