mad money Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I have this theory that on the set of 1991's Father of the Bride, Steve Martin and Diane Keaton turned to each other and said, "You know what? From here on out, let's just keep doing this. Let's just play cute, cuddly versions of our formerly edgy and interesting selves -- slightly goofy mothers and fathers, that kind of thing -- and watch the cash roll in!" Then they high-fived and fell into an awkward, melancholy silence.

Through one unchallenging project after another, Keaton has served up the same old eye rolls, squeals, and stutters until you can't really tell one role from another. And what's really frustrating about watching her squander her talents is that -- as with Martin -- no matter how embarrassing the performance, you can't help but love her anyway. She's at her most unhinged in Mad Money, and painful as it is to watch at times, she does -- just barely -- manage to keep the film afloat.

Welcome to another edition of our world famous Insert Caption game! Last week we asked you to break out your mad skills and provide the best caption for a photo from this week's new release, Mad Money. And after sorting through a number of stripper-related captions, as well as a few on Scientology (are Scientologists allowed to be strippers?), we locked in on the following three winners ...

1. "Hillary Clinton and her aides celebrate another great campaign fundraiser." -- Illinois and Back

2. "Who said stripping isn't a career?" -- Wayne

3. "See, clippin' coupons CAN really save money!!" -- Tee

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Since we're inching closer and closer to The Superbowl, this week we're checking in on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who plays a star NFL quarterback in The Game Plan. While throwing touchdowns and scoring points aren't a problem whatsoever, the 8-year-old daughter he discovers from a previous relationship proves to be tougher than any linebacker past, present and future. The three writers of our favorite captions this week will win their own copy of The Game Plan DVD, for those long, lonely days in February when it finally hits that the NFL season is over and done with. Sound off below ...

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What's the craziest thing you've ever done for money? Queen Latifah says she worked at a Burger King when she was 15 ... before they had the counters where you can make your own drinks! Yes, two of the three stars from the comedy heist Mad Money (opening this weekend) sat down for another installment of Moviefone's highly-enjoyable Unscripted series (where stars answer your questions, as well as some of their own). And in case you were wondering, yes, Katie Holmes does indeed delve into the one thing we're all dying to know more about -- Dawson's Creek! Joey, we still love ya! Anyway, Katie talks a little about the "bambina," Latifah gives up her off-screen nickname and we also find out which one of the two might be heading to the Broadway stage real soon.

Check out an exclusive clip from their chat above (that you won't see in the Unscripted piece), then head on over to Moviefone to watch the rest. Starring Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Diane Keaton, Mad Money arrives in theaters later this week.

It looks like my prediction that Juno -- the little indie that could -- would hit number one was overly optimistic, though the number three position and $70.8 million to date are nothing to sneeze at. The big winner this past weekend was the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman vehicle The Bucket List with another newbie from last week, First Sunday, coming in second. Here's the top five:

1. The Bucket List: $19.3 million
2. First Sunday: $17.7 million
3. Juno: $13.6 million
4. National Treasure: Book of Secrets: $11.3 million
5. Alvin and the Chipmunks: $9.3 million

We've got three big releases hitting theaters this Friday with a two to three ratio of laughs to screams.

27 Dresses
What's It All About: A romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl as a single woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times and is about to go for number 28 at her sister's wedding. Unfortunately our heroine has fallen in love with the groom to be.
Why It Might Do Well: Between her work on Grey's Anatomy and Knocked Up, Heigl alone should draw quite a crowd. Of all the new releases this week that don't involve giant monsters, this is the one to keep an eye on.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Angry frequent bridesmaids may not see the humor in the situation and call for a boycott.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $22 million

Cloverfield
What's It All About: In a sort of Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla scenario, a gigantic creature invades New York City, decapitates the Statue of Liberty and makes finding a taxi damn near impossible. These events are seen from the perspective of an average citizen with a video camera.
Why It Might Do Well: There's been plenty of buzz about this one ever since the trailer premiered last Summer with Transformers, and producer J.J. Abrams is the guy behind Lost. I think this is the obvious flick to take the number one spot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The last time a critter of this size stomped through the Big Apple he was being chased by Matthew Broderick in 1998's Godzilla, which was a sad time for giant monster fans everywhere.
Number of Theaters: 3,100
Prediction: $40 million

Welcome to another edition of Insert Caption, where you write a funny caption and we give stuff away! Lots to get to today, so let's jump right in: First off, we can finally announce the winner of our Perfect Holiday vacation giveaway! One lucky grand prize winner wrote a caption that stood out from the rest, and as such they were awarded a sweeet four day, three night trip to San Diego, California. A huge congrats goes out to Michael R. for coming out on top with the following caption:

1. "Gee, when they say you shouldn't look directly into the sun I had no idea it was because it was so damn sexy." -- Michael R.

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Next up, we have the winners from our One Missed Call caption contest from last week. We scoured through entries chock-full of pizza deliveries gone wrong and bad cellphone service (repressed memories, anyone) to come up with three captions that totally answered the call.

1. "Well actually there is an Amanda Hugnkiss here, just one second." -- Michael R.

2. "Pepperoni! I said pepperoni!!!" -- Jake S.

3. "Herpes? Really? Wish you had called about 25 minutes ago." -- Slappy White

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And now for this week's caption contest, we're checking in with the ladies (Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton) from the upcoming crime comedy Mad Money. While I wish we could give out "mad" money to you fine folks, let it be known that the following prizes are worth a lot more than any giant bag of cash ... because they come from the heart. Yes, they do. This week, one grand prize winner will receive a prize package that includes a Mad Money cleaning kit containing the following Method cleaning products: dish soap, hand soap, air freshener, floor cleaner, aroma pill and trash can, one Mad Money poster and one Mad Money Master Lock ... to keep folks away from all the mad junk you've got hidden in your closet. Additionally, two runner-ups will take home a Mad Money poster and a Mad Money Master Lock. Sound off below!

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Breaking news, hold onto your seats, people. The folks at Fox have just announced (well, late last night) that the release date for 27 Dresses is changing from January 11 to January 18. I know, it's gonna screw up your movie-going plans for next weekend, but don't blame us.

Apparently it's taking a while for the news to filter down, though -- as I was sitting down to write this, I was IMing with a colleague who was watching The View (no, I'm not telling which of my male colleagues watches that show, that would be cruel) and he saw an ad for 27 Dresses that still has the release date as January 11. Someone better get their ads changed out. Anyhow, here's the new artwork with the date change reflected, so you can rest easy knowing that you, at least, are better informed than people who watch The View.

The date change is moderately interesting for a couple of reasons: first, the date change squares 27 Dresses and Katherine Heigl off against another film targeted at about the same demographic, Mad Money, which stars Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton, and Katie Holmes. There was nothing really competing against 27 Dresses for the chick demographic group on the 11th -- the only films opening then are The Bucket List (depressing film about dying with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) and In the Name of the King (directed by Uwe Boll, so what are the chances that one will be any good, really?).

With the move to the 18th, 27 Dresses will now be facing off against Cloverfield (scary monster) and Teeth (scary vagina)so it will be interesting to see how the box office numbers fall out. I'll be immersed in Sundance at that point, so I wouldn't be going to any of them anyhow, but which film are you most likely to check out that weekend?

Back before she became Mrs. Tom Cruise, and way before she became mom to the Most Photographed Baby in the World, Katie Holmes used to, you know, act and stuff. And while we haven't seen her on-screen (large or small) since Thank You for Smoking, little Joey Potter's back, starring in the upcoming comedy Mad Money with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah.

Keaton's the nominal lead as a middle-class housewife who, when her husband (Ted Danson) gets laid off, is forced to take a job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank. And what do you do when you're working as a janitor at the Federal Reserve? Why, try to rob it, of course! Latifah and Holmes play her fellow employees and partners in crime -- and if you think it sounds like Thelma and Louise meets, uh, Quick Change, that's no surprise; it's directed by Callie Khouri, who won an Oscar for her very first screenplay: Thelma and Louise.

The movie opens on January 18, but on January 12, Holmes, Keaton and Latifah will be gracing the Moviefone studios for a mad, mad, Mad Money Unscripted interview -- and they'll need your questions to do it. So hit us (them) up with whatever you want to ask them ... though I can tell you right now, any questions containing a word that starts with "S" and ends in "ology" ain't gonna be making the cut. That's right, no sociology questions, you hear?

To submit a question for Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah or Diane Keaton, leave it here in the comments and please provide your first name and your city and state. If you're looking for inspiration, then take a look at some of our past Unscripted interviews here. Good luck.

The new website for the heist comedy Mad Money has gone live with its first full-length trailer. It is pretty much what you would expect from a harmless little comedy, so if you are looking for a hard-edged crime flick, you are definitely in the wrong place. Along with the trailer, the website has the usual photo galleries and downloads (you can check out Cinematical's exclusive gallery here). There is even the chance to win a little of your own 'mad money' in a sweepstakes. Directed by Callie Khouri, the film stars Katie (or Kate; I can never keep it straight) Holmes, Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton, and Ted Danson. The story centers on three employees of the Federal Reserve who pull together for a plot to steal the money that is going to be taken out of circulation.

Khouri is probably best known as the writer for another famous female 'buddy film'; Thelma and Louise. Money is a pretty light-hearted flick so I doubt we'll be seeing Keaton, Holmes, and Latifah going over a cliff in a protest of patriarchal control. Mad Money will be Holmes' first big-screen role since Batman Begins and Thank You for Smoking back in 2005. As we all know, Holmes wasn't invited back for The Dark Knight and there were even a few thinly veiled shots directed towards her in the press over the whole matter. Since all that Wonder Woman talk never panned out either, for the sake of her career I only hope that comedy vets like Keaton and Danson can help keep Mad Money afloat at the box-office. Maybe then, Holmes will get credit for being something other than Mrs Tom Cruise. Mad Money hits theaters on January 18th.

(Left to Right.) Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton star in Overture Film's Mad Money.

Cinematical was just handed a batch of exclusive stills (click on the image above to head to our gallery) for Overture Film's upcoming Mad Money, starring Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton. The film marks Katie Holmes' first big-screen appearance since giving birth to her and Tom Cruise's baby Suri, and we haven't seen her toss on the acting gloves since 2005 when she appeared in both Thank You for Smoking and Batman Begins. In Mad Money, all three women play employees of the Federal Reserve who hatch a plan to steal money that's about to be destroyed. Mad Money is based on a British film called Hot Money which, apparently, was based on a real-life story about a group of women who stole money and hid it in their bras. Interesting. Callie Khouri (who wrote another bad girls-type flick back in 1991 called -- you may have heard of it -- Thelma and Louise) directs, and the film is due out in theaters on January 25, 2008.

I can't think of a more odd on-screen trio than Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Diane Keaton. The three ladies were recently cast in a new comedy called Mad Money (thankfully, there's no relation to that Jim Cramer show; just the thought of watching that guy scream his brains out up on the big screen for two hours has me wanting to invest in a warehouse of aspirin) The casting choices are odd, yes, but definitely smart -- with those three women, you hit almost every demographic. And when there's something for everyone, a number one opening at the box office is fairly certain. Seeing as those three women alone probably cost a pretty penny (or three), the rest of the cast will have to come at a bargain. Case in point: the Hollywood Reporter tells us that Ted Danson has signed on to co-star; he'll be joined by Roger Cross, Stephen Root (Milton!), Adam Rothenberg, J.C. MacKenzie, Chris McDonald and Finesse Mitchell.

Pic will revolve around three Kansas City co-workers (Holmes, Keaton and Latifah) who devise a plan to steal a bunch of money that's scheduled to be destroyed at the Federal Reserve Bank. Now, there's something interesting to do during your lunch break -- "Hey, instead of going to the diner again, how about you grab that Scientology chick and we'll go knock off a bank?" If you listen to those rumors around the water cooler, this is the film Katie Holmes chose (or should I say hubby Tom) over The Dark Knight. No word yet on who Danson will be playing (please let it be a bartender), though I imagine he'll take on the role of office manager. Callie Khouri (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) wrote and will direct, with shooting to begin today in Shreveport, La. No release date has been set; chances are Mad Money will hit screens early next year.