Toshiba and New York Film Academy Name Competition Winner

by Jennifer M. Wood | Published Jul. 3, 2008 12:07

As part of the ad campaign for its new REGZA brand of LCD TV’s, Toshiba partnered with the New York Film Academy to hold “The One to Watch” Film Competition. Students and alumni of NYFA were invited to create a 29-second film that showed why REGZA is “The One to Watch.” Each film had to tell a complete story and was evaluated by a panel of judges (with representatives from both Toshiba and NYFA) based upon humor, originality and relevance to the contest.

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Pixar Introduces Wall-E

by Jessica Wall | Published Jun. 27, 2008 00:06

Previous to 1995, no animated feature had ever been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, but Pixar’s first movie (and the very first full-length computer animated film) changed all that. At the time of its release, Toy Story became the highest-grossing animated feature on record and put Pixar Studios on the map. The hardworking company followed its initial success with eight more feature films (including this weekend’s release, Wall-E), each one brimming with humor, ingenuity and technical prowess. With the release of Wall-E, MM takes a look at some of the Pixar films that have changed the face of animated movies and made the company into the well-loved household name it is today.

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M. Night Shyamalan Happens

by Jennifer M. Wood | Published Jun. 13, 2008 08:06

After the disaster that was Lady in the Water, seems like M. Night Shyamalan's backers have got another marketing trick up their sleeve as they release his latest film, The Happening: Promote the hell out of the fact that it's the director's first R-rated movie. It's probably not enough of an incentive to outdo The Incredible Hulk as the summer season box office continues to heat up, but the reviews so far have been on Shyamalan's side. As the sci-fi auteur awaits the final tallies, MM takes a look at the roller coaster ride Shyamalan has his taken critics and audiences on since The Sixth Sense.

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Bill Maher Finds Religion

Or at least finds Religulous

by Jennifer M. Wood | Published Jun. 11, 2008 12:06

Particularly in an election year, religion is a hot-button topic. So leave it to writer-producer-actor-comedian and all-around opinion-maker Bill Maher to choose this fall to release Religulous. Directed by Larry Charles, who created controversy with Borat just a few years back, the film is being marketed as "an uproarious nonfiction film about the greatest fiction ever told." Who better to help give a sneak peek at the film than Maher himself. (1 comment)

Kung Fu Panda Drop Kicks the Competition

by Jennifer M. Wood | Published Jun. 9, 2008 08:06

Seems like all those promos must have paid off—first at Cannes, then the TV commercial onslaught—as Kung Fu Panda kicked some serious butt at the box office over the weekend, out-grossing Adam Sandler's new film, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, by 50 percent. The animated action flick, featuring the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan, took in $60 million over the weekend—while Zohan earned $40 million.

Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull held strong in the number three position with $22.8 million, while last year's surprise topper, Michael Patrick King's Sex and the City, saw a more than 62 percent decline in ticket sales, with a weekend total of $21.3 million. (1 comment)

Indiana Jones Whips the Competition

by Jennifer M. Wood | Published May. 27, 2008 09:05

Indiana Jones proved he's still got what it takes—at least in box office clout—as the latest film in the George Lucas-Steven Spielberg franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, whipped the competition, with a box office total on track to be the second biggest Memorial Day movie opening ever. The film, which brings Harrison Ford back in the titular role alongside Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf, brought in just over $125 million for the holiday weekend, putting it just behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which had a Friday-through-Monday total of $139.8 million in 2007.

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Being John Cusack

by Mallory Potosky | Published May. 22, 2008 00:05

Though he had previously had minor parts in everything from Sixteen Candles to Broadcast News, John Cusack first made an impression on audiences in Cameron Crowe’s 1989 teen drama Say Anything. Like older sister Joan, he’s been in this business for over 25 years and has damn near done it all. From playing the love interest to the innocent victim of hauntings. Behind the scenes he has taken on the role of writer and producer for some of his most memorable movies. Cusack’s last film, Martian Child, didn’t fare so well with audiences—or critics—but this week he’s getting back to business, starring in War, Inc., which he also co-wrote and produced. Before you head out to see the film in limited release, spend some time revisiting Cusack’s movie career with MM.

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In Theaters Now: Hancock & The Wackness

This July 4th weekend box office demonstrates what America is all about: Big superheros and movie stars battling it out against a potential independent gem.

Posted 07.4.08 | In Theaters Now | No comments yet...