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Bah Humbug: 10 Best Anti-Christmas Movies

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Dec. 16, 2011

Tired of all the forced happiness and relentless cheer that accompanies the holiday season? You know the routine—those annoying Christmas tunes that play 24/7 (starting, of course, the day after Halloween), the well-meaning but saccharine TV specials and, of course, the sappy “feel good” holiday movies that flood the theaters this time of year? Trust us, we feel your pain. If you’re in the mood for something a little darker and edgier than the usual holiday fare, MM has the perfect cure for your Christmas woes. (3 comments)

The Artist Leads Golden Globe Nominations

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Dec. 15, 2011

On the heels of yesterday’s announcement of the SAG Award nominees, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has today announced the nominations for the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards. Leading in nominations is The Artist, which received nods in six categories, including Best Director, Best Actor - Comedy or Musical and Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The Descendants and The Help, with five nominations each, weren’t far behind. (No comments yet)

New Year's Eve Rings in a Disappointing Weekend

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Dec. 12, 2011

New Year's Eve earned only $13.7 million in its first three days of release, but in a weekend where its only competition was a critically-disliked R-rated comedy and a month-old teen movie, it was still enough to propel the rom-com ensemble film to the number one spot. Fellow new release The Sitter earned only $10 million over the weekend, while The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 fell two spots to number three. Rounding out the top five were The Muppets and Arthur Christmas. (No comments yet)

Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Holds on to Top Spot for Third Week Running

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Dec. 5, 2011

Amidst a slew of fairly weak competition, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1's weekend gross of $16.9 million was enough to keep it in the number one spot for the third weekend in a row, despite a drop in box office receipts of nearly 60% since last weekend. So far, the movie has earned $247.2 million. The Muppets held steady in spot number two, while Martin Scorsese's Hugo rose two spots to number three. Rounding out the top five were Arthur Christmas and Happy Feet Two. (No comments yet)

The Tree of Life and Beginners Split Top Honors at This Year's Gotham Independent Film Awards

by Laurel Dammann | Published Nov. 29, 2011

It’s nearing the end of November, and awards season has begun! Last night the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced the winners of the 21st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at a star-studded ceremony in New York City. While the IFP managed to narrow down an expansive pool of excellent independent cinema to 29 nominations across seven categories, when it came time to determine the Best Feature winner, the five-person jury charged with its selection couldn't pick just one. For only the second time in Gotham's history, there was a tie, with The Tree of Life and Beginners splitting the top honor. (1 comment)

Who’s Got Spirit?

2012 Independent Spirit Award nominees announced; The Artist and Take Shelter lead the pack with five each

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Nov. 29, 2011

With the Gotham Awards having taken place last night, awards season is now in full swing, and will stay that way until the Oscars air this February. For those who prefer their awards ceremonies a bit more laid-back than the evening gown- and tuxedo-filled affair that comes to the Kodak Theater annually, there's the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honors the best in independent moviemaking. The 27th annual Spirit Awards ceremony, which will be held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California, doesn't take place until February 25th—but luckily for those of you who can't get enough awards season coverage, the nominees were announced today.
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Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Stays on Top

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Nov. 28, 2011

There was a glut of new movies to go along with the glut of food over Thanksgiving weekend, but it was still Twilight that reigned supreme. Breaking Dawn - Part 1, the fourth movie in the Twilight saga, held onto the number one spot; its $42 million weekend gross brings its total so far to $221.3 million. The Muppets came in second place, its weekend gross of $29.5 million making it the highest-grossing movie of all new releases to come out last weekend. (No comments yet)

Box Office Redux

Was the success of mature moviemaking in 2010 an anomaly, or the beginning of late-year trend?

by Christian Toto | Published Nov. 25, 2011

Last winter, a typically can’t-miss blockbuster like Gulliver’s Travels missed by a mile… while a story about a stuttering king made a mint. The supposedly dead western genre lassoed $171 million courtesy of the Coen brothers‘ True Grit. And Black Swan, Darren Aronofosky's saga of a ballet dancer’s quest for greatness, bullied past the magical $100 million barrier. (No comments yet)

A Quality Feast: Thanksgiving Movies to Be Thankful For

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Nov. 23, 2011

Thanksgiving is almost here, and for many people that means spending an extended period of time with family. But what to do after turkey dinner? When the dishes have been washed, the leftovers stored away and there’s no more small talk left to make? That’s where MM comes to the rescue. We’ve selected five of the best Thanksgiving movies (plus one midnight snack) to watch on Turkey Day. They may not all be “family-friendly,” but, heck, what’s a true Thanksgiving without some squabbling? (2 comments)

Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Breaks from the Pack

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Nov. 21, 2011

Breaking Dawn - Part 1, the latest movie in The Twilight Saga, came in at number one at the box office last weekend—quick show of hands, is anyone surprised? The film's opening weekend gross of $139.5 million makes it one of only two movies so far this year to open to over $100 million. Coming in second place was new release Happy Feet Two, which earned an unimpressive $22 million. Last week's number one, Immortals, slipped to third place; rounding out the top five were Jack and Jill and Puss in Boots. (No comments yet)

Immortals Beats the Competition to Box Office Victory

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Nov. 14, 2011

Tarsem Singh's swords and sandals epic Immortals came out on top at the box office last weekend, earning $32 million and beating out fellow new release Jack and Jill by $6 million. The latter film was able to overcome the severe critical drubbing it received (current rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 3%) to earn $26 million over the weekend, enough to land it in second place. Last week's number one, Puss in Boots came in third, and Brett Ratner's Tower Heist dropped two spots to number four. Rounding out the top five was Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, which earned only $11.4 million during its opening weekend. (1 comment)

Get Closer to the Stars of Documentary with Constellation’s Top Docs

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Nov. 10, 2011

Constellation, a new, much buzzed-about online movie theater that turns watching movies online into a social experience, recently announced the debut of Top Docs, its first lineup of documentary films. This specially curated program, which lasts until the end of November, allows a wide range of documentary moviemakers to discuss their work in real-time following online screenings of their films. Top Docs kicked off on November 3rd with a screening of Albert Maysles' groundbreaking documentary Grey Gardens, followed by a special Q&A with the acclaimed documentarian himself. (No comments yet)

Puss in Boots Claws Its Way to the Top

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Nov. 7, 2011

New releases Tower Heist and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas were unable to topple last week's number one movie, Puss in Boots; the Shrek spinoff's weekend gross of $33 million brings its total so far to $75.5 million. Meanwhile, Tower Heist and Harold & Kumar managed to rack up only $25 million and $13 million, respectively. Slipping two spots from last week to number four was Paranormal Activity 3, while In Time's $7.7 million weekend gross was enough to keep it in the top five. (1 comment)

Puss in Boots Shreds the Competition

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Oct. 31, 2011

A week after Paranormal Activity 3's unexpectedly high $52.5 million opening weekend gross thoroughly trounced the competition, the box office was back to mediocre numbers last weekend as new release Puss in Boots took the number one spot with a weekend gross of $34 million. Paranormal Activity 3 slid to spot number two, beating out the underperforming new releases In Time and The Rum Diary, which came in third and fifth, respectively. Coming in fourth with a weekend gross of $5.4 million was Footloose. (2 comments)

The Most Realistic Ghost Movies… As Chosen By a Real, Live Ghost Hunter

by Barnaby Mortensen | Published Oct. 28, 2011

With the popularity of movies about paranormal activity—including, of course, Paranormal Activity and its sequels–on the rise and Halloween just around the corner, we at MovieMaker thought we'd bring in a professional to let our readers know which of the many ghost movies out there incorporate some true-to-life examples of the supernatural paranormal. Enter Barnaby Mortensen, co-director and technology specialist for the Northeast Paranormal Investigations Society (NPIS), a paranormal investigations team that conducts research and scientific investigations with the goal of capturing, evaluating and documenting evidence of the paranormal. (No comments yet)

Jennifer Fox Turns to Crowdfunding for My Reincarnation

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Oct. 25, 2011

When moviemaker Jennifer Fox (“Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman”) completed her latest project—the documentary My Reincarnation, about a Tibetan Buddhism Master and his Western-born son—a last-minute funding emergency left her with a dilemma not many moviemakers face: Though her film was already finished and had even begun screening at festivals, she had no money to pay off the debt the film had accumulated or arrange for its theatrical distribution. To raise the necessary completion funds, Fox turned to crowdfunding and ended up exceeding her $50,000 goal by over 300 percent. MovieMaker had a chance to chat with Fox about My Reincarnation and her crowdfunding experience in advance of the film's theatrical release on October 28th. (1 comment)

Paranormal Activity 3 Kills the Competition

The low-budget threequel has the biggest horror movie opening of all time

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Oct. 24, 2011

Who saw this one coming? Not only did new release Paranormal Activity 3 earn $54 million in its opening weekend, beating out 3-D Hollywood blockbuster The Three Musketeers (weekend gross $8.8 million) to make it to the top of the box office, but the low-budget horror threequel also made more than the rest of the top ten combined and, oh yeah, had the highest opening gross of any horror movie—and the highest October opening—ever. Not too bad for a movie that cost only $5 million to make.
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Gotham Independent Film Awards Nominations Ring in the (Awards) Season

Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Descendants lead with three nominations each

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Oct. 20, 2011

Strap on your boots, moviemakers… award season's back in town. Nominations for the 21st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, the first major awards ceremony of the 2011 season, were announced today; The Descendants and Martha Marcy May Marlene lead the pack with three nominations each, while Beginners and Take Shelter each received two. (1 comment)

Reigning Champ Real Steel Defends Its Box Office Title

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Oct. 17, 2011

Last weekend, Real Steel managed to beat out George Clooney's Oscar contender The Ides of March for the top spot at the box office, so it sure wasn't going to let some '80s remake take its crown on week number two. The robot boxing flick earned $16.3 million over the weekend, bringing its total gross so far to $51.7 million. The aforementioned '80s remake, Footloose, came in second with a $16.1 million weekend gross, while new release The Thing earned $8.7 million. The Ides of March slipped to spot number four, and Dolphin Tale's $6.3 million weekend gross kept it in the top five. (4 comments)

Tiffany Shlain Gets Connected

by Tiffany Shlain | Published Oct. 13, 2011

My film CONNECTED: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology looks at what it means to be connected in the 21st century—both personally and globally. I'm interested in getting a conversation started because it feels like a good time to talk about all of this "connectedness"—the good, the bad and the hope of it all. Here are some lessons I have learned so far... (1 comment)

Find the Audio to Your Video at the Vimeo Music Store

by Samantha Husik | Published Oct. 5, 2011

Over the past few years Vimeo has become the Website of choice for moviemakers wishing to showcase their work online and connect with other artists. In addition to acting as a screening platform, the site has a history of supporting moviemakers’ professional growth through the Vimeo Video School and promoting collaboration through community projects. The latest example of Vimeo’s quest to help moviemakers create better films is the recently-launched Vimeo Music Store, where moviemakers can find the perfect tracks to accompany their visual masterpieces. (3 comments)

Dolphin Tale Makes a Splash

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Oct. 3, 2011

The reign of The Lion King has come to an end, but it wasn't a new release that stepped into its place. Last weekend's third-place finisher, Dolphin Tale, ascended to the throne, while Moneyball held steady in second place and the aforementioned Disney classic dropped to spot number three. 50/50 was the weekend's highest-grossing new release, and though its $8.84 million gross slightly edged out that of fellow new release Courageous ($8.8 million), the fact that the faith-based drama played in fewer than half as many theaters as Jonathan Levine's cancer comedy is certainly of note. (No comments yet)

Carmen Marron Decides to Go For It!

by Carmen Marron | Published Sep. 27, 2011

Imagine you’re a guidance counselor working in a city where your life consists of teaching elementary students how to beat the odds in their community to achieve success. Your typical day involves going into classrooms and teaching kids to cope with their environmental pressures and helping them to use social skills to articulate their ideas, goals and fears. Though I didn't know it when I started working on my script for Go For It!, the title of my first movie would be my anthem during my quest to get that movie made. (No comments yet)

The Lion King Continues Its Reign

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Sep. 26, 2011

Brad Pitt, dolphins, Taylor Lautner, Jason Statham… one and all, they fell before might of the King. The Lion King, re-released and in 3-D, came in at number one for the second week in a row, its weekend gross of $22.1 million narrowly beating out new releases Moneyball ($20.6 million) and Dolphin Tale ($20.2 million) and giving Abduction ($11.2 million) and Killer Elite ($9.5 million), both new releases as well, a solid trouncing. Looks like no one every told them it's a bad idea to go up against the second golden age of Disney. (2 comments)

Jerry Grandey Knows His Movies

by Samantha Husik | Published Sep. 21, 2011

What do Grease, Risky Business, Ray, X-Men, Collateral Damage and Raging Bull have in common? That would be Jerry Grandey, who has served as an assistant director on films by Martin Scorsese, Robert Mulligan, Taylor Hackford, Bryan Singer, Richard Donner and Michael Bay, to name just a few. MovieMaker was interested to know whether Grandey, who has such extensive on-set experience, loves watching movies as much as he enjoyed making them. He does. Grandey’s top five favorite films reflect his sense of humor, his love of nature and, above all, his appreciation for great visual storytelling.
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The Lion King Returns to the Throne

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Sep. 19, 2011

Yes, The Lion King was number one at the box office. No, you didn't accidentally travel through time and end up back in 1994, so put away the flannel shirts and headbands, please. The Oscar-winning Disney classic earned $29.3 million in the three days since its 3-D rerelease, handily defeating last week's number one movie, Contagion. Coming in third was new release Drive, with The Help and new release Straw Dogs rounding out the top five. (No comments yet)

Contagion Infects the Box Office

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Sep. 12, 2011

After three weeks of being top dog at the box office, The Help was finally pushed out of the number one spot by Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, which earned $23.1 million in its first weekend. New release Warrior came in third with an opening weekend gross of $5.6 million, and last weekend's runner-up The Debt fell to number four. Rounding out the top five was Colombiana; its weekend gross of $4 million brings its total so far to $29.7 million. (No comments yet)

10 Disaster Movies to Die For

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Sep. 9, 2011

A cruise ship filled with joyous passengers gets caught in a tsunami and rapidly starts sinking. A catastrophic asteroid, with the power to wipe out the entire human race, hurtles towards Earth. An underground volcano, dormant for thousands of years, unexpectedly sputters back to life in New York City, while a deadly virus is simultaneously unleashed on the population in the midst of a record-shattering earthquake... These are just a few common scenarios found in your typical disaster movie, one of the most audacious and crowd-pleasing subgenres of Hollywood moviemaking. (No comments yet)

The World’s Biggest Focus Group?

Social media trends are changing the way movies are marketed

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Sep. 8, 2011

It may be an overstatement to say that social media Websites like Facebook and Twitter are taking over the world... but it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Moviemakers already use social networking to connect with their audience, and now two companies have created tools to help moviemakers make the most of their Web-based outreach. (1 comment)

First Look: Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Aug. 29, 2011

Hitting theaters on June 14, 2013 (that’s nearly two years away, for those who want to mark their calendars early) is the highly-anticipated Superman reboot, Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder (Watchmen; Sucker Punch). Taking over from Brandon Routh (who last played the man in tights) is Henry Cavill (of "The Tudors" and Tarsem Singh's upcoming Immortals), who is surrounded by an all-star cast, including Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as his parents, Michael Shannon as General Zod and Russell Crowe as Jor-El. Below is the first-ever photo released from the movie, with the Man of Steel looking particularly buff. Take a look! (No comments yet)

The Help Weathers the Storm

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Aug. 29, 2011

The presence of Hurricane Irene sweeping up the East Coast prevented many potential moviegoers from venturing outside and helped last weekend become one of the slowest of the year so far. The Help came out on top for the second week in a row, and new releases Colombiana and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark came in second and third, respectively. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is still chugging along, with its $8.6 million weekend gross bringing its total after nearly a month to $148.4 million. Rounding out the top five was new release Our Idiot Brother, which earned $6.5 million. (No comments yet)

Paul Rudd & Jesse Peretz's Idiot Interview

A decade after The Chateau, NYC neighbors re-team for Our Idiot Brother

by Paul Rudd & Jesse Peretz | Published Aug. 24, 2011

In 2001, Paul Rudd appeared as the unworldly American inheritor of a French mansion in The Château, directed by Grammy Award-winning music video director Jesse Peretz. Since then, Peretz has directed just one other feature—The Ex, starring Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman—while Rudd has perfected the role of the sarcastic-but-sweet man-child in films like Knocked Up, Role Models (which he also wrote) and I Love You, Man, earning himself a reputation as one of the most likable guys in movies. Ten years after their first collaboration, Rudd and Peretz are re-teaming for Our Idiot Brother. (No comments yet)

Conan Could Have Used a Little Help

by Hugh Cunningham | Published Aug. 22, 2011

Last week's number two film, The Help, triumphed over four new wide releases to finish at the top of the box office this weekend. Its weekend gross of $20.4 million brings its total so far to $71.8 million. Last week's number one, Rise of the Planes of the Apes, fell to number two. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World earned $12 million in its first weekend, and fellow new release Conan the Barbarian earned a weekend gross of just $10 million. Rounding out the top five was new release Fright Night. (No comments yet)

Fright Night and Then Some

The best and worst horror remakes

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Aug. 18, 2011

Horror movie remakes are a dime a dozen these days, with re-treads of such genre classics as Poltergeist, Hellraiser and Suspiria currently in production. The latest to hit theaters is Fright Night, a 3-D update of Tom Holland’s frightfully fun '80s flick, starred Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall, which reinvigorated the vampire genre. The movie revolves around high school student Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin), who suspects that his charismatic new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell), is in fact a vampire. With nocturnal bloodsuckers being all the rage these days, Fright Night will hopefully be able to make a splash in the overcrowded "True Blood"/Twilight marketplace. With the film hitting theaters this weekend, MM thought it a perfect time to take a look back at some of the best and worst horror remakes of all time. (2 comments)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Doesn't Need Any Help

by Rebecca Pahle | Published Aug. 15, 2011

Last weekend saw four wide releases hit theaters--an adaptation of a best-selling novel, the latest entry in a time-tested horror franchise, an R-rated slacker comedy starring an Oscar-nominated actor (and some cult-fav comedians) and a spin-off of a TV mega-hit--and none of them managed to unseat Rise of the Planet of the Apes from the top spot. (No comments yet)