Movie News Monday for August 12, 2013.

Welcome to this week’s edition of “Movie News Monday!” (“MNM!”) 

What is ‘MNM’ all about?

In case this is your first time here, “Movie News Monday!” (MNM) is the place to visit every Monday for a quick recap of trending entertainment news! I’ve collected info, rumors, etc from all over just for you to keep you updated on movies being released, actors/actresses in roles, dvd releases to keep a lookout for, which movie won in the box office over the weekend, etc! Are you ready for your weekly update? Here it is!

This Just In!!…

#1- “The Weekend Winner.”  Last weekend, 4 wide new releases entered the Top Ten of the box office arena and took the top 4 spots. Out of all the others that ended in the Top Ten The Wolverine saw the biggest drop of 62.5% from the previous weekend (possibly due to its theater count decreasing by 1,057), but it did pass the $100M mark. With such a crowded box office, this past weekend saw the dismissal of The Heat, Pacific Rim and RED 2 from the Top Ten.

Here are the weekend’s estimated results for Fri, Aug 9-Sun, Aug 11:

1. Elysium — $30.4M
2. We’re the Millers — $26.6M
3. Planes — $22.5M
4. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters — $14.6M
5. 2 Guns – $11.1M
6. The Smurfs 2 — $9.5M
7. The Wolverine – $8M
8. The Conjuring – $6.7M
9. Despicable Me 2 – $5.7M
10. Grown Ups 2 – $3.7M

*Actuals may vary as earnings are updated much later on Monday afternoons. For updates, visit boxofficemojo.com.

Congratulations to Elysium (My review will post SOON).

What did YOU watch this weekend?

#2- “Guardians, Groot and Gimmicks.” Marvel’s Phase 2 is in full effect. With Iron Man 3 releasing on Blu-ray and DVD very shortly, Thor: The Dark World releasing in theaters later this year and Captain America: The Winter Soldier just around the corner, Marvel is as excited as we are for the development of their projects.

One of the lesser known group of heroes getting their own movie is Guardians of the Galaxy. Below is a cliffnoted compendium of recent news (including some of the latest set photos) about the upcoming project that is currently filming.

• Glenn Close has joined the cast as Nova Prime.
• Vin Diesel keeps teasing his involvement with Marvel. His latest Facebook page picture suggests he is in negotiations with Marvel to voice Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, according to Deadline (who has confirmed he is in talks for the role) who also said this about the character: “The Groot character can absorb wood to gain strength and recover from injuries as well as control trees. While hyper-intelligent, the alien seems to only ever say the line “I am Groot” over and over to those who cannot hear his real voice.”
• At D23 this past week, Kevin Feige talked a little bit about what is to come and the excitment they have at Marvel over presenting the star-studded film.
• Enjoy some of the latest photos from the set in the gallery below. Click to enlarge and use the arrows to scroll through.

Photos shown with source (Getty Images) at comicbookmovie.com and contactmusic.com. Guardians of the Galaxy is directed by James Gunn and releases on August 1, 2014. Starring Christ Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, Glenn Close, John C. Reilly…and possibly Vin Diesel (?)

Are you ready for Guardians of the Galaxy?

#3- “The Expendable Gibson“ Mel Gibson joins the ranks of several other action star baddies in the geriatric group of ginormous gun-slingers from the 80′s and 90′s. The Expendables 3 is coming soon (no surprise there) and Mel Gibson has just signed on to take the role of the villain.

The Lethal Weapon star is all set to be the villain against the heavy hitting heroes as Bruce Willis has exited the project. See the report courtesy @ClevverMovies:

Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas and Mel Gibson are the latest additions to the cast that is to reportedly include the following: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kellan Lutz, Mickey Rourke (?), Jackie Chan (?), Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes, Jet Li, Steven Seagal, Terry Crews and Milla Jovovich (?). Not much news lately on the female version of The Expendables expected to release. Perhaps Milla’s reported involvement in E3 will lead to that series. Thoughts?

Expendables 3 is set to release on August 15, 2014.

Who else do you think is missing from the cast? Nicolas Cage?

#4- “Come on, Chloë.” Actress Chloë Moretz is the star of the upcoming Stephen King novel film remake Carrie. Carrie, which was King’s first ever published novel, will be released in this new retelling on October 18th. It was, however, supposed to originally release back in March.

Most times when films are pushed back it appears to be a last-minute effort to improve on a bad script or some unforeseen pressures the studios to film reshoots (case in point, the scene in Gangster Squad that was reshot after the unfortunate Aurora movie theater shooting).

Whatever the reason, movie date pushback rarely bode well for the film. Initial thoughts on Carrie‘s postponement seemed that a date closer to Halloween would serve perfectly for the horror drama that appeared to offer little to nothing different from the original 1976 version. In a recent interview with magazine Fangoria, Moretz stated the following about the film’s new release date:

“We actually prolonged the film, to be honest,” Moretz, who portrays Stephen King’s telekinetically gifted prom queen, tells us. “We did some reshoots [in Toronto this past May], and added three extra scenes with Julianne [Moore, playing Carrie’s mother Margaret] and I to make the movie even deeper and darker. We prolonged a couple of scenes that needed to have an extra moment or an extra beat just to make it even deeper. It wasn’t about cutting anything out or trying to edit around things; it was about adding more to make the movie scarier and more intense.”

Those expecting the same-o same-o may just get a few extra surprises from this “Carrie copy.” Every one will know her name soon enough. Carrie finally releases on October 18, 2013 and also stars Julianne Moore and Judy Greer.

Trailer:

Did you like the original? Are you ready for this remake? 

#5- “This Week’s Blu-ray release.” This week, look for the following films on Blu-ray to possibly add to your collection:

Olympus Has Fallen- Starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and more. The first of two White House destroying films of 2013, follow Butler as he fights to protect his country, his President and the American way all in a day’s work against some terrorists. More of a rental than a purchase in my opinion, this one didn’t completely stink. Read my full review HERE.

Several other films also release this week. Check it out!

Also releasing:

• Emperor
• Hatchet III
• The Big Wedding
• What Maisie Knew
• …and more.

Which will you pick up?

This week’s WEEKLY WATCHES: I don’t get to review everything I watch. That being the case you don’t get an idea of my thoughts on some of the movies I check out for you that you may be interested in. At the bottom of ‘MNM’ I will attempt to, each week, post the films I DID watch over the week and (if you care to know my thoughts) if you ask about them in the comment section, I will share my feelings toward the film in question.

This week’s watches have all been submissions for the White Sands International Film Festival. More reviews are on the way. Stay tuned. For full coverage, click the photo.

Tell me, what did YOU watch this week?

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Well, that’s it for this round of “Movie News Monday!”

Thanks for reading! Happy Watching!

-T, The Focused Filmographer

up next: ”Time to Vote Tuesday!” and my review for Elysium.