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Marc Forster To Helm Next 007 Movie
20 June 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Marc Forster, whose films include Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland, and Monster's Ball, has been signed by producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to direct the 22nd James Bond movie, Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM announced Tuesday. The companies said that Daniel Craig will return in the role of Bond. In a statement, Forster said, "The new direction that the Bond character has taken offers a director a host of new possibilities." Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-chairman Amy Pascal commented that Forster's previous films show "that he will bring to this film all the elements Bond audiences expect -- action, humor, suspense, and thrills." The title of the film has not been disclosed.

Sony Recalling New DVDs
18 April 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has discovered the source of a problem in their recent DVD releases that prevented them from being played on some players, including some manufactured by the consumer electronics division of Sony itself. The company said the problem was caused by an update of its copy-protection system, which it continually updates in order to derail potential hackers. Among the DVD movies affected were the new James Bond film Casino Royale, The Pursuit of Happyness and Stranger Than Fiction. Sony said that anyone who had purchased one of the discs and has experienced problems playing it may receive a replacement disk free of charge by phoning 800-860-2878.

Sony Films Won't Play on Sony DVD Players, Say Reports
16 April 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Complaints have begun appearing on some tech websites that copyright-protection coding on new releases from Sony, including Stranger Than Fiction, The Holiday, Casino Royale, and The Pursuit of Happyness, has made them unplayable on certain DVD players. One person complained on an Amazon.com discussion board that when inserted in Sony's DVP-CX995V player, the disks "load up to the splash title screen and then load no further, then after about 60 secs the player turns itself off!" The writer said that when he contacted Sony he was told that the company was aware of the problem and that it was working on a firmware update. The writer then asked Sony, "Would it not be a good idea to test changes you intend to make on your DVDs at least on your own equipment so that if you find a problem you could have the firmware update available instead of not only inconveniencing, but alienating your own customers?"

The Departed Cashes In On Oscar Win
8 March 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Oscar gave The Departed a big boost at the video store last week. The winner of the Academy Award for best picture of 2006 and best director (Martin Scorsese) took the top spot on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart, bumping the previous week's winner, Paramount/DreamWorks' Flushed Away, to second place. The Departed did not hold sway among video renters, however, as the Will Ferrell comedy Stranger Than Fiction nabbed the first-place spot on Home Media Retail magazine's rental chart with an estimated $6.8 million, edging out The Departed's $6.2 million.

'Borat' Nominated for WGA Award
15 January 2007 (WENN)
British funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen has garnered a surprise nomination from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for his spoof documentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan. Despite losing out at with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on Friday, the controversial comedy has earned the show's star and co-creator recognition in the category of Adapted Screenplay, where it will compete against The Devil Wears Prada, Little Children, Thank You For Not Smoking and The Departed. The award for Original Screenplay sees nominations for Little Miss Sunshine, Stranger Than Fiction, United 93, and Brad Pitt's new movie Babel, as well as The Queen starring Dame Helen Mirren. The winners will be announced at awards ceremony on February 11 in New York and Los Angeles.

Will Ferrell and Wife Welcome Baby Boy
3 January 2007 (WENN)
Anchorman star Will Ferrell and his wife, Viveca Paulson, celebrated the New Year early with the birth of their second son on Saturday. The actor's new baby Mattias, who joins big brother Magnus, two, was born just after 2am local time in Los Angeles. Publicist Matt Labov says, "All are healthy, happy and otherwise okay." Ferrell earned a Golden Globe nomination last month for his role in Stranger Than Fiction.

A Meager Manger for New Line
5 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
New Line executives who may have been hoping for a boost in the box office for The Nativity Story on Sunday, discovered that the religious film took in even less than they had estimated on that day. The movie, which was expected to give the animated Warner Bros. movie Happy Feet a run for the money, wound up instead in fourth place with just $7.8 million. Happy Feet, meanwhile, wound up in first place for the third consecutive week, adding $17.6 million to its gross, which now stands at $122 million. The Sony/MGM 007 movie Casino Royale, meanwhile, took the place position for the third week, earning $15.1 million to boost its gross to $116 million. Two newcomers, Fox's Turistas, and MGM's Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, each tanked with $3.6 million and $2.3 million respectively.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Happy Feet, Warner Bros., $17,545,418, 3 Wks. ($121,501,018); 2. Casino Royale, Sony, $15,112,870, 3 Wks. ($115,876,024); 3. Déjà Vu, Disney, $10,947,752, 2 Wks. ($44,007,448); 4. The Nativity Story, New Line, $7,849,304, (New); 5. Deck The Halls, 20th Century Fox, $6,676,139, 2 Wks. ($25,017,188); 6. Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Disney, $4,893,966, 5 Wks. ($73,039,485); 7. Borat, 20th Century Fox, $4,746,746, 5 Wks. ($116,241,347); 8. Turistas,20th Century Fox, $3,582,554, (New); 9. Stranger Than Fiction, Sony, $3,356,324, 4 Wks. ($36,911,009); 10. Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, MGM, $2,313,372, (New).

Deck the (Movie) Halls with Penguins
4 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
It was beginning to look a lot like Penguinmas as Warner Bros.' animated Happy Feet topped the box office for the third week in a row, earning an estimated $17 million to bring its total after 17 days to $121 million. The Nativity Story, the biblical tale that was expected to give the penguin cartoon its only major competition turned in what Daily Variety charitably called a "meek" performance, earning only $8 million -- less than 10 percent of what Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ earned during its first weekend (although, to be fair, no one had expected Nativity even to come close to duplicate the success of Passion). Not only didn't it inherit the Earth, it didn't even inherit middle America, based on initial figures, which are based on actual receipts for Friday and Saturday but only a guess for Sunday. (The film was expected to attract Sunday church-goers, many of whom are not regular movie patrons, but snowstorms in the Midwest kept even many churchgoers at home.) On the other hand, James Bond remained a force to be reckoned with as Casino Royale remained in second place with about $15.1 million. The weekend's other films debuting in wide release, Turistas and Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, each tanked, with Turistas, a horror flick that picked up some unexpectedly decent reviews, earning just $3.5 million, while Van Wilder earned an even tamer $2.3 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. Happy Feet, $17.05 million; 2. Casino Royale, $15.1 million; 3. Déjà Vu, $11 million; 4. The Nativity Story, $8 million; 5. Deck the Halls, $6.6 million; 6. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, $5 million; 7. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, $4.8 million; 8. Turistas, $3.5 million; 9. Stranger Than Fiction, $3.4 million; 10. National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, $2.3 million.

Penguins Are Emperors
28 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
The penguins of Warner Bros.' Happy Feet remained the undisputed emperors of the box over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and as of Monday had taken in more than $100 million after less than two weeks. The Motley Fool financial website pointed out, however, that the film would not have achieved the success it has without the help of swollen ticket prices at 79 IMAX screens. The website also noted that the film is not likely to lift Time Warner's animation unit into the ranks of DreamWorks Animation and Disney's Pixar -- not after its previous flop, last summer's The Ant Bully. "The company still has a little consistency to muster before it can be crowned a contender," it said.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Happy Feet, Warner Bros., $37,038,046, 2 Wks. ($99,256,766); 2. Casino Royale, Sony, $30,785,874, 2 Wks. ($94,053,658); 3. Déjà Vu, Disney, $20,574,802, (New); 4. Deck the Halls, 20th Century Fox, $12,001,256, (New); 5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, 20th Century Fox, $10,304,802, 4 Wks. ($109,136,807); 6. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Disney, $9,929,029, 4 Wks. ($67,073,095); 7. Flushed Away, Paramount, $5,756,455, 4 Wks. ($57,266,350); 8. Stranger Than Fiction, Sony, $5,726,536, 3 Wks. ($32,504,604); 9. Bobby, MGM, $4,857,736, 2 Wks. ($6,100,358); 10. The Fountain, Warner Bros., $3,768,702, (New).

Penguins Live ... And Let Die
27 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Families across the country ate their bird and had it, too over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. In a curious bit of irony, Happy Feet, an animated film about saving monarch penguins in Antartica, was the number one film at the box office on the day that millions of Americans feasted on turkeys. According to ShowBizData.com, the Warner Bros. movie earned $50.8 million between Wednesday and Sunday ($37.2 million from Friday to Sunday). In second place was Sony/MGM's Casino Royale, which raked in $45.4 million over the five-day period ($31.3 million for the three-day). Disney's Déjà Vu debuted in third place with $28.6 million ($20.4 million over the three days). Associated Press writer David Germain described the holiday as "sturdy but unremarkable." It was down 3.4 percent from the comparable weekend last year, which saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire leading with $81 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to final figures provided by ShowBizData.com: 1. Happy Feet, $37.02 million; 2. Casino Royale, $31.3 million; 3. Déjà Vu, $20.38 million; 4. Deck the Halls, $11.76 million; 5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, $10.29 million; 6. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, $10.12 million; 7. Flushed Away, $5.82 million; 8. Stranger Than Fiction, $5.73 million; 9. Bobby, $4.75 million; 10. The Fountain, $3.75 million.

Penguins Cold-Shoulder Bond
21 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
The gap between the box-office totals for Sony/MGM's Casino Royale and Warner Bros.' Happy Feet narrowed Monday when Exhibitor Relations released the official count, but Happy Feet remained on top with $41.5 million, narrowly beating Casino with $40.8 million. The two films pushed Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which had held the lead the previous two weeks, into second place with $14.6 million. Another new film, Universal's Let's Go to Prison, flopped with $2.2 million, winding up in tenth place.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Happy Feet, Warner Bros., $41,533,432, (New); 2. Casino Royale, Sony, $40,833,156, (New); 3. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, 20th Century Fox, $14,602,874, 3 Wks. ($90,757,366); 4. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Disney, $8,302,661, 3 Wks. ($51,704,119); 5. Stranger Than Fiction, Sony, $6,605,197, 2 Wks. ($22,905,344); 6. Flushed Away, Paramount, $6,596,962, 3 Wks. ($48,588,533); 7. Saw III, Lionsgate, $2,916,062, 4 Wks. ($74,968,353); 8. Babel, Paramount, $2,904,642, 4 Wks. ($12,016,104); 9. The Departed, Warner Bros., $2,585,402, 7 Wks. ($113,841,430); 10. Let's Go to Prison, Universal, $2,220,050, (New).

March of the Penguins -- Over 007
20 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Box office analysts ought to have hedged their bets when it came to Casino Royale's chances over the weekend. Although the Sony/MGM movie was virtually their unanimous choice to outdistance the competition -- by far -- it ended up in second place, marched over by the animated penguins in Warner Bros.' Happy Feet. According to estimates released Sunday, the penguin movie earned $42.3 million, while the Bond flick raked in $40.6 million. Although the grosses for each film were regarded as solid, many analysts had predicted that they would be higher. Meanwhile, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which had topped the box office for the last two weekends, fell to third place with about $14.35 million, to bring its total to $90.5 million. The top three films fell just $2.75 million short of reaching $100 million, a box office rarity. Nevertheless, on the same weekend a year ago, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire brought in $102.3 million on its own. Universal's Let's Go to Prison, a third film to open in wide release (not screened for critics), flopped with just $2.1 million, failing even to crack the top 10.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Happy Feet, $42.3 million; 2. Casino Royale, $40.6 million; 3. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, $14.35 million; 4. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, $8.2 million; 5. Flushed Away, $6.8 million; 6. Stranger Than Fiction, $6.6 million; 7. Babel, $2.9 million; 8. Saw III, $2.8 million; 9. The Departed, $2.6 million; 10. The Queen, $2.3 million.

'Borat' Is Niiiiiice Overseas, Too
14 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
As it turned out, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan translated as well overseas as it did domestically. In the 20 countries where it was shown, it was No. 1 in all of them, taking in $15.4 million to bring its overseas total over two weeks to $43.2 million. In the U.S. and Canada, it raked in $28.3 million, bringing its two-week total to $67.1 million. That puts the film's worldwide gross to date at over $100 million -- $110.3 million to be more precise. Meanwhile, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and Flushed Away continued to vie for second place at the North American box office, with Clause coming away with $16.9 million and Flushed with $16.6 million. Sony's Stranger Than Fiction, which many analysts had predicted would take top honors, settled for fourth place with $13.4 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, 20th Century Fox, $28,269,900, 2 Wks. ($67,111,765); 2. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Disney, $16,927,004, 2 Wks. ($41,086,409); 3. Flushed Away, Paramount, $16,606,526, 2 Wks. ($39,827,295); 4. Stranger Than Fiction, Sony, $13,411,093, (New); 5. Saw III, Lionsgate, $6,984,377, 3 Wks. ($70,263,820); 6. Babel, Paramount, $5,558,095, 3 Wks. ($7,395,357); 7. The Departed, Warner Bros., $5,164,480, 6 Wks. ($109,702,938); 8. The Prestige, Disney, $4,778,175, 4 Wks. ($46,185,205); 9. The Return, Focus Features, $4,479,621, (New); 10. A Good Year, 20th Century Fox, $3,721,526, (New).

'Borat' Make Second Benefit
13 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan had another sensational weekend at the box office as 20th Century Fox tripled the number of theaters showing it. Borat wound up with an estimated $29 million, bringing its ten-day total to $67.8 million. Thanks to the Veterans Day holiday, the box office showed strong ticket sales for two other holdovers as well. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause dropped only 13 percent to around $16.9 million, while the animated Flushed Away remained close behind, declining 11 percent to $16.7 million. On the other hand, three newcomers failed to live up to analysts' predictions. The Russell Crowe starrer A Good Year tanked with just $3.7 million, while the critically praised Stranger than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell, earned an estimated $14.1 million. The horror flick, The Return, which was not screened for critics, earned a dismal $4.8 million. Expanding after two weeks, Babel wound up in sixth place with $5.65 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, $29 million; 2. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, $16.9 million; 3. Flushed Away, $16.7 million; 4. Stranger Than Fiction, $14.1 million; 5. Saw III, $6.6 million; 6. Babel, $5.65 million; 7. The Departed, $5.2 million; 8. The Return, $4.8 million; 9. The Prestige, $4.6 million; 10. A Good Year, $3.8 million.

Movie Reviews: 'Stranger Than Fiction'
10 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Will Ferrell, who is loved by movie audiences more than he is admired by film critics, is gaining in the writers' estimation faster than a race car at Talladega, thanks to his performance in Marc Forster's Stranger Than Fiction. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times remarks that Ferrell's performance shows "that like Steve Martin and Robin Williams he has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent." Steven Rea writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "As The Truman Show was to Jim Carrey, Stranger Than Fiction will be for Will Ferrell. ... Look out, Oscars." A.O. Scott in the New York Times remarks that the movie "gives Will Ferrell the kind of opportunity that movie and television clowns seem to cherish, which is to impress audiences with their restraint." Overall, the film's story and direction receives as much praise as Ferrell. In the words of Kevin Crust in the Los Angeles Times, "Clever throughout, Stranger will merit year-end awards consideration, especially for writing and acting. It manages to be smart and surprising and provides this season of serious movies with a much-needed shot of whimsy." And Claudia Puig in USA Today praises director Forster for doing "a fine job fashioning an original and thought-provoking movie with heart and poignancy."

Will 'Borat' Have Second Glorious Weekend?
10 November 2006 (StudioBriefing)
There is no consensus among box-office analysts on which film will come out on top this weekend. Several are betting on Borat to be the victor for a second week as 20th Century Fox expands it into 2,566 theaters after last week's run in 866. However, others point out that the film opened in all major markets last week and the new ones are relatively insignificant. Indeed Fox may be competing with itself for box-office honors this weekend as it opens Ridley Scott's critically praised A Good Year, starring Russell Crowe in 2,066 locations. Still others believe that the film to beat this weekend will be Sony's comedy Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell, a consistent top draw. To make the competition tighter still, Paramount Vantage is expanding Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett into 1,251 theaters. The film played to sold-out theaters in limited release.

Dustin Offers Oscars Host Ellen Tips
10 November 2006 (WENN)
Movie star Dustin Hoffman has signed on as comic Ellen DeGeneres' unofficial Oscars gag writer by urging her to crack jokes about the gold statue's lack of genitalia. Appearing on her chat show to promote new film Stranger Than Fiction yesterday, Hoffman took the opportunity to give the host of the 2007 Academy Awards a few tips. He said, "I challenge you, because I think it will be a wonderful thing to do, that when you host the Oscars... just take a look at that Oscar - it has no genitalia. I think you could say, 'Come on...' And every year it could be changed... If you were an Oscar you'd want something there." A shocked DeGeneres replied, "Let me get asked back for the next year and then I'll bring it up."