Ever since Universal Studios and Focus Features acquired the rights to the Fifty Shades of Grey, that wildly popular series of novels by E.L. James responsible for making literary chick porn as mainstream and horny teenaged vampires, speculation has been running rampant as to who will play the lead characters. Meanwhile, the more important question—who will direct—has been relatively ignored.
Today, however, the question of who will direct the film adaptation of Fifty Shades takes center stage with the rumors that Universal and Focus are considering director Joe Wright for the gig.
Wright, of course, has made a career out of directing Keira Knightly in period pieces such as Pride & Prejudice and, most recently, Anna Karenina. However, the film most responsible for Wright's candidacy for the Fifty Shades gig would have to be Atonement, yet another period film starring Knightly which just so happens to feature a rather steamy and artfully shot love scene:
Obviously, if Fifty Shades of Grey is going to make big bucks at the box office, it's going to have to look all classy like this so all the soccer moms don't feel like pervs for going to see it on a weekday. So I'd say that makes Wright the leading candidate for the job.
The stars of the upcoming comedy This is the End, really want you to like them on Facebook. We mean, REALLY want you to like them. In fact, the more Facebook likes that the movie receives, the crazier things that stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel will do for your viewing pleasure.
Want to Danny wax Seth's back? Get them more likes on Facebook. Want to see Jay and Danny share a strand of pasta just like in Lady and the Tramp?Then get them more likes on Facebook.
Okay, so they won't be exactly nekkid, but if you're going to the movies this weekend, you will most definitely still have an assortment of celebrity sextastic to see onscreen, including Selena Gomez in Aftershock, Isla Fisher in Gatsby, and Kerry Washington in Yet Another Tyler Perry Movie.
It's all good. And air-conditioned. Look for me in the back row. But two seat separation please. In the least. Enjoy.
When I heard that there was an Audi commercial starring Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto as themselves, competing against each other for Spock supremacy, two thoughts immediately popped into my head. The first was something along the lines of, "Really? Are there really a lot of hardcore Trekkies out there who can actually afford Audis? Maybe if it were a commercial for used Chevy Luminas or something, but Audis?" Then the second thought I had went something like, "man, that's going to be the lamest thing ever."
Well, it turns out I was totally wrong...about the second thing. Despite the fact that the commercial does double duty, advertising both a luxury automobile and a big-budget summer blockbuster, it's not lame at all. In fact, it's genuinely smart (the trademark J.J. Abrams lens flares on the Audi) and hilarious (an 82-year-old Nimoy cursing and singing "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins").
But don't take my word for it. Watch the ad for yourself. Then watch this:
J.J. Abrams'Star Trek: Into Darkness hits theaters on May 17th. But before you get your expectations all out of whack, let's stop and remember that as good as it was, 2009's Star Trek was far from a perfect film. In case you've forgotten, this Honest Trailer from the guys at Screen Junkies is here to remind you. And they bring up some great points. Honestly, what's with all the lens flares, J.J.?
That said, even if you took all the complaints in this trailer and multiplied them times a thousand, Abrams' Star Trek would still be better than 90% of the franchise films. Seriously, watch Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and report back.
As expected, Iron Man 3 dominated the weekend box office, raking in $175.3 million, the second biggest weekend opening in history behind The Avengers. That amount does not include an additional $175.9 million made this weekend via international markets, bringing the film's 12-day global take to $680.1 million. Making more than half-a-billion dollars in less than two weeks seems like a pretty good start, but I'm no expert.
Considering Iron Man 2 was widely considered a bad film, it's all the more impressive that audiences were willing to give the franchise the benefit of the doubt. With that in mind, the producers of The Hangover Part 3 must be breathing a sigh of relief.
If Joe Wright Directs ‘Shades of Grey,’ Does that Mean Keira Knightly Will Play Anastasia Steele?
Ever since Universal Studios and Focus Features acquired the rights to the Fifty Shades of Grey, that wildly popular series of novels by E.L. James responsible for making literary chick porn as mainstream and horny teenaged vampires, speculation has been running rampant as to who will play the lead characters. Meanwhile, the more important question—who will direct—has been relatively ignored.
Today, however, the question of who will direct the film adaptation of Fifty Shades takes center stage with the rumors that Universal and Focus are considering director Joe Wright for the gig.
Wright, of course, has made a career out of directing Keira Knightly in period pieces such as Pride & Prejudice and, most recently, Anna Karenina. However, the film most responsible for Wright's candidacy for the Fifty Shades gig would have to be Atonement, yet another period film starring Knightly which just so happens to feature a rather steamy and artfully shot love scene:
Obviously, if Fifty Shades of Grey is going to make big bucks at the box office, it's going to have to look all classy like this so all the soccer moms don't feel like pervs for going to see it on a weekday. So I'd say that makes Wright the leading candidate for the job.
H/T – [Hollywood Reporter]