'Eternal Sunshine' director to do 'Green Hornet'

HONG KONG - "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" director Michel Gondry has replaced Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow as director of the Columbia Pictures adaptation of the TV series "The Green Hornet," a studio spokesman said Thursday.

Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz are also in talks to star in the movie, Columbia Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer said.

Chow had originally signed on to direct the film and play Kato — the sidekick character portrayed by Bruce Lee in the 1960s series — but quit both duties over the past year, saying he wanted to focus on developing a superhero movie with Jack Black.

French filmmaker Gondry has signed on to replace Chow as director, Elzer confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Cage is in talks to play a gangster villain and Diaz a reporter, the Hollywood trade publication Variety reported on Monday.
The original "Green Horne
t" series, which debuted on radio in 1936, is about a newspaper publisher who moonlights as a masked crime-fighter along with his martial arts-expert sidekick. In 1966, it was turned into an ABC television series starring Van Williams as the title character. It ran for one season.

Canadian actor Seth Rogen will play the Green Hornet in the Columbia Pictures version.

"Harry Potter" poised to fetch princely sum

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Talk about performance anxiety.

If ever there was a film release almost certain to turn a tidy profit, it would be any Harry Potter movie, and Warner Bros. executives can rest assured that Wednesday's debut of the franchise's sixth installment will pile the grosses high through Sunday. But to understand just how fervently studio insiders will be hoping for a muscular box-office bow by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," consider that this time last year Warners launched a little film called "The Dark Knight" to rather good effect.

No pressure there.

"The reviews are great," Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman said with a what-me-worry nonchalance. "I think it's the best Harry Potter picture so far. Certainly, as the cast matures, they keep getting better."

"Potter" movies have carried PG or PG-13 ratings, with "Prince" toting the less-restrictive former designation. As the cast and their book-based characters age, Warners hopes to attract new, younger patrons while continuing to draw older fans of the series.

"Half-Blood Prince" is set for 4,275 U.S. and Canadian locations Wednesday and 50 more beginning Friday, and its screen count runs north of 8,000. A consensus estimate for its first five days in domestic release has it pulling in $140 million or more, with about $100 million of that sum likely to be rung up during the Friday-Sunday span.

Previous Potter pics have posted cumulative domestic grosses ranging upward from the $249.5 million fetched by 2004's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," with 2001 franchise launcher "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" enjoying the series' best domestic take to date: $317.6 million.

'PRINCE' OVER 'PHOENIX'
The most recent release, 2007's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," registered $292 million domestically and another $646.2 million internationally. "Phoenix" fetched $44 million on its first day and $139.7 million during its first five days. There is broad consensus that "Prince" can best those numbers.

It already has surpassed the franchise-best tally of $12 million in midnight box office posted by "Phoenix." By late afternoon Tuesday, exhibition sources made it clear that advance sales of "Prince" tickets for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday performances were outpacing the witching-hour numbers for its immediate predecessor.

In a sign of just how hot tickets sales have been for "Prince," industryites are whispering that the "Potter" pic has an outside shot at besting the record $18 million midnight box office registered by "The Dark Knight" last July 18. All signs are certainly auspicious, with Fandango and MovieTickets reporting that thousands of performances have already sold out.

"I think they're beatable," Fellman said of the "Phoenix" grosses. "Ticket prices have gone up, and the last time we had the first 'Transformers' opening just five days before us."

That picture's sequel, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," enters its fourth frame this weekend. No other film opens wide domestically this session, and the most prominent second-weekend holdover -- Universal's R-rated comedy "Bruno" -- couldn't have a more distinct target audience from that of "Prince."

Still, there will be no getting away from those batty comparisons: "Dark Knight" fetched $158 million during its first weekend and $533 million overall domestically. The chances of "Prince" matching that are slim to none

"Harry Potter" stars felt pressure to "ace" kiss (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Harry Potter" stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint felt the pressure of millions of fans of the boy wizard series when they recently filmed a highly anticipated kiss between their characters Hermione and Ron. The kiss happens in the seventh and final book in author J.K. Rowling's series and Watson told a news conference on Thursday -- promoting the sixth film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" -- that the scene was filmed two weeks ago.

"Rupert and I were quite nervous that it might look ingenuous as we were so desperate to get it over with," Watson, 19, said. "Rupert and I felt the pressure of this kiss, there's so much interest."

"This is 10 years worth of tension and hormones and chemistry and everything in one moment. We had to ace it," said Watson. "Kissing is awkward, kissing is always awkward."

The final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," is being split into two films and it remains unknown which of the final two movies contains the kiss.

"It's not something we were really looking forward to," said 20-year-old Grint. "It was quite a strange thing to have to think about doing."

But it doesn't seem strange for fans because a lot appear to be excited about it. In a poll conducted by online ticket seller Fandango.com , 59 percent of fans said the on-screen kiss they most want to see is between Hermione and Ron.

Only 40 percent said they can't wait to see the peck in "Half-Blood Prince" between Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, and Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister in the film who is played by Bonnie Wright.

"I saw the film again a couple of nights ago at the premiere and ... my God, my lips are like the lips of a horse, kind of distending independently away from my face and trying to encompass the lower half of hers," Radcliffe, 19, said.

"So I apologize for that," he said.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" hits theaters on July 15, while part one of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is due out in late 2010 and part two is planned for release in summer 2011.

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123

R,1hr 46min

Genres: Action,Drama

Released: June 8, 2009

Director:Tony Scott

Distributor:Sony/Columbia Pictures

Starring:Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini

Synopsis

A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who's hijacked a subway train in this remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey's best-selling book. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) was drifting through his daily routine when he received word that a heavily armed gang of four has hijacked a subway train and are holding all of the passengers hostage. Led by cunning master thief Ryder (John Travolta), the gunmen will begin executing everyone aboard should the authorities fail in delivering $10 million in the space of just one hour. With the tension in the tunnels rising, Walter races to save the hostages before the shootings start. But through it all, there's one part of Ryder's plan that Walter can't quite comprehend: even if the thieves do succeed in getting their money, how could they possibly get out of the tunnels undetected? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Transformers return better, meaner and packing more punch

Two years and they are back! Was it worth the wait? Yes, if you are a die-hard Transformers fan. Two-thumbs up if you are into digital effects. Those who caught the first Transformers movie by Michael Bay and expect a continuation of the adventures of the robots in disguise with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) won't be let down with 'Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen', but they might end up a little muddled. There are familiar faces like Sam's lovely girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his parents Ron and Judy (Kevin Dunn and Julie White).

You will also be reunited with Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) who remains a gun-toting US military commander and Agent Simmons (John Turturro) who reappears late in the movie as old adversary-turned-ally. The difference now is that the Autobots operate quite openly alongside humans, which is made clear minutes into the movie with a big whiz-bang battle in Shanghai.

A new secret US military operative called NEST, led by Major Lennox and his team last seen battling alien robots in downtown USA in the first Transformers movie, descend literally on Shanghai after a toxic chemical leak which oddly enough, reveals a hidden Decepticon.

This is the cue for the Autobots to appear in all their glory - from Optimus Prime making a spectacular arrival out of the sky from the belly of plane, as a new team including girl-fighters Arcee who transform from bikes and silver Chevy concept sportscar Sideswipe, take shape on the ground. They take on the bad guys Demolisher and Sideways with pyrotechnics and crushing metal galore. Given that the Transformers have a cult following from kids to adults who grew up with the Autobots and Decepticons as cartoons and action figure toys in the 70s, those who can be categorised as non-followers might get a little lost among the different robots and their disguises.

If you're a 'novice' it's best to bring along an 'expert' which in my case is an 11-year-old who must now receive his due credit as personal advisor on who's who among the Transformers. It was also fortunate that my young advisor had used some time during the school holidays to catch up on some 'essential' reading which provided useful background into The Fallen , a robot in need of power and energy.

The Fallen whom this movie revolves around, is the chief bad guy, not Megatron whom we all met in the last round and saw finally being dropped into the depths of an ocean. Through some eavesdropping the Decepticons manage to raise Megatron from his watery tomb as must be expected for a sequel and a majestic robot who rivals Optimus Prime.

It is at a meeting between Megatron and his master, The Fallen that we learn how the movie gets its name, and how everything falls into place. Unfortunately, all this comes mid-way into the movie after running through quite a mundane catch-up on the lives of the Witwickys.

The arrival of Sam at college is complete with nerds including room-mate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez ) who gets roped in as a new side-kick mainly for comic relief, and hot girls like Alice (Isabel Lucas) who is really tough and not-too-nice on the inside! It is here too that the audience will be bombarded with sexual references which were really unnecessary as they weren't even funny to most adults and awkward for the kids.

This earned 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' a PG rating which covers intense violence and sexual references which can appear when you least expect it - such as from a tiny robot . Hopefully, the kids and kid-in-you will come away only remembering the awesome special effects which see the vehicles transforming into Autobots and Decepticons while on the move.

The super-charged battles between the Transformers that take place from the forests of America to the open seas and the plains of the Sahara are also spectacular. It was also rewarding to catch glimpses of military hardware including an American destroyer roped in for the closing sequence of the movie, sailing off into the sunset as Optimus Prime towers on the deck next to Sam. Although much of the movie revolved around Sam, Mikaela and the main Transformers such as Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream, it was the second billing stars who shined.

The sudden appearance of Agent Simmons gave a good boost to the movie. John Turturro was flawless in delivering his character of a failed secret agent who remains sorely in need of redemption and being taken seriously, who gets to help save the day. New face Ramon Rodriguez also shows he can pull off some good laughs in his role as Leo who unwittingly gets dragged into the battle to save mankind.

Credit also goes to Kevin Dunn and Julie White who reprise their roles as Ron and Judy Witwicky with just the right amount of comedy coupled with a very realistic portrayal of that odd blend of parental overbearing-ness and love. While there were a total of 14 robots last time, in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' there are 46 robots of varying shapes and sizes according to the creative team ILM (Industrial Light and Magic).

The most memorable of the new bots in my books is Jetfire, the SR-71 Blackbird jet which was reactivated with a shard of the Allspark. The ancient Autobot that switched from being a Decepticon as it couldn't stand all the negative vibes, is equally endearing and heroic, while serving to pull the loose ends together. The younger crowds might enjoy the antics of Wheelie, a trouble-maker that proves worthwhile and Autobot Twins, Skids and Mudflap who are a pair of Chevrolet concept mini-cars.

Those who love Bumblebee will love the yellow Chevy Camaro even more in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' with its loyalty and tender side which the ILM team pulled off wonderfully.

Along with the special effects team, director Michael Bay did great justice to screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman with an action-packed, robot-jammed movie that won't disappoint.

Facebook: The Movie?

Heard that a Facebook status message was going to be turned into a movie.

Now, a fictional documentary about Facebook itself is in the works. While it sounds like a snooze fest to us, apparently Columbia Pictures digs the idea and is working to bring the biopic about Mark Zuckerberg and his social networking site to the big screen. The script was written by “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin and is based on the soon-to-be-released book by Ben Mezrich, The Accidental Billionares. Most importantly, Columbia Pictures is in advanced talks with David Fincher, of “Fight Club” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” fame, to direct.

And initial casting searches have Michael Cera and Shia LeBeouf neck-in-neck to play the Harvard dropout. Since anything David Fincher, Michel Cera, and Shia Lebeouf touches generally turns to gold, if Columbia Pictures can get these folks on-board, maybe this flick will turn out to be more than “Revenge of the Nerds: Part 56.

Shia LaBeouf: New Indiana Jones movie on the way

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" star Shia LaBeouf has another blockbuster sequel in his future.

In an interview with the BBC, LaBeouf confirms a fifth Indiana Jones movie is being planned.

"Steven (Spielberg) just said he cracked the story on it before I left, and I think they're gearing that up," LaBeouf says in the interview.

The actor starred as Mutt, Indy's son with Marion Ravenwood, in 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." While "Skull" was called a disappointment by Indy fans, it grossed $783 million worldwide.