Sony Pictures Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'2012' "Roadblock" Promo Will Hijack Your TV on Oct. 1st
Filed under: Sony », Exhibition », Movie Marketing »
Ever flip through the channels during a commercial break only to find the same commercial on another network? It may seem like a coincidence, but it's actually called roadblock advertising. And I hope you're looking forward to Roland Emmerich's upcoming disaster-porn 2012, because Sony is throwing millions of dollars at all of the major networks in an attempt to be damn sure you see 2 minutes of the film on October 1st.
According to Variety, Sony's diabolical stunt plan is to have "the footage in front of 90% of all households watching ad-supported TV, or nearly 110 million viewers. When combined with online and mobile streams, that could increase to more than 140 million".
If that's not enough of an overdose on the Mayan-predicted-apocalypse loving film before it even opens this November 13th, Variety further explains that Comcast is actually going to be running a hype campaign announcing the roadblock campaign: "Comcast will launch a multi-million dollar promotional campaign on its cable networks and online to hype the roadblock, which will air on ABC, NBC and CBS, 89 cable networks, local stations in the top 70 markets, and Spanish-language networks throughout the U.S. between 10:50 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on the West and East coasts, with the hours varying across the rest of the country."
'The Green Hornet' Has a New Kato
Filed under: Action », Casting », Sony », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
It looks like the cast for The Green Hornet is complete once more, and the masked man has a new Kato. Columbia Pictures announced that Jay Chou has been cast as the Hornet's trusty mechanic / ass kicker, replacing Stephen Chow . This will be his first American film, though audiences might remember him from The Curse of the Golden Flower or Kung Fu Dunk. Chou is a superstar in Taiwan, and has an exhaustive resume as a singer, producer, actor, director, and writer. There's not much he hasn't done ... except martial arts. Unless his biography is wrong, he has no martial art experience, putting him right in line with that open casting call that was so widely reported. Will this mean Kato will take a bit of a backseat to the Hornet, and not be a powerhouse like Bruce Lee?
His acting has received very poor reviews from Asian critics, but his performance in Curse was complimented by American critics, so Hornet will be quite a test for him. I honestly can't remember a single thing about Golden Flower other than its epic and blinding color scheme, so I can't judge whether or not he'll be a good Kato. Nothing about the pre-production of Seth Rogen's Hornet has met expectations good or bad (Nicolas Cage as the villain?), and the project continues to feel like one giant exercise in Wait and See.
Check Out Some Red-Banded Fun From 'The Ugly Truth'
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Sony », Fandom », Newsstand », NSFW », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
First off, I should be fair and post a classy publicity still that's fair to Katherine Heigl, but I feel the girls need something to balance out this week's Megan Fox overload. So, here's a solo Gerard Butler. Pretend he's holding that heart out while saying "I could never love Optimus Prime or Megan Fox as much as I love you." (Not that I'm implying Transformers is just for the boys. I'd never do that. If you like, you can reverse it to have him begging for you to love him more than Shia LaBeouf and Optimus.)
If you want to hold onto that lovey-dovey image, you might not want to watch this Red-Band clip from The Ugly Truth. But if you're feeling in the mood for some raunchy, naughty talk from Butler (be sure to listen for a slip of that Scottish accent), then go right ahead and click. In this very NSFW clip, Butler's boorish Mike offers Heigl's highstrung Abby some helpful tips on how to really attract and please a man. Surprise! It's all cosmetic, ranging from short skirts to push up bras, and just what she can do with her ponytail. Could all this R-rated dialogue mean The Ugly Truth is destined to be July's Hangover? Or will the romance drive away the ones looking for raunch?
As I wait for your comments (please come back to post one after you watch the clip) I'm off to go hate on myself because I fail all of The Ugly Truth rules. I live in jeans and a ponytail ... oh, who am I kidding. I've gone beyond Heigl's "comfort and efficiency" into fashion evocative of Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski. Butler will never love me. I might as well die.
If you want to hold onto that lovey-dovey image, you might not want to watch this Red-Band clip from The Ugly Truth. But if you're feeling in the mood for some raunchy, naughty talk from Butler (be sure to listen for a slip of that Scottish accent), then go right ahead and click. In this very NSFW clip, Butler's boorish Mike offers Heigl's highstrung Abby some helpful tips on how to really attract and please a man. Surprise! It's all cosmetic, ranging from short skirts to push up bras, and just what she can do with her ponytail. Could all this R-rated dialogue mean The Ugly Truth is destined to be July's Hangover? Or will the romance drive away the ones looking for raunch?
As I wait for your comments (please come back to post one after you watch the clip) I'm off to go hate on myself because I fail all of The Ugly Truth rules. I live in jeans and a ponytail ... oh, who am I kidding. I've gone beyond Heigl's "comfort and efficiency" into fashion evocative of Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski. Butler will never love me. I might as well die.
Jason Sudeikis Joins Aniston and Butler in 'Bounty Hunter'
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Romance », Casting », Sony », Newsstand »
You might not recognize Jason Sudeikis by name, but you certainly know his face from NBC. He might just be the next SNL alumni to score success outside the small screen, as he's just joined the cast of Bounty Hunter, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hunter is the latest romantic comedy offering from Andy Tennant and the genre's favorite leading lady, Jennifer Aniston, who gets to be chased around by not one but two charming men in the personages of Gerard Butler and Sudeikis. Butler will play a bounty hunter named Milo hired to track down his ex-wife, Casidy, who has skipped bail and presumably crossed state lines. Sudeikis will play Stewart, who has the misfortune to befriend Casidy at work. Apparently, he's under the mistaken belief that he is her boyfriend (probably because he read it in the tabloids), and takes off after her when she goes on the run from the law.
While I'd love to imagine a film that'll feature Butler as a bloodthirsty bounty hunter in the manner of Boba Fett and Monco, and Aniston as a bank robber, drug runner, or brothel madam, I can't delude myself. I imagine it's just going to be full of squeaky clean criminals, hilarious misunderstandings, and a happy reunion between bail jumper and bounty hunter.
Battle of the Easter Bunnies
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Deals », Sony », Universal », Scripts », Family Films », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
Hollywood isn't Hollywood without a competing project. We've had competing projects about asteroids, ants, and volcanoes and now? Now it's the Easter Bunny, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ignoring the fact that a lot of people don't celebrate Easter, two studios are racing to get bunny-themed projects into theaters. Sony Animation is going with Hip Hop, a mix of CGI and live-action that's being penned by Greg Ostrin and Michael Weiss. Sony's Easter Bunny gets tired of delivering eggs and chocolate with so little thanks, and decides to retire. He becomes a suburban family's pet, and turns their lives upside down. Given the title, I have to wonder if he will somehow become a "hip hop" star?
Meanwhile, Universal's shingle Illumination Entertainment has picked up I Hop as its debut live action film. Written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, this Easter flick borrows a page out of The Santa Clause (whose sequel Paul penned), where the Easter Bunny is hit by a slacker's car. Thankfully, animal death isn't as family friendly as killing Santa, so the Easter Bunny only suffers a broken leg. But he's unable to do his job, so the slacker must do it for him, and save Easter. (No egg hunts? No Cadbury chocolate? That's the collapse of civilization as we know it!)
In the meantime if you screenwriters hurry, you should get your your pre-Christian fertility cults scripts done and purchased in time for the next trend ... paganism!
Stephen Chow Skipping Out On Kato?
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Casting », Mystery & Suspense », Sony », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
I have the sneaking suspicion that Seth Rogen's The Green Hornet remake may go the way of its failed predecessors. Over the weekend, Monika reported that Stephen Chow was no longer directing the film -- now comes the news that Chow may not remain as Kato, either. Chow told the AP that he had abandoned directing the film in order to make a superhero comedy starring Jack Black. "If I direct The Green Hornet, the superhero comedy will have to be delayed for two years," Chow said. "The timing might not be right for a superhero comedy in two years. And I want to make a movie based on an original idea."
Presumably, directing Black might also interfere with his Kato-playing duties -- something Chow confirms by saying that continuing in the role depends on his schedule. If you're a conspiracy theorist, you can speculate away about whether Chow's really passionate about Black and original superhero comedy, or whether it's those vague "creative differences" reported earlier.
Judging from the comments, Rogen's Hornet isn't too popular anyway. I was unsure about the comedic angle the project was taking, but Chow's casting was something to hang your hopes on, particularly if they reined in his slapstick style. But maybe that's precisely what the "differences" are. Maybe they just need to quit forcing this one, and let the Hornet sit for the unforeseeable future?
The Trailer for 'The Ugly Truth' Isn't Too Ugly At All
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Sony », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
The trailer for The Ugly Truth, the romantic comedy starring Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl is up at the film's official website. The premise of this film sounded downright terrible -- a television producer is forced to deal with a chauvinistic correspondent, who decides to teach her what men want so that she can find love, with the pair discovering "an unexpected result" along the way. Could that result be ... love? Yeah, probably.
But you know what? The trailer's not half bad, and it really does seem like an updated and raunchier Pillow Talk. Plus, it's rated R, which gives me a lot of hope that it could be something akin to a Judd Apatow movie. I really expected a lot of PG-13 chauvanism, not lessons on how to sexily eat a hot dog, or Butler using the phrase "ladygarden."
Maybe I'm just a sucker for a Butler movie after all. I slagged him off a bit last week, but he's just so darn charming, even when he's being a total sleaze. Then again, 2 hours of him saying things like "Get on a Stairmaster!" might be an emotionally unpleasant experience. I like escapism in my movies. If I wanted to hear guys saying that kind of stuff to me, I'd just go to a Denver bar and wait ten minutes. It'd be cheaper than a movie ticket.
The Ugly Truth opens April 3rd, 2009.
But you know what? The trailer's not half bad, and it really does seem like an updated and raunchier Pillow Talk. Plus, it's rated R, which gives me a lot of hope that it could be something akin to a Judd Apatow movie. I really expected a lot of PG-13 chauvanism, not lessons on how to sexily eat a hot dog, or Butler using the phrase "ladygarden."
Maybe I'm just a sucker for a Butler movie after all. I slagged him off a bit last week, but he's just so darn charming, even when he's being a total sleaze. Then again, 2 hours of him saying things like "Get on a Stairmaster!" might be an emotionally unpleasant experience. I like escapism in my movies. If I wanted to hear guys saying that kind of stuff to me, I'd just go to a Denver bar and wait ten minutes. It'd be cheaper than a movie ticket.
The Ugly Truth opens April 3rd, 2009.
'The Ugly Truth' Gets a Clever One-Sheet
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Sony », Movie Marketing », Images », Posters »
In the grand stick-figure tradition of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and via FilmoFilia, comes the first one sheet for The Ugly Truth, the upcoming romantic-comedy starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. Mr. Butler, if you were looking for a sign that you've hit the big-time, look no further than this! Your face is nowhere to be seen. They went on sheer name recognition, and cleverly alluded to your kilt-zone. (Then again, they could be suggesting that all women remember of you in 300 is your moonlit ass. Let's hope not, though.)
Despite that it's playing on an old stereotype, I think this is a pretty cute poster. It's so much better than the Photoshopped sunshine-and-smiles posters romantic comedies usually go with -- and while we're bound to get one eventually, I like that they've started out on an original footing; it makes me think this might just be the Doris Day / Rock Hudson sex comedy they're selling it as.
[Thanks to Holly of the Gerard Butler GALS for sending this my way. I heart you guys, but not with either of the zones featured in the poster. My actual heart.]
Despite that it's playing on an old stereotype, I think this is a pretty cute poster. It's so much better than the Photoshopped sunshine-and-smiles posters romantic comedies usually go with -- and while we're bound to get one eventually, I like that they've started out on an original footing; it makes me think this might just be the Doris Day / Rock Hudson sex comedy they're selling it as.
[Thanks to Holly of the Gerard Butler GALS for sending this my way. I heart you guys, but not with either of the zones featured in the poster. My actual heart.]
Count Bryce Dallas Howard In for 'Spiderman 4'
Filed under: Action », Casting », Sony », RumorMonger », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
I feel like I have this long checklist of cast and crew that we're slowly crossing off for this theoretical film. Now, you can put Bryce Dallas Howard on the "would sign tomorrow" list, thanks to MTV. "I would love to be apart of any continuation of the franchise. But, I also really understand that there's so many different story lines that the fans are really excited to see, and the studio, and the producers, and the filmmakers really need to appease everyone," the actress said. "Whether or not Gwen Stacy comes back, I mean, I wish it was up to me, but it's not. But yes, if they'd call me, I'd be there in a heart beat."I'm not sure how they can really fit Gwen Stacy in -- is there a point in having a romantic rival when Spider-Man is never ever going to leave Mary Jane onscreen? I remember when we all thought (or maybe it was just my corner of the Internet) that they would reverse comic book history, and kill off Mary Jane and hook Mr. Parker up with Gwen. (If House of M is to be believed, and it probably isn't, that's who he really wanted anyway.) Is there even any emotional impact if they kill off Captain George Stacy in a fourth film, as James Cromwell once said they planned on doing? Is the subplot of "I'm really sorry your dad died, my one-time love interest" really worth exploring? I could probably think more clearly if I could get the breakdancing scene out of my head.
Of course, this is all idle speculation when no official announcements have been made. And as for Sam Raimi he's now playing coy with MTV about returning to the director's chair, and says he wants to wear the Spidey suit instead. That's one way to cut the budget.
'Hancock' Gets an Experimental Release
Filed under: Action », Comedy », New Releases », Sony », Celebrities and Controversy », Box Office », Fandom », Distribution », Exhibition », Home Entertainment »
It seems fairly certain that Hancock will do decent business when it hits theaters this week, if only because Will Smith rarely stars in a dud these days -- especially when it's his face selling the movie before all else. Whether or not the film has staying power after opening weekend, however, remains to be seen, but Sony Pictures clearly has a lot of faith in its potential: Last week, the studio revealed its intentions of releasing the film online sometime after its theatrical run and before its DVD release, but only to users with Sony Bravia TV sets. It's a bold maneuver, one that assumes its core base of consumers actually have an interest in Hancock -- but the movie will make a profit either way, so it's a reasonable choice for this intriguing experiment.
Left in the dust by Apple's iPod, Sony continues to struggle in its search for a piece of the digital revolution. Company head Howard Stringer recently told the New York Times that the strategy for releasing Hancock "vanishes the memory of the failures of the Sony Walkman." Well, maybe. While on-demand technology has changed the way audiences consume their media, they don't like paying more money than necessary. Asking your audiences to buy a special device in order to access what, at this point, amounts to one movie -- well, that's asking a lot. But it's still a step in the right direction.
What do you think?
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