by Diane Panosian, Aug 10 2010 // 1:00 PM
Congrats to all those who have made it past Comic-Con’s endless Hall H lines, sat through countless hours of the studio’s pleading with you to buy movie tickets, and made it back home in one, tired piece. What awaits you is a month filled with the studio’s last line of blockbuster attack ads until the holiday season.
Fear not, as the lines will be vastly shorter than the wait for Eclipse. Instead of emos and soccer moms in “Team Edward” T-shirts, you’ll find yourself beside teenage boys who watch Rocky V on their Evos while waiting for The Expendables.
Curiously, the generals of Universal and Lionsgate both decided to fire missiles into the 13-30 years old guys camp. With the troops dispersing, you should be able to deftly maneuver yourself to the safety of a comfy recliner at the multiplex.
My advice, do like Julia Roberts and Eat some buttery popcorn, Pray for a film worth the ticket price, and Love the below reviews. Let’s check out what’s in store for us in August.
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Posted in: Comedy · Features · Geek · Lionsgate · Movies · News · Sci-Fi · Universal Pictures
Tagged: Angelina Jolie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Avatar, Bruce Willis, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Buffy, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Chris Evans, Comic-Con, Community, Dolph Lundgren, Eclipse, Edgar Wright, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Lionsgate, Lucy Lawless, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Cera, Michelle Rodriguez, Mickey Rourke, Nintendo, Rhona Mitra, Rocky V, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Austin, Summit Entertainment, Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables, The Office, The Other Guys, The Twilight Saga, Twilight, Universal, Will Ferrell
by Chris Ullrich, Jul 8 2010 // 5:30 PM
So, it begins. The powers that be in control of San Diego Comic-Con have announced the Thursday schedule. We were going to wait and put all of these schedules together but Thursday is such a full day you might need more time to digest it.
Some of the highlights we are looking forward to include the Tron Legacy panel, a City of Heroes panel, Summit Entertainment’s RED panel, several USA show panels including Burn Notice and White Collar, Caprica, Battlestar and Beyond, the Mondo Marvel panel, the EW Visionaries panel with J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon and a panel about The Expendables. There’s also a ton of other stuff with conflicting times that’s sure to drive any fans of movies, tv, comics, games and geek crazy trying to work it all out.
Be sure to check back at The Flickcast for all of our coming Comic-Con coverage. We will be there in force to bring you all the sights, sounds, events, news and smells from Sand Diego. Now to go get in line at Hall H for the J.J. Abrams/Joss Whedon panel.
See you in San Diego! Click through for the complete Thursday schedule as of today.
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Posted in: Announcements · Comic-Con · Events · News
Tagged: Battlestar Galactica, Bruce Willis, Burn Notice, Caprica, City of Heroes, Comic-Con Schedule, Digital Comics, Geek Girls, Geoff Johns, J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Lionsgate, Mondo Marvel, Programming, Radical Publishing, Red, San Diego Comic-Con, SDCC10, Summit Entertainment, The Expendables, Tron Legacy, USA
by Chris Ullrich, Jun 24 2010 // 12:00 PM
If you’re not familiar with Warren Ellis’ three -issue comic miniseries Red don’t worry. Unless you’re a fan of Ellis (which I am) you may not have seen it before. Regardless of that, Hollywood — and Summit Entertainment in particular — has seen fit to adapt Red for the big screen and we have the first trailer for that adaptation to show you today.
To be honest, this trailer doesn’t really remind me much of the comic. In fact, it almost seems like an entirely different story. Sure, the original miniseries was only three issues so some enhancement had to take place. But this trailer and the movie it represents seems more like a comedy than the balls out action comic about a retired assassin who should have been left alone I remember reading.
Although it does seem quite a bit different, at least to me, I still kinda like it. That’s the problem with adaptations of novels, comics, games or whatever, they don’t usually stay the same way you remember them. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If changes are made that are simply arbitrary, that’s where I start to have a problem with them.
Having read Red very recently, I’m probably just sensitive to perceived changes. After all, its just a trailer with a whole movie still to come. Guess I should just wait and see.
Does this trailer work for you or is it yet another sub-standard adaptation of a comic to come out this year? Judge for yourself after the jump. Red, which features Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary-Louse Parker and Morgan Freeman, opens October 15th.
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Posted in: Comics · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment · Trailers · Video
Tagged: Action, Bruce Willis, Comics, Cully Hamner, Drama, Helen Mirren, Mary Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Red, Summit Entertainment, Warren Ellis
by Matt Raub, May 7 2010 // 1:00 PM
We’re less than 2 months away from the third film in the Twilight Saga, titled Eclipse, to hit theaters, but that won’t slow down Summit Entertainment, as they’ve already locked the final film, Breaking Dawn, in with a release date of November 18, 2011.
Between this release date and news of Academy Award winning director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) joining the project, we’re getting a good amount of answers for a film that was once called by producers “unfilmable.” Questions we still need answered? Will this book be adapted into two films, much like the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows? Also, can we expect the same 3D treatment that just about every other film next year will be getting?
This new release date puts Dawn up against some pretty heavy hitters, including Real Steel starring Hugh Jackman, from comedy director Shawn Levy, as well as Relativity Media’s Immortals in 3D, Happy Feet 2 in 3D, and the Shrek spinoff, Puss in Boots.
It’s no doubt that Dawn will take the weekend, if not the month of November in the box office, but the questions now lie with the production. Can Summit and Condon film the “unfilmable”? We should find out later this year, as Breaking Dawn starts shooting this fall.
Posted in: 3-D · Action · Announcements · Books · Drama · Fantasy · Horror · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: 3D, Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn, Eclipse, Gods and Monsters, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Immortals, New Moon, Real Steel, Summit Entertainment, Twilight, Twilight Saga
by Heather Toshiko, Mar 24 2010 // 12:00 PM
Here it is Twilight fans your first look at the brand new poster for the upcoming third installment of the big screen Twilight franchise, otherwise known as The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. In this new poster it would seem the focus is shifting from our two male rivals Edward Cullen and Jacob Black towards our favorite female inhabitant of Forks, WA Bella Swan.
She’s front and center and clearly dominating the world these boys live in. Plus, as aptly described by the poster’s tagline of “It all begins with a choice” we know that Bella’s in the driver’s seat for this movie and probably for the rest of the series as well. Sure, she will probably be unsure and hesitate ,but in the end she’ll make the only decision possible and choose her true love.
Until then, you can count on lots of fighting, drama, rain, shirtless vampires and werewolves and teen angst.
Check out the full poster after the jump. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hits theaters on June 30th.
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Posted in: Drama · Movies · News · Posters · Prequels and Sequels · Romance · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: Bella Swan, Eclipse, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, Kristen Stewart, Movies, Posters, Robert Pattinson, Summit Entertainment, Taylor Lautner, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Twilight
by Elisabeth Rappe, Mar 17 2010 // 9:00 AM
Now that the trailer has hit for the third Twilight installment, Eclipse, Summit has begun the hunt for the lucky soul to sit in the director’s chair for the final dose of Twilight: Breaking Dawn. According to Entertainment Weekly, they’re aiming high and want no less than someone with an Oscar nomination or two under their belt.
Summit has reportedly approached Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, and Bill Condon with offers. It’s still very hush hush, however, as only Van Sant’s representatives would confirm first contact. Summit declined to comment. Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg’s script outline is due next week, so it’s unlikely any serious offers can be made until everyone knows how the iffy bits are going to be handled.
Stephanie Meyer will also have to weigh in, as she has approval over every hire Summit makes. Any Twilighters know whether she prefers Marie Antoinette to Dreamgirls? What does she think of Good Will Hunting?
Of course, it may end up being none of these fine people. When Chris Weitz dropped out of the series after helming New Moon, the list of possible Eclipse directors was long and interesting: Drew Barrymore, Juan Antonio Bayona, Paul Weitz, and James Mangold were all name dropped before David Slade climbed on board.
With that in mind, do you think we can convince David Cronenberg consider the gig? If so, Breaking Dawn would officially be the first Twilight film I’d be camped out to see.
Posted in: Books · Filmmaking · News · Prequels and Sequels · Rumor · Scripts · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn, Gus Van Sant, Melissa Rosenberg, Sophia Coppola, Stephanie Meyer, Summit Entertainment, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Twilight
by Matt Raub, Feb 16 2010 // 9:00 AM
One would think that the overwhelming success of Summit Entertainment’s Twilight series would spark a resurgence of the classic Universal monsters, but in the end it took Universal itself to get things back into the public eye, with this weekend’s release of The Wolfman.
First, news comes that a new Frankenstein project is in the works. Now Summit has decided to drop their their hat into the vampire ring again with a new Dracula project.
The studio has been planning this remake of the Dracula story for some time, but they’ve now made things serious by hiring The Machinist writer Scott Kosar to clean up the script. The original screenplay comes from Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam, who had never written a feature script until now.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the story takes an “action-oriented look at Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, as a young prince.” With music video director Anthony Mandler signed on to direct, Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B producing, and Summit taking the helm, expect to see this film make plenty of waves when the time comes.
Posted in: Action · Deals and Dealmaking · Horror · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment
Tagged: Anthony Mandler, Brad Pitt, Charlie Hunnam, Dracula, Plan B, Scot Kosar, Summit Entertainment, The Wolfman, Twilight, Vampires, Vlad
by Sebastian Suchecki, Jan 19 2010 // 1:00 PM
Superheroes had quite a year in 2009. From Watchmen finally getting it’s film adaptation, to lesser known superhero flicks getting made, the world of Superhero films certainly grew. With that came a spec script from David Bourla about a select group of people with mental abilities in the film Push, starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning.
The film did marginally well in theaters, and Summit Entertainment is now planning to expand on the property by bringing it to your TV’s. The studio is teaming up with another indie company in E1 Entertainment to bring a global series into homes. They even have David Hayter, who adapted Watchmen and X-Men for film, writing the pilot script.
They currently don’t have a deal with any particular network, as they are currently meeting with many. No word on if any of the film’s cast, such as Evans or Fanning, will return in the weekly series. From The Hollywood Reporter:
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Posted in: Action · Adaptation · Announcements · Movies · News · Sci-Fi · Summit Entertainment · TV
Tagged: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, David Bourla, David Hayter, E1 Entertainment, Push, Summit Entertainment
by Matt Raub, Dec 9 2009 // 3:30 PM
With Twilight: New Moon making over $500 million worldwide, it only makes sense that production studio Summit Entertainment would try as many gimmicks as possible to help boost the next film’s success. It has been announced that the third film in the series, Eclipse will get a simultaneous IMAX release along with the worldwide theatrical release of the film.
The film is set to open on June 30th of next year, which will make it a linchpin for the summer’s blockbuster season. In a recent article in Variety, Summit is already quite pleased with the plan.
“‘Twilight moviegoers will have a whole new way to experience this next installment of the series, with the enhanced image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience putting them in the movie,’ said Richie Fay, Summit’s president of domestic theatrical distribution.”
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Posted in: Announcements · Cult Cinema · IMAX · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: Eclipse, IMAX, Iron Man 2, Jonah Hex, New Moon, Summer 2010, Summit Entertainment, Toy Story 3, Twilight
by Matt Raub, Dec 1 2009 // 1:00 PM
With New Moon making over $230 million in the US and nearly $500 million worldwide, it was only a matter of time before the studio decided to try and milk the franchise for even more, and you really can’t blame them. There are two more books left in Stephenie Meyer’s series, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.
The film adaptation for Eclipse was shot alongside New Moon, Donner and Jackson style, and will hit theaters next year. Now it looks like Summit Entertainment will be splitting Breaking Dawn into two separate films. Some may or may not know what goes down in Meyer’s final book, but things get pretty intense.
In nearly 800 pages, the entire story gets tossed on it’s head, with characters falling in love with offspring, and a few more characters dying off. It makes sense to split a book that large into two films, in order to stay true to the source.
This strategy isn’t completely unheard of in Hollywood. The most recent example would be J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter films. The final book was 759 pages long (4 more than Breaking Dawn) and will be split into two films, one to be released in November of 2010, and the second in July of 2011.
Breaking Dawn won’t get a release until well into 2011, but before then Eclipse will be in theaters on June 30, 2010.
Posted in: Action · Adaptation · Announcements · Box Office · Cult Cinema · Deals and Dealmaking · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: Breaking Dawn, Eclipse, Edward Cullen, Harry Potter, New Moon, Stephenie Meyer, Summit Entertainment, Twilight
by Matt Raub, Nov 24 2009 // 2:30 PM
With Twilight: New Moon breaking all kinds of records and such this past weekend, it only makes sense that studios would be trying to jump on the gravy train (whether or not the train is “Edward” or “Jacob” is neither here nor there). It was a little surprising when the first studio to jump in was the cable network FX, however.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network has purchased the rights along with Summit Entertainment for exclusive TV distribution:
FX has acquired the ad-supported TV rights to the four “Twilight” movies in a package deal with producer Summit Entertainment that also includes the indie studio’s Oscar hopeful “The Hurt Locker,” the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing” and actioner “Push.”
Under the pact, FX will start running last year’s “Twilight,” the first movie in the franchise, beginning in late 2011. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which shattered projections to open at $142.8 million domestically this past weekend, will be available in late 2012. “Eclipse,” which is slated for a June 30 release, will have its premiere on FX in early 2013. Summit has yet to greenlight production on “Breaking Dawn,” an adaptation of the fourth book in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series.
With the purchase of the Twilight rights, the network also purchased the distributions rights to other huge 2009 hits such as 2012, Star Trek, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Monsters vs. Aliens, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Proposal and Zombieland.
Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Action · Deals and Dealmaking · Fantasy · FX · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment · TV · Twilight
Tagged: Distribution, Fox, FX, Summit Entertainment, Twilight
by Matt Raub, Nov 20 2009 // 3:30 PM
Coming off of the astounding numbers from the midnight performance of The Twilight Saga: New Moon (nearly $25 Million) comes a trailer for the next Robert Pattinson/Summit Entertainment project entitled Remember Me.
In the film, Pattinson plays a young New Yorker who is fed up with the glamorous life as son of a rich father (played by Pierce Brosnon, also doing an American accent). From there, the broody Pattinson meets a young quirky girl (Emilie De Ravin), who eats her desert before eating meals. They fall in love, and a love triangle between a werewolf begins live happily.
The film is set to hit theaters on March 12th, 2010, which should be just enough time to start up the marketing machine for the third film in the Twilight series, Eclipse. The success of this film will be interesting to watch, as New Moon is expected to make nearly $100 Million in it’s first weekend.
Does that money come from fans of the Twilight series, or just Pattinson and his glittery skin? Check out the trailer for Remember Me after the jump and decide for yourself.
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Posted in: Announcements · Casting · Movies · News · Romance · Summit Entertainment · Trailers · Twilight
Tagged: Emilie De Ravin, New Moon, Pierce Brosnon, Remember Me, Robert Pattinson, Summit Entertainment, Twilight