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Alan Ritchson is quickly ascending Hollywood's A-list right now, which is interesting considering that the muscle-bound man behind Prime Video's "Reacher" is 42. Despite working relatively steadily over the last 15 years, Ritchson hasn't had anything work out terribly well until recently. Of all those experiences that didn't go as planned, Ritchson seemingly hated nothing quite the way he hated working on 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and its sequel, 2016's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows."

Based on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's comics, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" has proven to be a shockingly enduring franchise. It's easy to see why being a part of that might be appealing, but Ritchson, who played Raphael in the films, described it as "the worst production experience I've ever had" in a 2019 interview with Collider. The actor did not hold back from there.

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"At that point I was bulletproof. I was the guru of all genre movies." Those are the words of Robert Downey Jr. in 2023 as "Oppenheimer" was making its way to theaters. That film went on to win "Best Picture" and made nearly $1 billion worldwide. It also won Rdj an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The point in time he was talking about? Around 2017 when he was cast in a film called "The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle," later shortened to just "Dolittle."

The resounding success of "Oppenheimer" cemented Downey as an unquestioned A-lister, even outside of the confines of "Iron Man" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His turn as Tony Stark for more than a decade revived his career beyond even wildest expectations.

When someone hears the words "ninja" and "turtles," what usually springs to mind is the silly, comical team of reptilian brothers known worldwide as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These brothers -- Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo -- came to the minds of creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman in 1983. Drawing inspiration from ninja characters they had seen in Frank Miller comics such as Daredevil and Ronin, Laird and Eastman sketched various images of ninja turtles. Soon after the Tmnt comics came out, they became a huge success.

With the success of the comic came the original animated Saturday morning cartoon in 1987, which gave voices to the characters. Likewise, the success of this TV series led to the first live-action movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in 1990, a box office smash hit. Since then, there has been a myriad of Tmnt movies and TV series that each attempted to capture the...

TV shows that consistently deliver heart-pumping action have become a dominant force in the modern entertainment industry. A consequence of this massive popularity is that production companies and streaming services are now more likely to invest massive budgets into these shows to enhance their production quality. Expansive set designs, CGI, impressive stunt work, and A-list casting all contribute to these massive budgets (via Media C-Suite).

While a big budget is no guarantee of a good TV show, it is hard to deny that a lot of these shows are incredible. From exploring the worlds of Westeros and Middle-earth, to a galaxy far, far, away, these shows have left an indelible mark on the TV industry and have set the bar for other action TV shows to aspire to. These shows have revolutionized contemporary television, and often boast budgets per episode that rival even the biggest blockbuster movies.

Halo (2022-2024) $10.4 Million...

To celebrate the release of When Titans Ruled The Earth on Limited Edition 4K Uhd, available on 12th August on 4K Uhd & Blu-ray from Arrow Video, we have 2 Limited Edition 4K Uhd to give away!

The ultimate struggle for power. Men against kings, kings against gods. From such conflict legends are born!

In Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of a god but raised as a man, is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson), king of the gods, and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, can Perseus accept his power and defy fate to create his own destiny?

Wrath of the Titans picks up ten years on from his heroic battle with the monstrous Kraken,...

The 2014 Tmnt movie reboot brought a new take on the franchise, emphasizing fun, adventure, and updated character dynamics. Despite initial controversy, the Tmnt movies of the 2010s successfully incorporated elements from recent comics, keeping the series fresh and engaging. The first live-action film in the reboot showcased epic ninja action and offered a more serious tone, appealing to nostalgic viewers on streaming platforms.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has seen success across a variety of mediums, with the series starting off as a comic book title. Since then, it's had video games, cartoons and animated movies, though most of its theatrical releases were in live-action. One such movie is now a decade old, with the movie and its sequel seeing a resurgence in popularity through a certain streaming platform.

The 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was initially controversial due to the ideas planned for the movie. The sequel...

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the oldest and most notable movie franchises in the horror genre, and after 50 years, it's still going strong. That being said, like all iconic series, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is not without its issues. One of the most notable things fans complain about is the significantly convoluted timeline, which can make it difficult to dive in and start watching. With multiple films spread out over five decades -- and different filmmakers delivering their own interpretation of the ghoulish Sawyer family -- establishing a single coherent story thread is nearly impossible.

There are nine movies in the franchise, with the first movie, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, dating back to 1974. The subsequent installments in the series establish a complicated timeline, with many films acting as simple sequels, while others fit under the remake, reboot, and prequel umbrellas. Still, the premise is pretty simple,...

Earlier this month, it was announced that Platinum Dunes, the production company headed up by Michael Bay and Bradley Fuller, are teaming up with director Jonathan Liebesman – who they previously worked with on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and their 2014 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – to make a werewolf movie called Wolf Night. Now Deadline reports that Wolf Night has found a home at Sony’s Screen Gems.

Michael Bitar is overseeing the project for Screen Gems, while Alex Ginno does the same for Platinum Dunes.

Screen Gems has put out a whole lot of horror movies over the years, with titles including Don’t Breathe, Resident Evil, Underworld, Deliver Us from Evil, The Grudge, Carrie, The Stepfather, Prom Night, The Pope’s Exorcist, Insidious: The Red Door, and the upcoming Tarot. They recently secured a first-look deal with Gary Dauberman, who worked on the...

We had learned about an interesting horror project earlier this month titled Wolf Night, a werewolf movie set to be directed by Jonathan Liebesman. The film has been compared to both District 9 and The Purge… with werewolves… and Deadline brings us a big update this week.

The hot Platinum Dunes package has been picked up by Screen Gems, Deadline informs us, with Michael Bay and Brad Fuller producing Wolf Night for Platinum Dunes.

Will Honley and April Maguire wrote the screenplay for Wolf Night, but aside from the comparisons to the aforementioned movies, the plot is under wraps at this time.

Jonathan Liebesman’s directorial credits over the years also include Rings (2005), The Killing Room (2009), Wrath of the Titans (2012), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).

Will Honley recently wrote Escape Room: Tournament of Champions.

Steven C. Miller’s Werewolves and Larry Fessenden’s Blackout are also headed our way this year,...

Exclusive: Sony’s Screen Gems has landed that Platinum Dunes’ package we told you about at the start of the month, Wolf Night, which has Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles helmer Jonathan Liebesman directing.

Will Honley and April Maguire wrote the screenplay, the storyline of which is being kept close to the vest.

Michael Bitar is overseeing the project for Screen Gems. Alex Ginno will oversee for Platinum Dunes.

Liebesman is a South African filmmaker whose movies have grossed $1.3 billion at the global box office; his titles include Platinum Dunes’ blockbuster reboot of Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Warner Bros’ Wrath of the Titans, Sony Pictures’ Battle Los Angeles, New Line’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Revolution Studios/Sony’s Darkness Falls. He’s an EP on the MTV series The Shannara Chronicles and directed four episodes of Paramount+’s Halo series.

Michael Bay and Brad Fuller...

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Halo season 2, episode 8, "Halo"!

Joseph Morgan shares his excitement for the Flood's introduction in the Halo season 2 finale. Morgan was thrilled to see the special effects and makeup used to bring the alien parasitic form to life on set, particularly as a fan of the games. The star also teases that the Flood's introduction in the season 2 finale has major ramifications for the future of the show.

Halo season 2 star Joseph Morgan unveils how the horrific events of the finale's Flood outbreak both pleased him as a fan and left him eager to see how the show explores its expansion. Paramount+'s adaptation of the hit video game franchise explores the exploits of Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber), a super soldier in the midst of an intergalactic war with the alien faction, the Covenant. The season finale, "Halo", saw an ancient parasite called The Flood...

The folks at Platinum Dunes, the production company headed up by Michael Bay and Bradley Fuller, clearly love working with director Jonathan Liebesman. After working with Liebesman on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, they had him attached to direct their reboot of Friday the 13th for a while – and even though Liebesman wasn’t at the helm of that one by the time it went into production, they did work with him again, on their 2014 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now, a decade later, Platinum Dunes and Jonathan Liebesman are re-teaming for a werewolf movie called Wolf Night.

Deadline wasn’t able to dig up much information on Wolf Night, but they did learn that the project is being described as “District 9 by way of The Purge“. Will Honley, whose writing credits include Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, wrote the screenplay with April Maguire.

Jonathan Liebesman, who directed remake prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning back in 2006, is attached to direct a werewolf movie for Platinum Dunes titled Wolf Night, and Deadline brings us the first word on the project this afternoon.

We don’t yet have a plot synopsis for Wolf Night but the script from writers Will Honley and April Maguire is said to be “District 9 by way of The Purge –but with werewolves.”

Multiple studios are said to be bidding on the Wolf Night package as we speak.

Michael Bay and Brad Fuller will produce for Platinum Dunes.

Jonathan Liebesman’s directorial credits also include Darkness Falls (2003), Rings (2005), The Killing Room (2009), Wrath of the Titans (2012), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).

Will Honley recently wrote Escape Room: Tournament of Champions.

We seem to be in the midst of a full-on werewolf movie resurgence, with films including Steven C. Miller’s Werewolves...

Exclusive: Here’s a big one that multiple studios are bidding on right now from Platinum Dunes: Wolf Night.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles filmmaker Jonathan Liebesman is attached to direct on a screenplay that’s being billed as District 9 by way of The Purge — but with werewolves. Will Honley and April Maguire wrote Wolf Night.

Liebesman is a South African filmmaker whose movies have grossed $1.3 billion at the global box office; his titles include Platinum Dunes’ 2014 live-action reboot of Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Warner Bros’ Wrath of the Titans, Sony’s Battle Los Angeles, New Line’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Revolution Studios/Sony’s Darkness Falls. He’s an EP on the MTV series The Shannara Chronicles and directed four episodes of Paramount+’s Halo series. Liebesman also executive produced the Universal Robert Downey Jr. family movie Dolittle.

Michael Bay and Brad Fuller...

Halo season 2 adapts the emotionally resonant Fall of Reach, providing a high-stakes and survival-driven storyline. The show uses a subjective perspective and continuous action to immerse the audience in the fight alongside the characters, blurring the line between horror and action. The impact of the events of Reach is felt differently compared to experiencing it in books or games, adding a unique emotional element to the series.

Ahead of Halo season 2's release, showrunner David Wiener and producer Kiki Wolfkill explain how the new episodes tackle the universe-shaping tragedy of the Fall of Reach. The Paramount+ series is based on the influential video game franchise and follows a highly-trained super-soldier's battles against a powerful alien alliance known as The Covenant. Season 2 adapts events leading into the story of the original 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved, as The Covenant invades Reach.

As Halo season 2 adapts the Fall of Reach, Wiener and...

“Darkness Falls wasn’t much different from any old-fashioned town on the Atlantic Ocean from Nantucket to Key West. Except for one thing.”

That one thing, of course, is Matilda Dixon, better known as the Tooth Fairy. Most horror fans likely recognize this in-your-mouth ghost from her 2003 big-screen vehicle, but what they might not realize is, the movie Darkness Falls was accompanied by a novelization. The first of two media tie-ins — the other being a single-issue comic from Dark Horse — was published by PocketBooks shortly before the movie was released in theaters. And, like in many cases, much of what ended up on the cutting room floor can be found in the novelization.

While novelizations tend to be different from their cinematic counterparts, Keith R. A. DeCandido’s literary adaptation of Darkness Falls stays largely true to the movie. In fact, this book uses a more intact version of James Vanderbilt...

As of this writing, there are nine movies in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" series, and sussing out their chronology is one of the more herculean tasks a horror fan may find themselves undertaking. Like the "Halloween" movies, the "Texas Chainsaw" flicks abide by a choose-your-own-adventure structure, with some movies following a definite timeline, and others merrily ignoring previous chapters. Confoundingly, several of them have almost identical titles. The only consistent element of "Texas Chainsaw" is that they are all horrifically violent and unbearably disturbing. But, y'know, in a good way.

The premise of the "Texas Chainsaw" movies is simple. Thanks to rampant American poverty, entire families have been forced to live off the grid in remote, rural parts of the country. One of these families, largely inbred and blissfully detached from conventional morality, has taken to kidnapping passersby, stripping them for meat, and using their skin and bones as construction materials.

The episode of The Black Sheep covering The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was Written and Narrated by Andrew Hatfield, Edited by Brandon Nally, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

When did the Texas Chainsaw movies get so muddled with so many timelines? It’s not a hard thing to do. People get lost in Texas and end up victims of Leatherface and his family. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a story line or a variation on things from time to time, hell, that’s what made Freddy, Michael, and Jason so popular. You could have even done something like the legacy sequel for Halloween, at least the first one. Oh wait, you did, and it didn’t turn out well with characters that made terrible decisions and weren’t likeable in the first place? Oh yeah, I remember that one.

The following contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, now playing in theaters.

When Paramount Pictures rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2014, many were skeptical of Michael Bay's involvement. While Jonathan Liebesman was directing, Bay had a huge hand in overseeing the project as a producer, including bringing in Megan Fox. It was part of them patching their relationship after a dispute in the very Transformers franchise that Tmnt loyalists felt might lead to the Turtles' new story being too gritty or edgy.

The 2014 movie did garner a sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, two years later, but the critical reception and the box office return indicated audiences lost interest. Thankfully, Jeff Rowe's Tmnt: Mutant Mayhem, has managed to fix one glaring error the first film made with Master Splinter. It's also done in a way that, while it copies the formula, adds...

Who could have guessed that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s small, black-and-white indie comic about anthropomorphic crime-fighting turtles that began as a parody of superhero storytelling would not only be around forty years later but also have the love and investment of several generations of fans? Whether you discovered the Turtles through the toys, the various TV shows, or the movies, audiences have been lucky enough to have at least one defining iteration of these heroes.

Alongside Batman and Spider-Man, the Turtles have had the most consistent luck with their onscreen history. And this week, the Heroes in Half-Shells are back on the big screen for the latest reboot, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. To celebrate, The Hollywood Reporter has definitively ranked the theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies from the most bogus to the most bodacious.

7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

In theory,...

One night, two struggling cartoonists had what turned out to be a billion-dollar idea. What if Frank Miller’s Daredevil had human-sized turtles in it? From that question came the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a quartet of brothers named after Renaissance artists who fought the Shredder and his Foot Clan (a spoof of perpetual Daredevil baddies the Hand). Who could have guessed that the self-published comic Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created would launch a phenomenon, one that survived its first boom in the late ‘80s and crash in the mid-1990s? It has since gone on to become an enduring pop culture franchise which is still going strong after several decades. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael have leaped out of the sewers and into every type of media, including video games and toys. Nonetheless, the characters are never more exciting than when they hit the big screen.

Part of...

In this installment of The Silver Lining, we’ll be covering Jonathan Liebesman’s unfairly maligned prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

While the production company is now mostly known for movies like The Purge and A Quiet Place, it was originally a series of horror remakes that put Platinum Dunes on the map. Flicks like 2005’s The Amityville Horror and 2009’s Friday the 13th made big money at the box office, but it was the astounding success of the 2003 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake that made this endeavor possible in the first place.

And with the success of that initial remake convincing Hollywood that brutal horror was still a sound investment, it makes sense that TCM would be the first movie in Platinum Dunes’ repertoire to garner a sequel. So where might a filmmaker go after a no-holds-barred splatterfest that ends with most of the cannibal family being...

There are typically three destinations for a short horror film. Most of the time, they stay short and sweet. Another common outcome for these quick flicks is their joining others in compilation movies (also known as “frankenthologies”). As for the last and most fortunate fate, a short might be turned into something bigger.

There is a long history of horror shorts being made into full-length features. The Evil Dead, Saw, Mama, The Babadook and Lights Out are just some prime examples. And with Parker Finn‘s Smile (based on Laura Hasn’t Slept) continuing the tradition in theaters this weekend, now is a good time to check out other similar transformations.

Larry (Come Play)

In Jacob Chase’s effective short Larry, the attendant in a paid parking lot gets the scare of his life when he spots something ghastly one night. Paramount later gave Chase the opportunity to direct...

Click here to read the full article.

A member of the team that worked on Paramount Pictures’ live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is reacting to feedback from over the years that was not quite bodacious.

Actor Devon Sawa tweeted a meme Wednesday showing a still of Leonardo from the Michael Bay-produced 2014 theatrical release; the character is pictured alongside a doctored version without the film’s nostrils, but instead featuring facial features more reminiscent of the design used for the original theatrical trilogy that launched in 1990. In his tweet, Sawa noted that he wasn’t sure who created the new version but that it was a “huge fix.”

This led to a response from Jared Krichevsky, who is credited as a creature designer on director Jonathan Liebesman’s 2014 film. “Welp, time to relive this time in my life over again,” he tweeted Wednesday. He also referenced Paramount delaying the release...

Hollywood has a long history of making mecha movies, from the early days of “Robot Jox” to the more recent hit “Pacific Rim.” These films are full of action, adventure, and sometimes even romance.

Best Movies like “National Treasure” You Can’t Miss

Sci-Fi films about robots and technology are prevalent. They often contain Kaiju (a Japanese term for giant monsters), usually depicting humanoid mobile robots.

About the Movie “Pacific Rim”

Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” 2013 is a mecha movie lover’s dream. The movie tells the story of giant mecha piloted by humans in a battle against giant Kaiju monsters.

The mecha are called Jaegers, and they are equipped with an array of weapons and tools designed to take down the Kaiju. The Jaegers are piloted by two humans who must work together to control the mecha.

The movie is action-packed, and the mecha are incredible. While “Pacific Rim...

Actress Kathy Lamkin, who held her own opposite Javier Bardem’s hitman Anton Chigurh as No Country for Old Men‘s Desert Aire trailer park manager, died on April 4 after a short illness, her family told Deadline. She was 74.

“Kathy will be missed by her family and friends,” the family says, “and left an impact on all she that encountered during her life on this Earth.”

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

Born on December 10, 1947, in Graham, Texas on Lamkin landed a SAG Award as part of the cast of the Coen Brothers’ acclaimed 2007 film. She appeared in a total of 46 film and TV projects between 1990 and 2014, and is otherwise best known for her role as The Tea Lady in both Marcus Nispel’s 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Jonathan Liebesman’s 2006 film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Over the course of her career, Lamkin also...

In what can be called movie geek comfort food, Battle: Los Angeles and Krull have become cult favorites over the years. Why? You can watch either movie while doing other things keeping an extra eye on the screen, have devout fans who can recite the dialogue verbatim and will defend both movies to the end. Guilty pleasures, yes, cult status, definitely.

Even HBO Max has it listed as such.

The 2011 sci-fi and 1982 fantasy films have come to HBO Max and are available to stream now.

“Marines don’t quit.”

Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, and from director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath Of The Titans), is the exciting story of a squad of U.S. Marines who become the last line of defense against a global invasion. It gets the military right than most war movies. Numerous Marine units assisted in filming and the movie contains some awesome scenes with Black Hawks,...

In a story likely to evoke a bit of déjà vu, yet another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is reportedly in the works, with SNL Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost set to co-write the script with brother Casey Jost, awaiting a yet-to-be tapped director. However, news on this particular project arrives a mere five years after the franchise’s last live-action iteration released its sequel and presumed swan song, 2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, leaving a possibility that the new movie might just be a threequel. Moreover, like its predecessor, the mysterious movie project will be a production of Paramount Pictures and the very same producers, notably the auteur of onscreen explosions himself, Michael Bay. So, are we getting a new iteration of the Turtles or not?

While the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie project, as reported by Deadline, has a tight lid securing indicative details such as its plot,...

The original live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are all set to emerge from the sewers and once again liven up theaters nationwide to celebrate the movie's 30th anniversary. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will have a special three-day engagement in cinemas courtesy of Fathom Events, who specialize in bringing independent movie classics to the big screen and, in this case, are giving you the exact cinematic classic you need right now.

"We are excited to celebrate 30 years of a film that brings families together in a fun, entertaining and hilarious way," said Tom Lucas, Fathom Events' Vice President of Studio Relations. "As audiences discovered in 1990, the adventures of the heroic turtles are truly meant to be seen on a giant screen in a darkened theater, so we hope audiences of all ages will make Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael part of their entertainment plans."

Released in 1990, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...

Not a lot of longtime Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans were ever truly sold on the idea of Megan Fox playing April O’Neil, and her performances in the 2014 reboot and sequel Out of the Shadows did little to assuage those doubts. After all, the 34 year-old has never exactly been highly regarded for her acting prowess, even if the quality of the performances are often the least important thing in an effects-heavy blockbuster.

Jonathan Liebesman’s take on the material didn’t fare particularly well with critics, but raked in almost $500 million at the box office, and it appeared that the title heroes were back in a big way and set to lead a blockbuster franchise. However, takings fell off a cliff when the sequel hit cinemas and it wound up falling almost $250 million short of its predecessor, which is a pretty jarring drop.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows...

Exclusive: John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road Films has teamed with Redbox Entertainment to form Asbury Park Pictures, a production label created to leverage the global appetite for moderately-budgeted high-concept action and thriller films.

The venture will produce a dozen films over three years with budgets in the $10 million-$12 million range. The films will be distributed domestically through Redbox’s vast system of DVD rental kiosks and on-demand streaming service, the first original content generated specifically for the ancillary distributor that has a subscriber base around 45 million in the U.S.

The venture allows for films with breakout potential to be set up with a theatrical distributor, and foreign sales firm Rocket Science will handle international distribution rights for the label, as well as arrange output partners in select territories.

The focus will be on filmmaker-driven films with commercial, high-concept action and thriller concepts. To keep costs reasonable,...

Despite being instantly labeled as one of the worst movies of the year even though it only arrived in the third week of January and bombing so hard that it stands to lose Universal $100 million in the long run, Dolittle still ranks as the third highest-grossing film of 2020 after earning $236 million at the box office before the industry was brought to its knees by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Robert Downey Jr.’s post-mcu career didn’t get off to the best of starts, with reports claiming that the family film’s dismal performance had seen him drastically lower his asking price to reprise the role of Tony Stark, and even with extensive reshoots and several delays, the best Dolittle could come up with was having their leading man perform a colonoscopy on a dragon.

As the budget ballooned to $175 million in an attempt to salvage what was inevitably shaping up to be a disaster,...

Chinese media investor Starlight Culture Entertainment has set up an animation joint venture with David Steward II’s Lion Forge, one of the companies behind Oscar-winning short film “Hair Love.”

Among the venture’s first projects is a short focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on humans and other animals. Production will begin immediately.

The agreement is presented as a partnership with a multi-year, multi-property span, and an agreement to co-finance and co-produce a slate of animated films.

Content will be drawn from Lion Forge’s existing stock of intellectual property, which includes comics, graphic novels, and celebrity affiliations, as well as broader cultural IP, notably from China. The first feature disclosed under the pact is a reworking of “Journey to the West,” a traditional Chinese tale that has been repeatedly adapted for the small and large screen.

For each project generated by the joint venture, Starlight will retain distribution,...

‘Bad Boys for Life’ (Photo: Sony Pictures).

Seventeen years after the Bad Boys sequel the third edition in the franchise has put Will Smith back in the winners’ circle after he starred in Ang Lee’s 2019 flop Gemini Man.

Sony Pictures’ Bad Boys for Life opened in top spot in a buoyant weekend as exhibitors and distributors donated two dollars of every ticket sold on Sunday at participating cinemas to three charities involved in bushfire relief.

Sunday takings totaled $6 million, so based on an average ticket price of about $14.50 that would mean 420,000 admissions and a total donation of around $840,000.

“I really take my hat off to the distributors, exhibitors and representative bodies that were able to swiftly come together and create such a powerful and unified industry initiative,” Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Gm Alex Temesvari tells If. “It really gave cinemas a chance to contribute in a meaningful way.”

Majestic...

After hanging up Iron Man’s suit last April, Robert Downey Jr. is discovering that it’s hard to find a follow-up franchise. “Dolittle,” the former Marvel star’s attempt to launch a kid-friendly series, is shaping up to be a box office dud, one that shows that even his considerable charms have limits.

Saddled with horrific reviews (The Atlantic’s David Sims dubbed it “one of the worst cinematic fiascos I’ve seen”) and reports of production nightmares, “Dolittle” looks like it’s going to be one of the first high-profile misses of 2020. Extensive re-shoots for the beleaguered fantasy-adventure, about an eccentric veterinarian with a penchant for conversing with his four-legged patients, propelled its price tag above $180 million.

“Robert Downey Jr. is a national treasure, and his success with ‘Iron Man’ and ‘The Avengers’ cemented his status to the multiplex masses. That said, he doesn’t actually have superpowers,...

Robert Downey, Jr. talks to the animals in Dolittle, an object lesson in cinematic incoherence that would be easy to dismiss as a hot mess if it could even raise a temperature. Instead, this out-and-out disaster dissolves in a puddle of botched intentions that will leave children sad and confused and adults scratching their heads. Dr. John Dolittle, the beloved British veterinarian created by author Hugh Lofting a century ago, has been previously used and abused by Hollywood, first in 1967 with a soporific musical version starring Rex Harrison, and later...

Robert Downey Jr. knows a thing or two about defying expectations. It can be hard to remember in the aftermath of “Avengers,” but the decision to cast him as the goateed face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was something of a head-scratcher before “Iron Man” was forged into the world-eating mega-franchise that reshaped all of moviedom in its image. So if you’re wondering why Downey agreed to star in and produce an $175 million kids movie written and directed by the man behind winsome family entertainment like “Traffic” and “Syriana”…well, maybe Downey knows that some people just need the chance to be seen in a different light.

Sadly, this isn’t the right hue for Stephen Gaghan. — albeit one that cleaves a bit closer to the dyspeptic spirit and Victorian setting of Hugh Lofting’s stories than the Eddie Murphy version ever did — Gaghan’s “Dolittle” has been assembled...

Sony’s long-awaited Will Smith and Martin Lawrence re-team Bad Boys for Life arrived on tracking today with a $40M-$45M 4-day opening projection. Among action comedies launched over the holiday, that forecast is around where Ride Along ($48.6M) and Ride Along 2 ($41M) opened. 2014’s Ride Along starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube was the record opening over Mlk until Clint Eastwood’s wide break of American Sniper rose the benchmark to a lofty height with $107.2M in January 2015.

Bad Boys for Life cost a reported $90M before P&a. Sony believes the 4-day debut is more in line with $38M. The pic follows Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) who is now a police inspector and Mike Lowery (Smith) who is in a midlife crisis. The two unite again when an Albanian mercenary, whose brother they killed, promises them an important bonus. The first movie launched in 1995 just as Smith and...

Robert Downey Jr. recently took to his social media to share the official character (animal) posters for Dolittle, and there were a lot of them. Arguably, the most popular one, however, didn't come from the oscar-buzzworthy actor, it came from a fan. In a recent tweet, BossLogic gave fans a look at a world in which Bradley Cooper's Rocket joined Tony once again in Rdj's first post-Avengers: Endgame film.

Along with the picture of Rocket resting on Dolittle's shoulder, BossLogic gave his own explanation for the even-more-extended universe, "Tony realised he can communicate with animals when meeting Rocket. So in Endgame, Tony had planned with Rocket to fake his death so he could live with the animals leaving the avengers behind. Except Peter, he used his Stark tech to transform him into a dog named Jip."

Following the massive success as Iron-Man, Robert Downey Jr. is taking on...

Robert Downey Jr. isn't wasting any time in promoting his latest movie Dolittle. But instead of doing something a little more traditional, the former Iron Man actor decided to do something both on-brand and quite strange, as he decided to settle a dispute between two NFL mascots, given that his character is known for his ability to talk to animals.

Dolittle: doctor, adventurer, referee? @NFLonFox@RamsNFL@AtlantaFalconsDolittleMovie?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DolittleMoviepic.twitter.com/fskt4cN69r

— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) October 20, 2019

The video sees Robert Downey Jr., dressed up like a referee, standing between Rampage, the mascot for the Los Angeles Rams, and Freddie, the mascot for the Atlanta Falcons. The clip was produced to both hype up the game between the two teams, as well as Dolittle. In any event, it's strange. The two mascots are quarreling and Downey steps in to try and settle things down.

Artists First veterans and partners E. Brian Dobbins and David Gardner have been named Co-Presidents of the management/production company. Peter Principato, who had served as President and CEO since Principate-Young rebranded itself as Artists First in 2018, will remain CEO.

“Brian and David have continually shown their dedication to this company, its culture, and leadership, and I am happy to have their wisdom in helping lead Artists First into the future,” Principato said. “We are committed to growing our organization intelligently and providing clients with the best overall experience and opportunities. On behalf of the partners, we are excited to appoint them as Co-Presidents.”

Dobbins has been with Artists First since its inception as Principato-Young 19 years ago. His impressive client list includes Anthony Anderson, Kenya Barris, Tracee Ellis Ross, Niecy Nash, Jon M Chu, Tracey Oliver, Romany Malco, Andre Braugher, Nat Faxon as well as Henry Simmons, whom he co-managers with Garnder.

As a horror fan, one of my favorite sub-genres is the good old horror western. And today we have word an all-new flick is heading our way soon called Spirit Reckoning. The movie is coming to us via Heart and Fire Productions and Terror Tales writer-director Jimmy Lee Combs and is all set to star Lew Temple (The Walking Dead) and Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints).

Sean Patrick Flanery will be playing the role of a gunfighter named Lawson Lovette whose psychotic tendencies and skills with a revolver make him the perfect candidate to aid The Skull Cowboy Sam Conley on his blood-soaked journey of revenge.

Lew Temple will play the role of Ottis Clement, who causes chaos and anarchy in the Wild West alongside his brother Ed and leader of their posse Savage Bill. Clement is described as being just as crazed as Flanery's gunfighter Lawson, thus sparking...

Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Dolittle movie has already seen its release date pushed nine months, and now we know why -- it was in desperate need of surgery. Universal and producers Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum and Susan Downey saw an early cut of the big-budget movie and decided to bring in Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) and Jonathan Liebesman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) to help director Stephen Gaghan save the patient, so to speak. To recap, The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle finds a live-action Downey playing the unconventional doctor who can speak to CG animals. Rex Harrison …...

The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle is taking the long way ’round. The Doctor Dolittle reboot starring Robert Downey Jr. has recently undergone major reshoots in a rehaul that was overseen by Jonathan Liebesman, the director behind Wrath of the Titans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Original director Stephen Gaghan was present during the reshoots with Liebesman, and will remain the credited director. […]

The post Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘Doctor Dolittle’ Reboot Getting Major Reshoots From ‘Ninja Turtles’ Director appeared first on /Film.

Robert Downey Jr.'s The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle brought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle director Jonathan Liebesman on board to handle some reshoots. The movie has been pushed back a few times now and was originally set to come out this month. However, there have been some changes behind-the-scenes in order to get the look and feel just right. Liebesman was brought on board, but he worked closely with original director Stephen Gaghan, who was on set the whole time during the 21 days of additional shooting.

The Lego Batman movie director Chris McKay had previously come on set to help out on The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, which is a live-action/CGI hybrid. Sources close to the project say the studio and producers Susan Downey, Joe Roth, and Jeff Kirschenbaum, knew last fall there were some pretty substantial changes that had to be made. With that being said, reshoots are...

Dr. Dolittle is back in the operating room.

Universal is reworking its big-budget live-action/CG hybrid feature The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, the story of an eccentric doctor played by Robert Downey Jr. who can speak to animals, and is coming off of an extensive shoot overseen by Jonathan Liebesman, the helmer behind Wrath of the Titans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Stephen Gaghan, the original director, was on set and collaborated with Liebesman, say insiders. Several sources note the process was “inclusive” and Gaghan will remain the credited director.

The new photography lasted 21 shooting days (not including new postproduction work),...

Dr. Dolittle is back in the operating room.

Universal is reworking its big-budget live-action/CG hybrid feature The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, the story of an eccentric doctor played by Robert Downey Jr. who can speak to animals, and is coming off of an extensive shoot overseen by Jonathan Liebesman, the helmer behind Wrath of the Titans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Stephen Gaghan, the original director, was on set and collaborated with Liebesman, say insiders. Several sources note the process was “inclusive” and Gaghan will remain the credited director.

The new photography lasted 21 shooting days (not including new postproduction work),...

A few weeks back we passed along the excellent news that producer James Wan and director Michael Chaves's The Conjuring 3 starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will begin shooting in Atlanta this summer. And that news makes more than a bit of sense today as we have just learned that the upcoming and much-anticipated third entry in The Conjuring main flagship series will be possessing a theater near you on September 11, 2020. Yeah, September 11th. Kind of seems like a bad omen to me, but what do I know.

Anyhow, The Conjuring 3 will not only be the third entry in the The Conjuring series (duh), but it will also be the eighth entry in The Conjuring Universe as a whole. And for those who might need a refresher course, The Conjuring Universe currently includes James Wan's The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 with Wilson and Farmiga, and John...

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot will begin production before the end of the year, assuming everything goes according to plan. This comes from producers Andrew From and Brad Fuller, who are producing the project for Paramount Pictures, via Platinum Dunes, which is Michael Bay's production company that was also involved in the most recent iteration of the franchise. With any luck, we'll be getting another new take on the heroes in a half shell sooner rather than later.

This was revealed by producers Andrew From and Brad Fuller during an interview at the Critics Choice Awards. The producing duo was there on behalf of A Quiet Place, which was a huge hit at the box office and has been getting some love during the awards season circuit so far. During the interview, they revealed that not only is the reboot definitely happening, but that the hope is to...

Exclusive: Cory Goodman & Jeremy Lott have sold an original family-themed Christmas adventure pitch to Paramount. Studio is keeping plot and title under wraps.

Original Film’s Neal Moritz & Amanda Lewis and Aperture Entertainment’s Adam Goldworm will produce.

This marks the third sale for Goodman & Lott, who scored in the seven figures for a Warner Bros deal for Lore that has Dwayne Johnson attached, and one to Sony for Hood, with Jerry Bruckheimer producing. Goodman separately sold his spec The Oberlin Incident to Paramount with Aperture producing, and wrote the Kate Beckinsale-starrer Underworld: Blood Wars, the Vin Diesel-starrer The Last Witch Hunter and the Paul Bettany-starrer Priest.

Lott wrote Man At Arms for Jonathan Liebesman with Thunder Road and Aperture Entertainment producing and Rally Car for Keanu Reeves to star with Fundamental producing.

Goodman is repped by Verve and Aperture Entertainment. Lott is repped by CAA and Aperture.