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Everything old is new again
Reboot. To many self-styled movie aficionados, the word has come to represent everything they perceive to be wrong with Hollywood. They complain that the increasing number of reboots — six already this year, with many, many more on the way — is a sign that movie studios have simply run out of ideas. But, though the word describing them may be relatively new, Hollywood has been rebooting franchises for a very long time. Sherlock Holmes, Superman, Tarzan, James Bond, Batman — the longevity of these characters as cinematic icons has depended upon periodic reinventions to keep them fresh (we're still waiting for Tarzan's). Obviously, some reboots are better than others, which is why we want you to help us rate the Top 10 Best Movie Reboots.
Rate the Top 10 Best Movie Reboots >>
Posted 10.02.12 by BrentJS -
When released last December, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows outperformed 2009's Sherlock Holmes ($543M in worldwide box office compared to $524M). However, the franchise wasn't just successful in theaters. Sherlock Holmes had an excellent run on home video, with DVD/Blu-ray sales earning back half of the movie's budget alone at $45 million. That trend should continue with today's DVD/Blu-ray/digital download Combo Pack release of A Game of Shadows, which includes some of the same extras that made the Sherlock Holmes disc a success, and ups the ante with a Game of Shadows movie app.
Cineastes have enjoyed Warner Bros' "Maximum Movie Mode" feature on their Blu-ray since its induction on the 2009 Watchmen disc, with director Guy Ritchie providing the in-depth commentary on the Sherlock Holmes disc, while A Game of Shadows utilizes the wit and charm of star Robert Downey Jr. to host behind-the-scenes content that includes — in addition to still galleries, story boards, and other promotional materials — seven "focus points," otherwise known as video featurettes. If it's confusing for a viewer to see Downey Jr. step out from behind the footage of the movie to then discuss it, the focus points are also available through the special features menu option. While this all sounds fairly familiar to the avid home video buyer, the real bonus is the companion Movie App (for the cost-conscious among us, it's available free from iTunes).
more about the release >> Posted 06.12.12 by Ryan -
Once again Summit Entertainment's Twilight Saga movies dominated last night's Teen Choice Awards, which were held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. 2009's New Moon and 2010's Eclipse saw the saga and its stars walk away with 11 wins at the awards, including Choice Movie: Fantasy for New Moon and Choice Summer Movie for Eclipse.
Find out who won what, and what other movies were in the mix >> Posted 08.09.10 by reelz -
Even before Sherlock Holmes reached theaters, plans for a sequel had begun. Rumors circulated that Brad Pitt would play Holmes' infamous arch nemesis, Moriarty. Robert Downey Jr. admitted he had tried to convince Pitt to take the role, though no confirmation has been provided. While the original movie leaves no doubt that Moriarty will appear in Sherlock Holmes 2, the most recent casting rumors don't include Pitt at all.
Sherlock Holmes rumor-mill churning >> Posted 06.25.10 by Ryan -
Robert Downey Jr. called working on Sherlock Holmes a "life changing experience", which explains why he decided to leave the upcoming adaptation of Cowboys and Aliens. Screenwriters Kieran and Michele Mulroney were hired to write the screenplay for Sherlock Holmes 2 last September, and Downey Jr. told MTV that the writers are taking the sequel to Europe.
who else is back for the sequel? >> Posted 05.04.10 by Ryan -
Only days after it was announced that Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers would be the subject of anupdated feature along the lines of director Guy Ritchie's take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, another classic piece of literature is looking to go the same route. According to Variety, Ecosse Films is developing a big screen adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island with a characterization of the novel's antagonist, pirate Long John Silver, that is "hipper, in the style of Robert Downey Jr.'s interpretation of Sherlock Holmes."
Treasure Island was first published as a novel in 1883 and has become the standard-bearer for modern interpretations of pirates and their conventions. Everything from peg legs to parrots to "X" marking the spot can be traced back to Stevenson's book about conspiring pirates and buried treasure. There have been more than 40 movie adaptations made of Treasure Island, with some versions, like the 1972 European classic starring Orson Welles, remaining faithful to the source material, and others, like Treasure Planet, applying the basic plot of the book to an entirely different genre of movie.
Producing for Ecosse are Douglas Rae and Robert Bernstein (Nowhere Boy). Niall Johnson (White Noise) has been hired to pen the Treasure Island script. No director has been attached to the project as of yet.
Posted 02.18.10 by BrentJS -
Even though actor Robert Downey Jr. teased his retirement a few months back, he also said that he "could be busy for the next 5 or 7 or 10 years," if Sherlock Holmes "performs well." With the #1 all-time Christmas Day opening, and box-office receipts topping $390 million, it's safe to say that Holmes has performed quite well, indeed.
Of course, saying you'll play a specific character for the next decade is one thing, but actually doing it is another. And, at 44, Downey Jr. isn't getting any younger. In a previous interview, he described the physicality of playing Sherlock Holmes as "really difficult," but also described it as a "massive catharsis" for him. In a more recent interview, Downey Jr. said that shooting the movie had a profound effect on him.
If the material is still good and you still like to work with the people — why not? Sherlock Holmes was a life-changing experience. That's due to the extensive research we did and because I could actually realize such a big project. I would still play characters like Sherlock in the future. Although, I will probably have another child and an alcohol free vineyard by then.
A Holmes sequel has not been officially greenlit by Warner Bros. yet, but EW recently cited "a source inside" theCowboys and Aliens production as saying that Downey Jr. dropped out of that production to free up time to filmSherlock Holmes 2. Downey Jr. will next be appearing in the highly anticipated Iron Man 2, opening May 7th.
Posted 01.29.10 by BrentJS -
Guy Ritchie was poised to direct the comic book adaptation of Lobo after Sherlock Holmes, with a portion of pre-production already complete. Producer Joel Silver told The LA Times that Ritchie can no longer commit to Lobo after the success of Holmes.
I don't think he's going to do [Lobo] now. The studio wants us and Guy to focus on making another Sherlock Holmes. So I think we're going to be doing that. But we're seeing what happens with this. Everybody is analyzing everything. It's all kind of happening right now as we talk. Everybody is talking about everything.... It's an ongoing conversation. [Robert] Downey [Jr.] loves the experience of playing Sherlock and would love to play him again, and I'd love to see him play it again. Jude [Law] and all of them will be back and it will be great. So we're trying to see if we can do something quickly with another Sherlock Holmes movie. We have some ideas and some good story points.
Silver says that while Ritchie is busy working on Sherlock Holmes 2, that Lobo will likely be made with "a different director" as it is still a viable idea considering the recent success of comic book movies.
It was created as a rebuttal to the Marvel characters and his vest said "Bite me fanboy." It was very much a response to Wolverine and Punisher and the other characters and I think now that makes it fresh [for moviegoers]. We're working on it now and it will be nice to put it together and make it happen.
Downey Jr. already quit another project — the Jon Favreau adaptation of Cowboys and Aliens — in order to clear his schedule for the Holmes sequel.
Posted 01.28.10 by Ryan -
Actor Robert Downey, Jr. may be one of the busiest actors working today; however, he just became one movie less busy. The LA Times reports that Downey Jr. has parted ways with Cowboys and Aliens, the comic book adaptation that would have reunited Downey Jr. with director Jon Favreau. Downey Jr. was to play Zeke Jackson, a mid-19th-century gunslinger who leads a revolt when aliens land in Arizona to enslave the human population. The movie will still move forward with Favreau as director.
Downey Jr.'s departure from Cowboys and Aliens seems to be the result of a scheduling conflict with the Sherlock Holmes sequel, which Entertainment Weekly reports would start production in June, the same time as Cowboys and Aliens. Sherlock Holmes 2 has not been officially greenlit yet, but Warner Brothers did hire writers to work a sequel last September and, after seeing Holmes's box-office success, is quickly pursuing the sequel.
That still leaves Downey Jr. a very busy actor, with both Iron Man 2 and Due Date also opening later this year.
Posted 01.13.10 by Ryan -
Mark Strong, who plays the nefarious Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes, also appears in the upcoming Kick-Ass as mob boss Frank D'Amico. Strong recently described that movie as both "dangerous" and "funny" to MTV, saying it's likely the movie will get a sequel.
Well, obviously it's Mark Millar's graphic novels, and I don't know if that's a finite number of novels being drawn and written. But for now what I think they've done is the the first eight copies [issues] are basically what this movie is and I'm sure it can go on and on if they want it to.
Millar has said that the final issue of his Kick-Ass series will leave with a teaser for another series and that there will "definitely" be another Kick-Ass movie. However, surely ticket sales will also be a factor in that decision.
Posted 12.29.09 by Ryan