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The Good Shepherd (2006)

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Universal Sells Broadcast Rights to 11 Movies for $60 Million
7 August 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Universal has struck a $60-million deal with USA networks for 11 movies that will begin airing in 2009. Two of the films, The Bourne Ultimatum and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, are currently running in theaters and the total amount of the deal could go higher depending on the total domestic box office for each of those films. (USA has agreed to pay 12 percent of the domestic box office for each film.) Chuck & Larry is due to air on UA in December, 2009; Bourne, one month later. Other films in the package include The Good Shepherd, Children of Men, Man of the Year, and Ali G. Indahouse.

'Happy Feet' Still Dancing
19 April 2007 (StudioBriefing)
The Oscar-winning animated film Happy Feet happily danced to the No. 1 spot on the DVD sales charts for the third week in a row, Nielsen VideoScan reported on Wednesday. Charlotte's Web was in second place, followed by The Pursuit of Happyness. On Home Media Retail magazine's rental chart, The Good Shepherd rose to the top of the list for the second consecutive week.

Chinese Film Wins Berlin's Golden Bear
19 February 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Tuya's Marriage was the surprise winner of the top Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival Saturday. The Chinese film, about a herdswoman in Mongolia who seeks a new husband when her existing one becomes ill, had not been among the favorites mentioned earlier by most journalists and critics attending the festival. Israeli director Joseph Cedar, who was born in the U.S., won the best director award for his anti-war film Beaufort. The Silver Bear prize for best actress went to Nina Hoss for the German film Yella, about a woman who flees the depressed conditions in the former East Germany -- and her stalking ex-husband -- for the West. The Silver Bear for best actor went to Julio Chavez for the Argentinian film, The Other, about a man who takes on the identity of a dead man in order to start a new life. The Berlinale jury, headed by Paul Schrader, also awarded a trophy to Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd for outstanding artistic contribution.

Chinese Film Takes Berlin's Top Honor
19 February 2007 (WENN)
The Chinese New Year got off to a spectacular start in Berlin when director Wang Quan'an was awarded the film festival's top honor, the Golden Bear, for Tuya's Marriage. The Chinese movie, which is set in Inner Mongolia, was named on Saturday. A thrilled Wang said, "A very beautiful dream has become reality for me here. Perhaps this is the last glance at the herds people of the region. Ultimately they are going to disappear into the cities. I think that it is important, particularly in this time when the economy is booming, to ponder and reflect on what we're losing." US-born Israeli Joseph Cedar took Best Director for his war drama Beaufort at the film festival, while Best Actor and Actress prizes went to Julio Chavez (The Other) and Nina Hoss (Yella) respectively. Actor-turned-moviemaker Robert De Niro also had a share of the accolades - The Good Shepherd, his drama on the origins of the CIA intelligence service, won for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

2007 Berlin Festival Opens
9 February 2007 (StudioBriefing)
The Berlin Film Festival -- the Berlinale -- opened Thursday night with a biopic of French singer Edith Piaf, La Vie en Rose, starring Marion Cotillard as Piaf, who died in 1963 at the age of 47. It is one of 22 films entered in competition for the festival's top award, the Golden Bear. Among the others are Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd, Steven Soderbergh's The Good German, and Gregory Nava's Bordertown.The winner will be announced on Feb. 17 by a jury headed by screenwriter Paul Schrader.

Berlinale Reveals Titles of Competing Films
31 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
The Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday revealed the titles of the 22 movies that will compete for this year's top Golden Bear award. They include Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie; Steven Soderbergh's The Good German with George Clooney; and Gregory Nava's Bordertown, starring Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas. The festival opens on Feb. 8 with a screening of Olivier Dahan's La Vie en Rose about the life of singer Edith Piaf and concludes on Feb. 18. Among films that will be screening out of competition will be Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima, Richard Eyre's Notes on a Scandal, and Paul Schrader's The Walker.

'Stomp' Wins by a Yard
15 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Surprising just about every analyst, Sony's Stomp the Yard emerged as the No. 1 film over the weekend, earning an estimated $22 million, despite no major stars, a budget of only $14 million, and mixed reviews. Stomp stomped out the three-week reign of Night at the Museum at the top of the box office, which dropped to No. 2 with $17.1 million. Its four-week total now stands at $185.8 million. Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness slipped to third place with $9.1 million. Although it doubled the number of theaters showing it, DreamWorks' Dreamgirls placed fourth with $8.1 million, about $500,000 less than it took in last week. Analysts had voiced little hope for other new films that opened over the weekend -- and results proved them on the mark. Universal's Alpha Dog and Disney's Primeval each grossed about $6 million, while Arthur and the Invisibles discovered virtually invisible ticket sales at some theaters as it opened with just $4.3 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. Stomp the Yard, $22 million; 2. Night at the Museum, $17.1 million; 3. The Pursuit of Happyness, $9.1 million; 4. Dreamgirls, $8.1 million; 5. Freedom Writers, $7.1 million; 6. Children of Men, $6.4 million; 7. Alpha Dog, $6.1 million; 8. Primeval, $6 million; 9. Arthur and the Invisibles, $4.3 million; 10. The Good Shepherd, $3.9 million.

'Children of Men' a Surprise Hit
9 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Children of Men , a film that was apparently held in higher regard by critics and audiences than it was by Universal, the studio that released it, landed in third place at the box office over the weekend, as it raked in $10.2 million at just 1,209 theaters, fewer than a third of those showing the No. 1 film, Fox's Night at the Museum. Children averaged $8,435 per theater versus $6,355 for Museum. J. Hoberman, writing in the Village Voice, recently remarked that Universal had been treating the movie "like a communicable disease." Sheerly Avni, writing on the liberal blog Truthdig Monday, called it "an orphaned masterpiece," and one fan, disgusted with the official trailers for the movie, created one of his/her own and posted it on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lfs1UIKALQ), where it has drawn considerable comment and praise from fans.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Night At The Museum, 20th Century Fox, $23,743,960, 3 Wks. ($163,840,714); 2. The Pursuit of Happyness, Sony, $12,880,926, 4 Wks. ($124,039,482); 3. Children of Men, Universal, $10,197,775, 3 Wks. ($11,805,273); 4. Freedom Writers, Paramount, $9,405,582, 1 Wk., (New); 5. Dreamgirls, Paramount, $8,663,680, 4 Wks. ($54,322,145); 6. Happily N'ever After, Lionsgate, $6,608,244, 1 Wk., (New); 7. Charlotte's Web, Paramount, $6,598,179, 4 Wks. ($66,963,119); 8. The Good Shepherd, Universal, $6,446,345, 3 Wks. ($48,344,025); 9. Rocky Balboa, MGM, $6,017,649, 3 Wks. ($60,642,611); 10. We Are Marshall, Warner Bros., $4,875,400, 3 Wks. ($35,165,379).

'Museum' Exhibits Legs
8 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Moviegoers have spent a third weekend at Ben Stiller's computer-created museum, plunking down another $24 million on tickets for Night at the Museum, according to studio estimates. "This truly is one of those movies that works for all audiences -- from age 8 to 80 and from Maine to Maui," Fox distribution exec Chris Aronson told today's (Monday) Los Angeles Times. Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness remained in second place with about $13 million. Taking over third place was Universal's sci-fi drama Children of Men which grossed $10.3 million as it expanded into wide release. Among new releases, Paramount's Freedom Writers performed the best, placing fourth with around $9.7 million. The animated Happily N'Ever After unhappily drew only $6.8 million in ticket sales, while New Line's Code Name: The Cleaner failed even to make the top-ten list as it opened with $4.6 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Night at the Museum, $24 million; 2. The Pursuit of Happyness, $13 million; 3. Children of Men, $10.3 million; 4. Freedom Writers, $9.7 million; 5. Dreamgirls, $8.8 million; 6. Happily N'Ever After, $6.8 million; 7. Charlotte's Web, $6.6 million; 8. The Good Shepherd, $6.5 million; 9. Rocky Balboa, $6.3 million; 10. We Are Marshall, $5.1 million.

'Museum' Comes Alive with $46.7 Million
2 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
In a weekend that saw no new films offered in wide release, holdovers performed solidly. Night at the Museum remained the No. 1 movie at the box office, taking in $46.7 million over the four-day New Year's holiday. Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness remained in second place with $42.7 million, which put it over the $100-million mark (to $103.4 million). But the real sensation was produced by the Paramount/DreamWorks' musical Dreamgirls, which landed in third place with a four-day take of $18.7 million. It played, however, on just 852 screens, while Museum was screened at 3,768. And while Museum produced an impressive per-screen average of $12,394, Dreamgirls came away with a sensational per-screen average of $21,948. Also significantly improving performance was We Are Marshall, which performed poorly in its opening but which saw its take rise 19 percent over the holiday weekend. The film, which describes the aftermath of the 1971 plane crash that took the lives of a West Virginia university football team, has now earned $27.3 million after two weeks.

The top ten films over the four-day holiday weekend, according to estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. Night at the Museum, $46.7 million; 2. The Pursuit of Happyness, $24.7 million; 3. Dreamgirls, $18.7 million; 4. Charlotte's Web, $15.5 million; 5. The Good Shepherd, $14.5 million; 6. Rocky, $13.7 million 7. Eragon, $10.5 million; 8. We Are Marshall, $10.2 million; 9. Happy Feet, $9.7 million; 10. The Holiday, $8.5 million.

A Dream Debut for 'Dreamgirls'
27 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
It only played in 852 theaters during just one day of the four-day holiday weekend, but Dreamgirls managed to place seventh on the list of top box-office performers for the penultimate weekend of the year with a take of $8.7 million. Paramount marketing chief Rob Moore told the Los Angeles Times that the movie had received a 95-percent approval rating on exit polls. "That's the highest I've ever seen, and I've been involved in testing for more than 20 years," he said. Overall, the box office was up some 10 percent over the comparable weekend a year ago, with 20th Century Fox's Night at the Museum leading the field with $43.2 million for the four days, according to Media by Numbers. The film knocked Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness to second place as it grossed $23.1 million. Rocky Balboa's comeback produced $17.3 million in ticket sales. Some analysts expressed surprise that the latest Rocky movie performed as well as it did but noted that it could hardly be regarded as a smash. However, MGM observed that the film had a relatively low production budget and was certain to become a winner for the studio. "This is a nice way for Stallone and for MGM to wrap up the franchise, studio spokesman Paul Pflug told the Los Angeles Daily News.

The top ten films for the four-day Christmas holiday weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. Night at the Museum, $42.2 million; 2. The Pursuit of Happyness, $23.1 million; 3. Rocky Balboa, $17 million; 4. The Good Shepherd, $13.9 million; 5. Charlotte's Web, $9.5 million; 6. Eragon, $9.3 million; 7. Dreamgirls, $8.9 million; 8. We Are Marshall, $8.6 million; 9. The Holiday, $7 million; 10. Happy Feet, $6.6 million.

Box-office Blahs at Christmas
26 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Like the holiday stockings hanging at the fireplace, the Christmas box office turned out to be pretty much a mixed bag. Although some studios revised their estimates for the Friday-to-Sunday period, they did not release final figures nor estimates for Monday, Christmas Day, when two new films, the horror flick Black Christmas and the musical Dreamgirls, were added to the mix. There were no break-out hits. The debut of the Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum led the list with $30.9 million over the three-day period, in line with analysts' predictions but well off Stiller's best opening: $46.1 million for Meet the Fockers in 2004. Sylvester Stallone's return as Rocky Balboa after 16 years, did OK business with about $12.2 million, after earning $9.7 million on Wednesday and Thursday, as it finished in third place -- a performance that would seem to indicate that audiences were not as impressed with Stallone's comeback as the critics were. Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness dropped to second place with $14.9 million, 43 percent below its opening take a week ago. The biggest drop, however, was registered by the fantasy flick Eragon, which plunged 70 percent in its second weekend to $7.1 million, to place sixth. Another new film, We Are Marshall, failed to attract an audience, as it opened with just $6 million. Playing in just five theaters, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima debuted with $89,000, an average of $17,800 per theater.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Night at the Museum, 20th Century Fox, $30,880,000, (New); 2. The Pursuit of Happyness, Sony, $14,874,000, 2 Wks. ($53,304,000); 3. Rocky Balboa, MGM, $12,220,999, (New); 4. The Good Shepherd, Universal, $9,925,000, (New); 5. Charlotte's Web, Paramount, $7,693,000, 2 Wks. ($26,530,000); 6. Eragon, 20th Century Fox, $7,101,000, 2 Wks. ($37,596,000); 7. We Are Marshall, Warner Bros. $6,080,000, (New); 8. The Nativity Story, New Line, $5,198,000, 4 Wks. ($32,512,000); 9. Happy Feet, Warner Bros. $5,131,000, 6 Wks. ($159,099,000); 10. The Holiday, Paramount, $4,877,000, 3 Wks. ($34,977,000).

Stallone Vs. Stiller
22 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa came out swinging on Wednesday, pummeling the competition with a take of $6.4 million in its debut, but the real contender for the box-office championship over the holiday weekend doesn't even enter the ring until tonight (Friday), when the Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum opens. Two other potent challengers also enter the fray: We Are Marshall, based on events surrounding the 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team, and The Good Shepherd, the Robert De Niro film about the early days of the CIA, while Dreamgirls, about a Supremes-like female pop group expands to 852 theaters. Most box-office analysts are betting on Museum to win with about $35-40 million, followed close behind by the latest Rocky sequel, which, they say, is due to take in about $30 million.

Movie Reviews: The Good Shepherd
22 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Critics seem to regard Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, with respect. That's not to say they like it. Take, for example, Gene Seymour's review in Newsday, which concludes that the movie "absorbs without resonating, impresses without arousing." "The CIA is a fascinating creature, but The Good Shepherd is as impenetrable as the organization itself," concludes Matt Pais in the Chicago Tribune.Manohla Dargis in the New York Times writes that the film asks some hard questions about the nature of government intelligence, "but they are also too big, too complex and perhaps too painful for even this ambitious (2 hours, 37 minutes) project, which can only elude and insinuate, not enlighten and inform." On the other hand, Chris Vognar in the Dallas Morning News offers high praise for the movie. "It takes its audience's intelligence for granted and rewards it at every turn," he writes. And Stephen Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer calls the movie, "a cool-headed thriller."

BAFTA Rule Change Affects High-Profile Movies
13 December 2006 (WENN)
A new rule put in place by the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts (BAFTA) is preventing high-profile movies including Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima from being entered into the organization's 2007 ceremony. In previous years, any film released before the end of March in the UK was eligible for Bafta consideration. However, bosses have now decided all movies must come out before the ceremony, to be held on February 11 in London. This ruling means Oscar hopeful Letters From Iwo Jima and Robert De Niro's second film as director, The Good Shepherd, in which he also stars, can not be considered, as both have a scheduled February 23 release. The George Clooney-starring The Good German, with a March 9 release date, will also miss out. Adam Dawtrey, of industry magazine Variety, says, "This strikes at the very heart of the question of what commercial impact BAFTA actually has for distributors. On the whole, there's a belief that the awards season overall has a significant commercial impact - not just the Oscars but the hype for months about the race, and clearly BAFTA is a part of that. But if you take the BAFTAs out of that mix, do you not just have the same impact anyway, as far as a British audience is concerned?"

Jolie Lands Dream Role As Taggart
22 September 2006 (WENN)
Angelina Jolie has won her dream role - as author Ayn Rand's iconic heroine Dagney Taggart. Jolie, a longtime fan of Russian-born Rand, has been quietly campaigning to play Taggart in new film Atlas Shrugged - and now she's landed the role, according to trade newspaper Daily Variety. The movie adaptation of Rand's epic tome has been kicking around Hollywood for many years, and, at one point, was set to star Faye Dunaway. The project sets up a busy 12 months for Jolie, whose next movie will be another epic adaptation, Beowulf. She'll also be seen alongside Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd and she'll also star in the adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book about the kidnap and murder of her husband, journalist Daniel Pearl.

Damon Welcomes Baby Isabella
13 June 2006 (WENN)
The Bourne Supremacy star Matt Damon is a first time dad following the arrival of baby daughter Isabella on Sunday. The actor's wife, Luciana Barroso, gave birth to the little girl in Miami, Florida. Barroso has a daughter, Alexa, from a previous relationship. Damon admits they decided on the name Isabella just after they were informed the child would be a girl: "We've been calling her Isabella for months." Damon and Barosso wed in New York City in December. Damon's upcoming films include the Martin Scorsese drama The Departed and Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd opposite Angelina Jolie.

Damon Expecting a Daughter
17 January 2006 (WENN)
Good Will Hunting Oscar winner Matt Damon and his wife Luciana are expecting a baby girl, the actor has revealed. Damon, who married in secret last month, confirmed the news to reporters in the Dominican Republic, where he is shooting new movie The Good Shepherd with Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro. When quizzed about his four-month pregnant wife, Damon replied in Spanish, "It will be a girl," according to local newspaper El Caribe. Argentina-born Luciana has been teaching Damon Spanish.

Jolie and Pitt Expecting
11 January 2006 (WENN)
After adopting two children, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie is now pregnant for the first time -- and to absolutely nobody's surprise, the father is Brad Pitt. People magazine announced Wednesday morning on its website that the Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-stars were expecting, a fact confirmed by unnamed spokespersons for both actors. According to the magazine's report, Jolie uttered the confirming words, "Yes, I'm pregnant," to a charity aid worker in the Dominican Republic, where she and Matt Damon are currently filming The Good Shepherd. The news of the bouncing bundle of joy comes shortly after stories surfaced that Pitt was planning on formally adopting Jolie's two children, Maddox and Zahara, with papers being filed to change the children's names to Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Zahara Jolie-Pitt. Though Pitt and Jolie have never formally acknowledged their romantic relationship, their friendship/courtship has been chronicled ad nauseum for the past year, from the release of their movie hit last summer through Pitt's divorce to Jennifer Aniston, which was finalized in October. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Jolie Honored for Humanitarian Efforts
13 October 2005 (WENN)
Actress Angelina Jolie was honored on Tuesday in New York for her work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations (UN). The 30-year-old Oscar winner accepted the UN Global Humanitarian Action Award during a dinner reception. The mother-of-two told guests at the gala that her charitable work has been "the greatest thing in my life" after her children, son Maddox and daughter Zahara. The Girl, Interrupted star was most recently seen onscreen in Mr. And Mrs. Smith opposite Brad Pitt and will next be seen in The Mirror and The Good Shepherd.

Damon's Girlfriend Rushed to Hospital
1 September 2005 (WENN)
Hollywood star Matt Damon's girlfriend Luciana Barroso was rushed to a New York City hospital on Sunday, after she was struck down with food poisoning. The pretty Floridian is currently staying with her boyfriend of 16 months in New York as he films The Good Shepherd with Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin and Angelina Jolie. On Sunday, Damon was seen comforting an ailing Barroso as she sought treatment at St Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, according to PageSix.com. The Ocean's Twelve star's spokeswoman confirms, "She had food poisoning and got really dehydrated because of that."

Father Figure Pitt Cares for Jolie's Kids
31 August 2005 (WENN)
Brad Pitt is taking care of Angelina Jolie's adopted children while she films The Good Shepherd in New York. The Hollywood star flew in from Calgary, Canada, where he is shooting The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, to look after Maddox, four, and six-month-old Zahara. And insiders on the set of Jolie's latest movie insist Pitt is adapting to the role of a devoted father with surprising ease. An onlooker says, "Brad appeared very natural and confident with Angelina's children. He seemed very content and extremely happy. He looks like the perfect family man when he is with Zahara and Maddox, and they clearly love him to bits."

Leo's Alex on Hold
18 November 2003 (WENN)
Leonardo DiCaprio's dreams of playing historical legend Alexander The Great have been put on hold due to a lack of Japanese interest. Reports in yesterday's Daily Variety suggest producer Dino De Laurentiis has failed to pre-sell his project to Japanese investors. The delay means DiCaprio's next movie is likely to see him re-team with Robert De Niro in The Good Shepherd - after he wraps on Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator - instead of shooting Alexander The Great with Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann. Meanwhile, a rival $150 million Alexander project, starring Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer, and directed by Oliver Stone, is already well underway.