Movie News

Not many movie goers will have a chance to laugh out loud at Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore in their upcoming film.

According to The Los Angeles Times, LOL - a drama that stars Cyrus as a coming-of-age teenager and Moore as her mother - will hit theaters on May 4, but only in a few cities.

Lionsgate sources say the studio simply lost enthusiasm (and possibly marketing funds) for the flick after focusing on earlier releases such as Abduction, Conan the Barbarian and The Hunger Games.

LOL Trailer

LOL, an adaption of a French film directed by Lisa Azuelos, who is also behind the camera for the U.S. version, will open in just seven cities across the country.

But there's hope for Miley's movie career yet: she will star this summer in So Undercover, going undercover inside a sorority and appearing alongside Joshua Bowman and Jeremy Piven.

The ins and outs of dating proved to be more popular this weekend than teenager-on-teenager homicide, as the romantic comedy Think Like a Man finally ended The Hunger Games' perch atop the box office.

Think Like a Man Trailer

The film, based on Steve Harvey’s bestselling advice book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man collected $33 million on Friday and Saturday, while Katniss and company could only muster $14.5 million. It actually fell to third place behind Zac Efron's The Lucky One.

The Hunger Games has now earned $356.9 million in the U.S., hitting that mark in just 30 days. Only seven other flick have ever passed that figure in less time.

Here is a look at the top five from the weekend:

1. Think Like a Man: $33.0 million
2. The Lucky One: $22.8 million
3. The Hunger Games: $14.5 million
4. Chimpanzee: $10.2 million
5. The Three Stooges: $9.2 million

As it heads into what Lionsgate hopes will be its fifth consecutive weekend atop the box office, The Hunger Games franchise has tapped a new director to helm next year's sequel.

A week after Gary Ross dropped out from the role, Entertainment Weekly confirms that Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) will helm the wildly anticipated Catching Fire, which hits theaters on November 22, 2013.

Sources say Lawrence was chosen because Catching Fire features even more sweeping, exotic sets and scenes than its predecessor and he's known for making these comes to life with a sense of style.

In less than one month, The Hunger Games has earned over $530 million internationally. So the bar is set high, Catching Fire. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Lindsay Lohan will reportedly still star as Elizabeth Taylor in the upcoming biopic Liz & Dick despite the assault investigation that's hanging over her head.

Yes, the actress has caught a break. For once.

LiLo’s recent behavior, or alleged recent behavior, is NOT looking like a threat to her future projects ... partly because she's done nothing illegal. Yet.

Even after Lindsay’s whole alleged assault of some chick at a hotel bar and her partying at Coachella, the film's producers are standing by her side.

Steve Honig, Lohan’s rep, says: "Producers have assured us everything is on track and there are absolutely no problems. Lindsay is going to star."

Pretty much what we expected ... but you never know.

Hopefully LiLo stays on track and doesn’t do anything that could possibly throw a wrench into the role of a lifetime ... or at least a role ON Lifetime.

What do you think? Can she stay clean?

[Photo: WENN.com]

Ho-hum. Another weekend passed, another first place finish for The Hunger Games.

The global blockbuster earned $21.5 million on Friday and Saturday, helping it defeat such newcomers as The Three Stooges and The Cabin in the Woods to become the first film since Avatar to sit atop the box office four weeks in a row.

Among the latest notable achievements for The Hunger Games:

• It has earned $337 million domestically, sliding past Spider-Man 3 for 22nd place on the list of all-time hits.
• Including international receipts, it has garnered $531 million at the box office.

Here's a look at the weekend's top five money makers:

1. The Hunger Games: $21.5 million
2. The Three Stooges: $17.1 million
3. The Cabin in the Woods: $14.9 million
4. Titanic 3D: $11.6 million
5. American Reunion: $10.7 million

Movie critics are unhappy with the current Three Stooges film because it's terrible.

But The Catholic League is displeased with the new comedy for an entirely different reason, and it's summed up in the following photo:

President Bill Donohue has issued a statement in which he's critical of the idea that this comedy is a faithful homage to the goofy trio.

"Yes, the slapstick is there, along with the groans, pokes, thumps and the like. But the TV show never mocked nuns or showed infants urinating in the face of the Stooges. The film does," Donohue said.

As seen above, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton portrays a nun in the movie, donning a rosary necklace along with a bikini.

Larry David also takes on the role of nun... named Sister Mary-Mengele, likely after the Nazi war criminal Joseph Mengele.

"This movie is not just another remake: it is a cultural marker of sociological significance, and what it says about the way we've changed is not encouraging," says Donohue.

A Fox rep has responded to the criticism by saying "the Stooges have proved over time, laughter is a universal medicine. The nuns that Mr. Donohue alludes to, are in fact, caring, heroic characters in the movie, albeit within the framework of a very broad comedy."

Where do you stand on this issue? Should the Catholic League be angry?

Far more than merely the boyfriend of Miley Cyrus now, Liam Hemsworth has booked his next project.

The Hunger Games star will play a key role in Paranoia, Entertainment Weekly confirms, a thriller from director Robert Luketic (Killers, The Ugly Truth). It will start shooting this summer and may also feature such big names as Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford.

Hemsworth, of course, is also for two Hunger Games sequels, starting with a Gary Ross-less Catching Fire.

He will also appear opposite Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables 2 and portray the lead in Empire State, an action-heist adventure.

[Photo: WENN.com]

For the first time since the 2005 action-romance that brought them together, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be set to burn up the big screen together.

The Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-stars are in talks to appear alongside Shame's Michael Fassbender and Javier Bardem in The Counselor, directed by Ridley Scott.

According to reports, Brangelina's project is set to begin in a few months, and the movie will shoot in Europe. Both the Jolie-Pitts and Scott have homes in France.

Fassbender will play the title role of a respected lawyer who gets tangled in the drug business, while the film will reportedly deal with very gritty themes.

Unlike when they shot Mr. and Mrs. Smith, however, Jolie and Pitt are a bona fide couple - with six kids. Until now they have alternated film projects.

"We're not ones to repeat ourselves, but we'd like to, because now, we're hopscotching films so one can be with the kids and one's free to work," Pitt said.

"And why aren't we doing [movies] together? Why aren't we doing everything together?"

Looks like they soon will be.

Anne Hathaway made headlines this week with her new short hair.

Now she's making even more of them for her Catwoman costume.

The cropped 'do is for her role in Les Miserables, and the catsuit, of course, is for her role in the upcoming summer blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.

We haven't seen a photo of Anne as her feline alter ego in some time, so it was quite a treat that the producers decided to release this new image ...

Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale's final foray into the world of the caped crusader, The Dark Knight Rises lands in theaters July 20. Don't miss it.

Gary Ross and The Hunger Games have parted ways.

Ross' exit was all but confirmed last week, but he's released a statement explaining why he decided to discontinue his work with the famous trilogy:

"Despite recent speculation in the media, and after difficult but sincere consideration, I have decided not to direct Catching Fire," said Ross (below, right).

"As a writer and a director, I simply don't have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would want to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule."

"I loved making The Hunger Games. It was the happiest experience of my professional life. Lionsgate was supportive in a manner that few directors ever experience."

"They empowered me to make the film I wanted to make and backed the movie in a way that requires no explanation beyond the remarkable results."

"And contrary to what has been reported, negotiations with Lionsgate have not been problematic. They have also been very understanding of this difficult decision."

Continue Reading...