Box Office: Indiana Jones 4 Falls Shy of Pirates 3
Harrison Ford courtesy Lucasfilm/Paramount
Indiana Jones whipped up a hefty sum in Memorial Day weekend ticket sales, and stands poised to rank as the No. 2 opening of all time within that holiday span.
From Friday through Sunday, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is estimated to collect $101 million, and then bring that total to $126 mil on Monday. That falls shy of the $139.8 mil Pirates of the Caribbean 3 amassed over the four-day stretch.
If including Thursday receipts, Indy 4 will tally $151 mil to POTC3's $153 mil.
Rounding out the weekend's top five were The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ($23 million), Iron Man ($20.1 mil, and $252.3 mil to date), What Happens in Vegas ($9 mil) and Speed Racer ($4 mil).
POLL: How many stars would you give Indy 4? Vote here.
Richard Dreyfuss May Join Oliver Stone's White House
Richard Dreyfus by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com
Richard Dreyfuss might soon be joining Oliver Stone's W, his upcoming film about the Bush administration. Dreyfuss, if you're mentally perusing the Bush cabinet, is in final talks to play veep Dick Cheney.
Says the Reporter, the role is the last major one in the Bush administration to be decided for the flick. The White House already has Josh Brolin as the prez, Thandie Newton as Condi Rice and Elizabeth Banks as the First Lady, Laura Bush.
The role would of a U.S. leader would be a first for Dreyfuss, but he has played a senator in The American President, not to mention his unrelated role as the UFO-obsessed dad in Close Encounters of the Third Kind which may or may not be so unrelated, after all. Is Dreyfuss the right pick to play Dick? And how will Stone handle this latest bit of political drama? Anna Dimond
Spike Lee, Clint Eastwood in Spat over WWII Movies
Spike Lee by Tony Barson/WireImage.com and Clint Eastwood by Tony Barson/WireImage.com
Spike Lee has called out Clint Eastwood over two of his World War II-era films because they do not include any African-Americans cast as soldiers.
Lee specifically cited Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. He made the comments in Cannes while promoting his own WWII film Miracle at St. Anna which tells the story of an all-black U.S. division based in Tuscany, Italy.
"Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood," Lee said. "In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version."
When Eastwood also in Cannes promoting his upcoming movie, Changeling was asked to respond to Lee's comments, a moderator instructed reporters to limit questions to Eastwood's movie. J.R. Whalen
Sony Pictures has won a heated bidding war over the rights to make another live-action film based on the 1930s comic strip Flash Gordon.
According to Variety, the deal being negotiated is in the high six-figure range. Breck Eisner (Sahara) is attached to direct and Neal Moritz will produce.
The comic strip, created by Alex Raymond, followed a polo player who is kidnapped and taken to Planet Mongo where he battles Ming the Merciless. The strip was adapted in a 1980 film starring Sam Jones, and has seen several incarnations on television, most recently in Sci Fi's 2007 series starring Eric Johnson. Adam Bryant
Insert your own "there can only be one" joke here. Because that old chestnut has been violated more than Tom Sizemore's probation. There have already been five Highlander films, three TV series, four videogames and several novels and comic books. So what's one more movie?
A team that includes screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man) are relaunching the film franchise about warring immortal beings that began with 1986's Highlander, which starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown.
While it's unclear where the new film fits into the franchise's mythology, it is said to take place both in medieval Scotland and a contemporary setting. No cast yet, but production is scheduled to begin next year. Mickey O'Connor
Jake Gyllenhaal by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com
Jake Gyllenhaal has nabbed the title role in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the film adaptation of the popular video game.
Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, a young prince in 6th Century Persia. He teams up with Tamina (played by Gemma Arterton) to battle a villain who intends to process the Sands of Time and you guessed it reverse time, and set the stage for him to rule the world.
Production starts this summer in Morocco and England. J.R. Whalen
Gillian Anderson by George Pimentel/ WireImage.com
We don't believe that! But the 39-year-old film and TV star told BBC Newsbeat that filming The X-Files: I Want to Believe was "hard work," saying, "I'm too old for this. It was a slog." (Slog? That's Brit-speak for hard work, you yanks.) Anderson added, hilariously, that co-star David Duchovny did most of the work climbing and jumping off cliffs but he was in the best shape of his life "because he had to bonk someone every two minutes for Californication." Ha!
Anderson recently got to strut her stuff on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival to promote How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, her new movie with the awesome Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). Inevitably, she ended up talking about reprising her role as Agent Dana Scully for the second feature installment of The X-Files. Even though she has yet to see any footage of the movie, Anderson said, "I'm excited and I hope it's good. I really hope it's good. I have faith in it. I do." No pressure, but so do the thousands of X-Files fans waiting impatiently for the July 25 premiere.
Mark your calendars because there are only five months to go until High School Musical 3 hits theaters this October. But for those of you with kiddies who can't contain themselves that long (or perhaps it's you who's the HSM groupie), this morning GMA went behind the scenes of the third installment of the crazy-popular franchise and even caught up with some of the cast members, including Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron (sporting his finest prom wear). Gina DiNunno
Are you pumped to see part three of the Disney sensation? Think it will be as good as the first two? Think Zac looks exceptionally spiffy in his suit and boutonniθre?
Planning for the upcoming MTV Movie Awards is well underway, and some of the show's star presenters were announced Monday. This year's award-givers span the spectrum of stardom, and will include Lindsay Lohan, Steve Carell and Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. Other big faves to appear include Jack Black, Megan Fox, Seth Rogen and Jennifer Hudson.
At the top of this year's nominees (with the award being a "golden popcorn") are Superbad, with five noms and Juno, which has four. The awards are fan-driven, with voting open up until May 23, and the big show set to go down Sunday, June 1 on MTV (8 pm/ET).
Will you be tuning in or tuning out? Award shows, which have been the object of critcism as ratings decline, might still be viable when viewers have a say. But then again, Kenny Chesney, who's against fan voting (in country music, at least), has a point, too. What's your take? Anna Dimond
Fishburne, Weinstein Bring The Alchemist to Big Screen
Laurence Fishburne by Jeffrey Mayer/ WireImage.com
Harvey Weinstein is producing the film adaptation of Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist, which begins production in the next several weeks.
Laurence Fishburne is also on board as a producer, as well as director and the film's star.
The movie's budget is estimated at $60 million. The rights to the project were originally sold to Warner Brothers in 1994 for $250,000, but it sat on the shelf for several years.
Fishburne himself eventually acquired the rights along with indie production house A-Mark Entertainment. J.R. Whalen
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian courtesy Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian knocked two-time champ Tony Stark from the top of the box office, taking in $56.6 million in its opening weekend 14 percent less than the original CoN drew in its own 2005 bow.
Iron Man slid to the No. 2 slot with $31.2 million, bringing its total-to-date to $222.5 mil.
Rounding out the weekend's top five were What Happens in Vegas ($13.9 million), Speed Racer ($7.6 mil) and Baby Mama ($4.6 mil).
Next to storm the Cineplex is Indiana Jones 4, which in its Sunday Cannes Film Festival debut garnered good if not sensational reviews.
What was your take on Prince Caspian? Rate it here. MWM
George Clooney will star in Men Who Stare at Goats, the film adaptation of Jon Ronson's non-fiction book about the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion.
The story follows the Army's exploration of New Age concepts and the paranormal and specifically the thought that a goat could be killed simply by staring at it.
The movie will be directed by Grant Heslov, who co-owns the Smoke House production studio with Clooney. J.R. Whalen
Do you seek the truth? Self-enlightenment? Then say hello to your spiritual bro, Guru Pitka, the central character in the newest Mike Myers flick, The Love Guru. His holiness has created several "Mini-Sutras" on YouTube to help users: A) Remember the premiere of the movie is June 20, and B) Help them get their enlightenment freak on. Anyone else have a sudden urge to watch SVU after hearing this spiritual teachers words of wisdom? (Youll get it after you watch the video).
According to Variety, Daniel Day-Lewis is in talks to join the cast of Rob Marshall's musical, Nine. He would be filling the role that Javier Bardem recently dropped out of due to exhaustion. However, a spokesman for the Weinstein Co. (which is producing the film) said until an announcement is made, Day-Lewis' casting is "pure conjecture."
The film, based on the stage musical originally inspired by the Felliini film 8 ½, follows Guido Contini, a famous filmmaker who has trouble balancing his professional life with his personal problems and a bevy of women. Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench will play the ladies in his life. Adam Bryant
