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There something awfully familiar about the debut trailer for Ted, especially for fans of the Fox animated sitcom Family Guy. Perhaps it's the random jokes that surround the loose plot of a Boston man (Mark Wahlberg) who can't quite grow up despite falling in love with his dream girl (Mila Kunis). Or, more likely, it's the voice of Wahlberg's walking, talking teddy bear Ted, which sounds eerily similar to Family Guy's patriarch Peter Griffin. Of course, that's because Ted is voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who also co-wrote and directed the movie.
Ted seems almost directly targeted to Family Guy fans, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your appreciation of the show. There is one important distinction, however. The debut trailer is decidedly red band and, therefore, very NSFW, which could be MacFarlane's way of saying his directorial debut won't simply be Family Guy on the big screen... Or his way of saying "this movie is funny because it has a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear in it." You be the judge, but be warned about the trailer's liberal use of the f-bomb.
watch the trailer (at your own risk) >> Posted 04.03.12 by Ryan -
Like the title suggests, there needs to be two guns for Universal's comic book adaptation of 2 Guns, and it looks like the studio has picked Denzel Washington to join Mark Wahlberg as the second shootist.
Deadline reports that Washington is in discussions to join the movie, which follows a DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer who are unwittingly investigating each other while both are trying to steal mob money. And neither of them know that they are both being set up to steal money from the CIA, and not the mob. It's unknown which of the two roles the actors will play.
2 Guns is based on the Boom! Studios graphic novel by writer Steven Grant and artist Mat Santolouco and was adapted by TV writer Blake Masters. Wahlberg will reunite with his Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur for 2 Guns. Kormákur replaced director David O. Russell (The Fighter) last October, months before Contraband opened at the top spot at the box office. Russell also worked on the script, but it isn't clear if the studio plans to use any of his work or if they will strictly use Masters' script instead.
No production start has been announced for 2 Guns as financing is still being settled. It will be the first pairing of Wahlberg and Washington in a movie.
Posted 02.08.12 by Ryan -
ReelzChannel Celebrity Rundown
Critics agree that the 11th season of American Idol, which aired on Wednesday, features an unusually high level of talent compared to previous seasons, but it was overshadowed by 63-year-old judge Steven Tyler hitting on 15-year-old Shannon Magrane in front of her dad, '80s St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Karl Magrane. After meeting the extended Magrane family, Tyler joked with the former hurler about the weather in Boston during the summer, calling it “hot, humid, and happening — just like your daughter.”
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In related age-difference news, fellow Idol judge Jennifer Lopez, 42, may want to keep 24-year-old Casper Smart off Twitter after JLo's boytoy posted eye-rollingly corny comments about age difference such as, "Age, status, 'n opinions of others are irrelevant. Our hearts are endless and our souls infinite," and "Ages are mere reminders of the hours logged on this earth and the precious time remaining," and "Close your ears and open your hearts; Love and be happy."
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After telling Men's Journal he would've overpowered the terrorists on Flight 93 and landed the plane safely, but not before leaving "a lot of blood in that first-class cabin," Mark Wahlberg has apologized in a statement to TMZ that read, "To suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible."
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His relationship troubles may be on the cover of People magazine, but Johnny Depp can take some measure of comfort that he's America's favorite actor for the 2nd year in a row, according to a Harris poll.
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Some stars without makeup look significantly worse. In the case of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, who posted a pic of her makeup-free mug on Twitter, she looks significantly better.
Posted 01.19.12 by reelz -
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Contraband | $24.1M | $24.1M | Another solid opening for star Mark Wahlberg, his best solo debut since 2008's The Happening |
| Beauty and the Beast (3-D) | $18.5M | $18.5M | Not as strong as The Lion King re-release, but earned the title for the biggest January opening for an animated movie |
| Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol | $11.5M | $186.7M | Surpassed the gross of the original Mission: Impossible ($181M) and now only trails M:I II ($215M) |
| Joyful Noise | $11.3M | $11.3M | This $25M pic performed well in the South and Midwest |
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | $8.4M | $170M | Still in the top 5 after five weeks in theaters |
Posted 01.15.12 by reelz -
In Contraband, a former smuggler (Mark Wahlberg) is forced back into the game to settle his brother-in-law's debt to a ruthless drug lord (Giovanni Ribisi). While the "you're not really out of the life until you pull off that one last job" premise isn't new — in fact you could say it's an all-too-familiar setup — Richard Roeper says it doesn't matter: "From start to finish, this is a superbly crafted, beautifully executed caper with never a dull moment." Find out why he gave it an A-.
Watch Roeper's Review of Contraband >> Posted 01.12.12 by reelz -
Next week's Contraband will end a mini-drought for Mark Wahlberg, who hasn't appeared in a movie since 2010's The Fighter. Even before the boxing biopic earned Wahlberg's co-stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo Oscars for their performances, Wahlberg was talking about a Fighter sequel, revealing that a second installment would follow "Irish" Micky Ward's trilogy of fights with the late Arturo Gatti.
As late as last June, Wahlberg was still confident about a Fighter sequel, saying "We're not going to do Fighter 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, but we're gonna do 2." In an interview with Collider, Wahlberg offered the latest update, claiming that a script is in the works.
Wahlberg talks The Fighter sequel, Pain and Gain >> Posted 01.08.12 by Ryan -
Five new preview clips from Mark Wahlberg's new action-thriller, Contraband, have been released online. A remake of Icelandic writer-director Óskar Jónasson's 2008 thriller Reykjavík-Rotterdam, Contraband was directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who also starred in and produced the award-winning original.
In the movie, Wahlberg plays Chris Farraday, a former smuggler who is trying hard to walk the straight and narrow path. However, when his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) runs into trouble with a drug lord (Giovanni Ribisi), Farraday is forced to run contraband in order to try to settle his debts. As detailed in the preview clips, Farraday's decision to return to crime not only lands him in hot water with the drug lord, but also with the police and with his wife (Kate Beckinsale), who fears he will end up in prison or dead, leaving her to raise their sons on her own. Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Lukas Haas also star.
watch the new preview clips >> Posted 12.20.11 by BrentJS -
Update: According to Variety, Mark Wahlberg has passed on the project but The Rock is still in discussion.
After finishing his blockbuster trilogy Transformers last June, director Michael Bay is finally creating his dark comedy Pain and Gain. The project has been in the works for the past decade and has a reported budget of $20M. The script was written by Captain America writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and has, oddly enough, been compared to Fargo by the two.
It is also rumored that beefcakes, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Mark Wahlberg, will star in the comedy. According to Moviefone, Pain and Gain is "based on a 1999 article in the Miami New Times about a pair of bodybuilders caught in an extortion and kidnapping scheme."
Posted 12.05.11 by reelz -
Several new posters for upcoming movies have arrived online, including one for the thriller Contraband. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as a former smuggler who has gone legit, but, as things usually go for a former criminal in movies, he is forced to return to the business when his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) runs into trouble. The poster for the movie shows that Wahlberg isn't going back to work quietly and may be looking to grab something for himself in the process of helping out his brother-in-law.
Contraband, which opens on January 13, 2012, is a remake of the 2008 Icelandic thriller Reykjavík-Rotterdam, and the cast includes Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster, Kate Beckinsale, J.K. Simmons and Lukas Haas.
The thriller was directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who starred in and produced the Icelandic original. The first trailer for Contraband was released in September to good online buzz, prompting Universal to hire Kormákur for its upcoming comic book adaptation 2 Guns, also starring Wahlberg.
more posters >> Posted 10.19.11 by Ryan -
In August, Mark Wahlberg joined the comic adaptation of 2 Guns just as The Fighter director David O. Russell was dropping out. Looks like Wahlberg will reunite with his Contraband director instead.
Variety reports that Baltasar Kormákur is in negotiations to direct 2 Guns which follows a DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer who separately go undercover to steal mob money while simultaneously investigating each other. While not the exact same plot, Contraband, as revealed in the movie's first trailer, sees Wahlberg brought back into the world of smuggling in order to save his family. Reportedly, the trailer got good online buzz, which helped convince the studio to hire the Icelandic director.
more about 2 Guns >> Posted 10.04.11 by Ryan