quinta-feira, 28 de março de 2019

Danley Sound Labs Brings Its Game-Changing Technologies to the Cinema • See Us at CinemaCon – April 1-4, 2-2019 in Las Vegas

Emagine_Entertainment.jpgGAINESVILLE, GEORGIA: Tom Danley, namesake of Danley Sound Labs, is among the world's most respected – and idiosyncratic – acousticians. Although he has been obsessed with understanding and creating lifelike sound reproduction since he was a child, Danley also worked for fifteen years at Intersonics, a NASA contractor and rival to Jet Propulsion Laboratory. There, he generated sixteen patents for acoustical devices that found their way into research rockets, zero-gravity airplane flights, and space shuttle payloads. Those experiences expanded Danley's conceptual toolkit and inspired him to invent unconventional solutions for lifelike sound reproduction, his first and enduring love. Today, Danley and his team of world-class engineers deploy patented Synergy Horn and Tapped Horn technologies to create point-source , horn-loaded loudspeakers and subwoofers with unrivaled fidelity, phase-coherence, frequency response, and pattern control. Already well known for making best-in-class solutions in the house of worship, sports stadium, live sound, and club markets, Danley Sound Labs is thrilled to launch its new Cinema Line of loudspeakers, subwoofers, and DSP-enabled multi-channel amplifiers at CinemaCon in Las Vegas April 1-4 at Booth 2807A.

"Tom's unique designs are far superior to conventional loudspeaker designs," explained Skip Welch, national accounts manager with Danley Sound Labs and the point person in charge of the new Cinema Line. "And here's why: The Synergy Horn and Tapped Horn patents allow Danley to build horns with numerous drivers that combine to create a single, phase-coherent source that performs uniform output across the entire frequency spectrum. The multiple drivers give Danley boxes incredible output, and the patented acoustical summing creates ultra-low distortion that does not appreciably increase with volume. These boxes are made for movies."

Since Danley loudspeakers and subwoofers meet so many of the previously-unobtainable benchmarks for idealized sound reinforcement, numerous theaters and cineplexes adopted them years ago. These include Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry's five-story IMAX theater, Detroit's Emagine Novi's giant screen (the largest in Michigan), and Atlanta's LanierWorld's outdoor theater, among many others. "Our new Cinema Line shares the same fundamentals of our existing product line. However, in the process of working with the engineers, designers, and installers on projects for cinema, we came to understand the unique needs of the market and we have incorporated those needs into our new cinema line.

Danley's new Cinema Line loudspeakers start with the CJ-1894 and CSH-1196, which are capable of reproducing reference-monitor fidelity at up to 142 and 136dB SPL continuous output, respectively. These are the big guns (the CJ-1894's sibling electrifies 100,000-seat sports stadiums!). Intermediate loudspeakers include the CSH-996 and CSH-496, which would be useful in a range of applications from large to small theaters, depending on the output needs of the channels they're used for. Finally, the (relatively) smaller (but still quite beefy) CS-100S and CS-8CX are ideal for smaller theaters or surround sound channels at up to 120 and 115dB SPL, respectively. In fact, the CS-100S is built with a twenty-degree down angle for simple surround sound installation.

Danley's new Cinema Line subwoofers start with the monstrous CBC-418, capable of thundering 148dB SPL of continuous, directed low-frequency energy in even the largest of theaters. Massive low-frequency output is only worthwhile if the system is capable of doing so with accuracy and with low distortion levels – these are the hallmarks of all Danley subwoofers. "Conventional subwoofers from other manufacturers introduce large amounts of distortion, way more than anyone would tolerate in a full-range box," Welch remarked. "But that low-end distortion is what everyone is used to. So, it's been said that you can't really understand how good un-distorted low-end sounds until you've heard a Danley subwoofer. It's a whole new way to enjoy impactful low end!" At 142dB SPL continuous, the intermediate CBC-218 approaches the output of its larger sibling, and the (relatively) smaller (but still quite beefy) CTH-118XL and CTH-50 subwoofers fit the bill from large to small t heaters depending on requirements.

Although the spotlight appropriately falls on Danley's now-legendary loudspeaker and subwoofer solutions, Danley's state-of-the-art multi-channel amplifiers with integrated DSP play an indispensable supporting role. All of the units feature precise 96kHz processing and presets for all of the Cinema Line loudspeakers and subwoofers. These are excellent starting points for comprehensive system commissioning, although installers routinely report that little or no additional tweaks were needed beyond the presets. To accommodate different system sizes and output requirements, Danley manufactures the DNA 20k4PRO (four channels, 20,000 total Watts), the DNA 10k4PRO (four channels, 10,000 total Watts), the DNA 10k8c (eight channels, 10,000 total Watts), and the DNA 3k8c (eight channels, 3200 total Watts). All of the units feature comprehensive loudspeaker and circuit protection, as well as analog, AES, and Dante connectivity.

ABOUT DANLEY SOUND LABS Danley Sound Labs is the exclusive home of Tom Danley, one of the most innovative loudspeaker designers in the industry today and recognized worldwide as a pioneer for "outside the box" thinking in professional audio technology.

www.danleycinema.com

STOP BY AND SEE US AT CINEMACON 2019 BOOTH 2807A

Star-studded zombie movie filmed in Upstate NY gets release date

Updated 12:03 PM; Today 12:00 PM

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Bill Murray, right, photo bombs Selena Gomez as she poses for photographers at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, on Sunday, March 2, 2014, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A star-studded zombie movie filmed in Upstate New York now has a release date.

Variety reports "The Dead Don't Die," written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, will be released in theaters in June 14, 2019. The cast includes Bill Murray, Selena Gomez, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Danny Glover, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, RZA, Carol Kane, Austin Butler, and Tom Waits.

Plot details have been kept under wraps, but the story has been described as a "zombie comedy." ComicBook.com reports it is not a remake of the 1975 film of the same name.

Much of the cast was spotted filming on location in the Hudson Valley region last year. Murray, Driver and Sevigny were seen wearing police officer uniforms on set in Kingston and Fleischmanns, N.Y.

Murray previously played with the genre in the 2009 film "Zombieland," and is rumored to be making in appearance in the upcoming sequel, "Zombieland 2," with his "Ghostbusters" co-star Dan Aykroyd. However, Murray said that he will not be playing a zombie in "The Dead Don't Die," his third movie with Jarmusch after "Broken Flowers" and "Coffee & Cigarettes."

"I've got a good job coming up. Brace yourself: It's a zombie movie," Murray told Philly.com last year. "Jim Jarmusch has written a zombie script that's so hilarious and it has a cast of great actors: Rosie Perez, Daniel Craig. It's titled The Dead Don't Die, and it shoots over the summer. But, no, I will not play a zombie."

It's unclear if Daniel Craig, best known for playing James Bond in "Spectre" and other 007 films, is still a part of the cast.

Laurent Rejto, director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission, told the Poughkeepsie Journal in 2018 that "The Dead Don't Die" was on track to provide an even greater economic boost to the region than John Krasinski's "A Quiet Place," which was filmed in Little Falls and locations around the Catskills in 2017. Krasinski is returning to direct the sequel, expected to film in Upstate New York again (thanks in part to New York State Film Tax Credits) with his wife Emily Blunt.

‘Mary Magdalene’ Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix’s Jesus Arrives in U.S. Theaters Just in Time for Easter

Following in the footsteps of Willem Dafoe ("The Last Temptation of Christ") and Jim Caviezel ("The Passion of the Christ"), Joaquin Phoenix will be the next actor to bring Jesus Christ to movie theaters across the U.S. thanks to the upcoming release of "Mary Magdalene." The Biblical epic casts Phoenix opposite Rooney Mara in the title role. Both actors previously starred opposite one another in Spike Jonze's "Her" and Gus Van Sant's "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot."

"Mary Magdalene" is the latest directorial feature from Garth Davis and his first since "Lion," which earned him the Directors Guild of America award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director. Davis has reunited with cinematographer Greig Fraser on the film, which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Peter. Fraser earned an Oscar nomination for his work on "Lion."

Read More:'Mary Magdalene': Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix's Biopic Finds New Home After Weinstein

While "Mary Magdalene" debuted in theaters internationally last year, the film has taken quite a bit of time to reach U.S. screens because of The Weinstein Company's demise in the wake of Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual harassment and abuse. "Magdalene" was a TWC title and was originally set for release in March 2018. Only recently did IFC Films announce it had saved the title and would be opening it in theaters just in time for the Easter holiday.

Per IFC's official synopsis for the movie: "'Mary Magdalene' tells the moving story of one of the most misunderstood women in history, alternately vilified as a sinner and canonized as a saint. In the First Century A.D., the free-spirited Mary (Mara) flees the marriage her family has arranged for her, finding a sense of purpose in a radical new movement led by the charismatic, defiant preacher Jesus of Nazareth (Phoenix). The sole woman among his band of disciples, Mary defies the prejudices of her patriarchal society. She undergoes a profound spiritual awakening, drawing her into conflict with Jesus's apostles Peter (Ejiofor) and Judas (Tahar Rahim), and finds herself at the center of an earth-shaking historical moment."

IFC Films will release "Mary Magdalene U.S. theaters April 12. Watch the official trailer below.

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quarta-feira, 27 de março de 2019

New My Hero Academia Movie Coming This Winter

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Plus Ultra, again. By Brian Barnett

A new My Hero Academia film is in the works.

According to Crunchyroll, the new film will hit theaters this winter in Japan and series creator, Kohei Horikoshi, will oversee production. The film will feature an original story, and no western release date has been announced.

Toho announced the upcoming film at the 2019 Plus Ultra Stage at AnimeJapan. This marks the second full-length My Hero Academia feature film to be produced.

To celebrate the announcement, Horikoshi drew a picture featuring Midoriya, All-Might, and Bakugo, which you can check out below.

My Hero Academia won big at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards earlier this year alongside favorites like Devilman Crybaby, and was one of the most-watched anime shows in 2018.

Brian Barnett writes news, features, and wiki guides for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter (@Ribnax) and Instagram (@Ribnax).

Dora the Explorer is coming to theaters in new live-action movie — see the trailer

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March 24, 2019, 5:42 PM GMT/ Source: TODAY

By Francesca Gariano

Dora the Explorer is getting her own live-action film, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.”

The trailer just dropped on Saturday and it looks like it’s going to be quite a ride!

Dora, from the Nickelodeon TV show "Dora the Explorer," is still rocking her pink T-shirt, orange shorts and classic bob and bangs ‘do. This time, though, she’s all grown up and on a big adventure in the jungle and in high school.

The movie is set to star Isabela Moner as Dora with Eva Longoria and Michael Peña as her parents and Jeffrey Wahlberg as her cousin Diego.

In the live-action adventure, Dora has to save her parents, played by Eva Longoria and Michael Pena.Paramount Pictures/YouTube

The movie follows Dora’s transition from the jungle into an even bigger feat ... high school. After her parents set out to find the lost city of gold as their latest adventure, Dora is sent to the city to stay with her family, including her cousin Diego.

Things go wrong pretty fast and Dora, Diego and their classmates find themselves in trouble on a school field trip to the museum. During a scavenger hunt assignment around the museum, she and her classmates are kidnapped by criminals to help them find the same lost city of gold that her parents are hunting for.

"Dora and the Lost City of Gold" comes out in theaters August 12.Paramount Pictures/YouTube

Dora heads back to the jungle with her cousin and classmates on an adventure in an effort to save her parents and discover the lost city once and for all.

"Dora the Explorer," joins the long list of childhood classics coming back for fans to enjoy. The movie hits theaters on August 2, a perfect summer hit for families!

Francesca Gariano

terça-feira, 26 de março de 2019

Michael Lynne, Former Co-Chairman and CEO of New Line Cinema, Dies at 77

Michael Lynne, who partnered with Bob Shaye to transform New Line Cinema from a struggling independent studio to a powerhouse known for its sensational success with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died. He was 77.

Lynne's death was confirmed Monday by a spokesman for Unique Features, another company he founded with Shaye. Details of his death were not immediately available.

Lynne was working as an entertainment lawyer in the early 1980s when he bumped into Shaye, an acquaintance from Columbia Law School, on a New York City street. Shaye, who had founded New Line in 1967 by distributing films to colleges, paid Lynne a $10,000 retainer to serve as outside counsel, and he was named president and COO in 1990.

The financially savvy Lynne and Shaye, an occasional filmmaker, profited when New Line was acquired by Ted Turner in 1994 for more than $500 million in cash and stock, then were swept into the fold at Time Warner as part of the $7.5 billion merger with Turner's businesses in 1996. 

Lynne was named New Line co-chairman and co-CEO in 2001, and he and Shaye enjoyed a somewhat autonomous reign at Time Warner.

They took a big chance on the Lord of the Rings films, which cost a tidy $361 million to produce. Released in 2001, 2002 and 2003 — Shaye convinced director Peter Jackson to make three epics out of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel instead of two — the trilogy went on to rake in nearly $3 billion at the worldwide box office.

The final installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, collected a record-tying 11 Oscars, including best picture.

Lynne and Shaye found other successes with the Rush Hour and Austin Powers franchises as well as with other films like A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Robert Altman's The Player (1992) — released through its art house subsidiary, Fine Line Features — the Hughes brothers' Menace II Society (1993), The Mask (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), David Fincher's Seven (1995), Elf (2003), Wedding Crashers (2005), Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997) and Hairspray (2007), one of several John Waters movies that New Line championed.

In 2008, with New Line struggling — The Golden Compass, made for $200 million, had bombed — Time Warner made the decision to remove redundancies and place the division under the oversight of sister studio Warner Bros. Staffers were pink-slipped, and Lynne and Shaye were effectively replaced by an underling, Toby Emmerich. 

"The thing that's particularly sad is that we've had to literally sit through it," Lynne told Vanity Fair in 2009. "I had to sit and watch as 200 people in the New York office, week by week, by attrition, went away in tears. New Line had a very familial aspect, not only for Bob and I but pretty much for everybody who worked there. And the goodbyes were personal and extremely difficult."

Lynne and Shaye then co-founded Unique with a three-year, first-look deal with Warner Bros., and their new company greenlighted such films as The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), When the Bough Breaks (2016) and the upcoming Middle Earth.

Lynne was born in Brooklyn on April 23, 1941. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in English, received his J.D. degree from Columbia Law School three years later and did some work for producer Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures.

Before Lynne arrived, New Line's wins were few — Waters' Pink Flamingos (1972); a 1973 rerelease of Reefer Madness, which was in the public domain; and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, the 1979 Oscar winner for best foreign-language film, among them. 

With Lynne on board, Nightmare on Elm Street, New Line's first franchise effort, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — a $3 million acquisition that wound up grossing more than $200 million — helped place the studio on solid financial footing.

The $500 million sale of New Line to Turner came just a year after the Walt Disney Co. had paid just $80 million for another independent company, Harvey and Bob Weinstein's Miramax Films.

An avid art collector, Lynne in 2000 purchased the Bedell Cellars Winery on Long Island in a $5 million deal, then thought to be highest price ever paid for a New York wine estate. The previous year, he had acquired the nearby Corey Creek Vineyards for nearly $2 million.

With winemaking, "there's an aspect you can't predict," Lynne said in a 2015 interview with the New York Post. "Go into a movie with the right financing and talent, and stuff can still go wrong, while in wine, it tends to be weather-related. There's always something you can't control. And sometimes the fates are just with you, and it all comes together."

In 2004, Lynne pledged $250,000 to the Brooklyn College Foundation in support of the Tow Center for the Performing Arts.

Survivors include his wife, Ninah.

domingo, 24 de março de 2019

Paramount wants to see cinemas play new movies at 120FPS

In a move that could fuel an entire new generation of cinema, Paramount Pictures has sent a letter to cinemas across the US asking to kick off a series of tests to see what is the fastest frame rate their projectors and screens support.

 

 

The reason? Paramount wants to see Ang Lee's new movie 'Gemini Man' in 120FPS, as he shot the movie in the super-FPS format. Back in 2016, Lee released Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk in 120FPS but there were only 12 cinemas across the entire world that could handle the 120FPS speeds, and only two of them were in the United States.

 

Gemini Man would be an exciting movie to kick off the 120FPS craze, with Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong starring. Paramount is confident in the movie, which will drop on October 11. The letter that the studio sent to cinemas however, claims the high frame rate (HFR) version of the movie is a "turnkey experience" for cinemagoers.

 

Paramount said: "This fall the Studio will be releasing director Ang Lee's highly anticipated action thriller, Gemini Man, starring Will Smith. Ang's unique vision for this film includes recording and projecting in the most pristine and immersive formats. We want to do everything possible to make projecting the high frame rate version of Gemini Man a turnkey experience for you and provide audiences with the latest technological advancement in cinema".

sábado, 23 de março de 2019

Toy Story 4’s latest trailer proves that Pixar wants adults to cry in movie theaters

Pixar has released a new trailer for Toy Story 4 — purportedly the last Toy Story film, despite the fact that similar things were said for Toy Story 3 — and along with a better look at what the film is actually about, the trailer makes one thing clear: Pixar wants adults to cry in movie theaters while watching its films.

This sentiment isn't exactly news — the entire opening of Up, for example, seems tailor-made to wring tears from the hardest of hearts — but the Toy Story 4 trailer really hammers it home, with Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) crossing paths with a newly adventurous Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and seemingly questioning his very purpose in making kids happy. It's an existential crisis that feels designed to make adults sob as they reconsider their own careers and goals in life.

The trailer has a much more wistful tone than the first few teasers, which consisted of an animated spork freaking out and new characters voiced by comedy duo Key and Peele making Buzz Lightyear "your mom" jokes. Presumably, the final cut will follow in the footsteps of previous films in the series and walk the line between the emotional and comedic.

A synopsis of Toy Story 4 from Disney Pixar reads:

Woody has always been confident about his place in the world and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that's Andy or Bonnie. But when Bonnie adds a reluctant new toy called "Forky" to her room, a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends will show Woody how big the world can be for a toy.

Toy Story 4 will be released in theaters on June 21st, 2019.

quinta-feira, 21 de março de 2019

New ‘Bill & Ted Face The Music’ movie to film in New Orleans

× New 'Bill & Ted Face The Music' movie to film in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS– Bill and Ted are back!  This time the two buddies will 'face the music' in a new movie called, "Bill & Ted Face the Music," which is set to film in New Orleans this summer.  Excellent, indeed!

Alex Winter & Keanu Reeves made a video announcement from the Hollywood Bowl in California about the new project.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/bill-and-ted-have-an-announcement-their-third-adventur-1833439348

"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" was released in 1989 followed by the sequel, "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" in 1991.

According to i09website, the third installment is being created by the franchise creators Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon.

A press release said, "Following 1989's "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and 1991's "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," the stakes are higher than ever for William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. (Winter) and Theodore "Ted" Logan (Reeves). Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle-aged best friends set out on a new adventure, when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it and bring harmony to the universe. Along the way, they will be helped by their families, old friends and a few music legends."

This buddy comedy is set to be released in theaters in August of 2020.

When Does Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio’s New Movie Arrive in Theaters?

There's nothing like a film featuring two mega-stars. Just think of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, or movies that featured Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. When the script, direction, and supporting cast are there, you can't beat this type of production.

Looking at the past 30 years, it's hard to find two bigger stars than Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. Whether due to budgetary constraints, timing or something else, these two have never appeared in a feature film together. But that's about to change.

DiCaprio and Pitt joined Margot Robbie and several other stars — as well as a heavyweight writer-director — for the production of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which has already wrapped shooting. Here's a look at the cast and crew as well as its summer 2019 release date.

Quentin Tarantino directs a cast that also includes Pacino, Margot Robbie, and Luke Perry.

Leonardo DiCaprio is seen on the movie set of the 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' on July 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. | BG010/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Any Quentin Tarantino film is an event, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is likely to be as hyped as much as any film this year. Tarantino wrote the script and directed, as he's done in his movies dating back to Reservoir Dogs.

In addition to Pitt and DiCaprio, Tarantino has Robbie playing Sharon Tate, the actress murdered by Charles Manson's gang. DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton, a fictional actor whose star is fading in the Hollywood of the late-1960s; Pitt plays his stunt-double and friend.

That brief premise alone, along with the names of the lead actors and filmmaker, should be enough to get legions into the theater for this picture. However, there are many more names attached to the project.

Kurt Russell, Damian Lewis from Homeland and Billions, Luke Perry (in his final role), Dakota Fanning, and Pacino himself round out the cast. It will arrive in theaters in late July.

'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' premieres July 26.

Brad Pitt is seen the set of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood on July 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. | PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

While Once Upon a Time may make its premiere in May at Cannes, its official U.S. release comes July 26. That should make waiting in line during its opening week bearable, at least.

Following the release of the Pitt-DiCaprio "poster," Robbie shared her own on Instagram on March 19. You don't have to be a costume designer to see they nailed the actress's wardrobe for the film.

In addition to the stars already mentioned, Tarantino regulars Tim Roth and Michael Madsen also appear in the film. Other notable names include Lena Dunham, Emile Hirsch, and James Marsden.

Basically, everyone is in this film. However, even with the names stuffing the credits, Pitt and DiCaprio manage to outshine the rest of the cast (even Robbie).

We'll see if the stars aligned to make their first feature together a winner — and whether Tarantino can hit the mark with another great picture set in L.A.

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quarta-feira, 20 de março de 2019

All the details of Quentin Tarantino's new movie, which stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie

The first trailer and poster arrived this week. The first poster for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."Sony

The first poster for the movie dropped on Tuesday, followed by the first trailer on Wednesday. The trailer showcases the movie's 1969 setting, as Pitt and DiCaprio's characters look to make a comeback in Hollywood.

Watch the trailer here.

The film takes place in "Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood." Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino.Getty Images

Tarantino described "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in a statement last year, calling it, "a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a Western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor ... Sharon Tate."

In July 2017, early reports of the film described its script as focused on the murder of actress Sharon Tate by Charles Manson's followers.

While Tarantino's February statement mentions Sharon Tate as a player in the movie, Tarantino previously said that the film would not center on Manson but on the year 1969. In fact, the trailer makes no overt mention of the Manson family.

It has been five years in the making. Rich Polk/Getty

Tarantino said last year that he had been working on the script for the film for half a decade.

"I've been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was 7 years old," he said. "I'm very excited to tell this story of an LA and a Hollywood that don't exist anymore. And I couldn't be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio and Pitt as Rick and Cliff."

Margot Robbie is playing Sharon Tate. Margot Robbie and the late Sharon Tate.Getty; AP

"Tarantino is one of my bucket-list directors," Robbie told IndieWire in April. "As long as I can remember, I've been a huge Tarantino fan."

Robbie was on the initial shortlist of cast members Tarantino had reportedly approached for the film, including Pitt and DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Cruise, and Jennifer Lawrence.

The rest of the supporting cast is stellar. Andreas Rentz/Getty

Damian Lewis, Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Scoot McNairy, Al Pacino, and longtime Tarantino collaborators Tim Roth and Michael Madsen are also supporting members of the cast.

Lewis will play the late Hollywood star Steve McQueen in the film, Fanning will star as Manson family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, and Pacino is playing DiCaprio's character's agent.

It has "one of the most amazing screenplays," according to DiCaprio DiCaprio in "Django Unchained."Miramax

Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred as a villainous slave owner in Tarantino's Oscar-winning film "Django Unchained," had high praise for Tarantino's latest script at CinemaCon in April.

"It's hard to speak about a film that we haven't done yet, but I'm incredibly excited ... to work with Brad Pitt, and I think he's going to transport us," DiCaprio said. "I'm a huge fan of 'Singin' in the Rain' — movies about Hollywood. As an LA native, having read the script, it's one of the most amazing screenplays. We are going to do our best job to make it fantastic."

Sony Pictures motion-picture group chairman Tom Rothman also said at the the event, "It's the best screenplay that I have had the privilege to read."

Thomson Reuters

Tarantino chose Sony as the distributor for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Deadline reported that Sony beat out a list of competitors, including Fox, Universal, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and Annapurna, and that Tarantino was impressed with Sony head Tom Rothman's film knowledge.

Tarantino's previous films were released by Miramax and later The Weinstein Co. Both were companies of the film mogul Harvey Weinstein, who resigned from The Weinstein Co. after bombshell reports accused him of sexual harassment and assault in 2017.

It was set to be released on the 50th anniversary of the Manson family murders, but Sony has moved it up by two weeks. Manson family women.Uncredited/AP

Despite Tarantino's insistence that the film would not center on Charles Manson, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" was initially set for release on August 9, 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Manson family murders.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film's release was set to coincide with the anniversary of the Manson family's killings of Sharon Tate and six other people.

However, Sony Pictures moved the release date for the film up by two weeks to July 26, 2019.

terça-feira, 19 de março de 2019

John David Washington Takes the Lead in New Christopher Nolan Movie

Christopher Nolan's mysterious new movie is finally starting to heat up. John David Washington has been cast to lead the filmmaker's latest endeavor, which is shrouded in mystery for now, but is being billed as an "event" movie and will arrive in theaters next summer. While we wait for some official details regarding the plot, we at least know one of the actors who will be showcasing his talents within Nolan's brand of brilliant blockbuster goodness.

According to a new report, John David Washington has been tapped to star in Christopher Nolan's new movie. Apparently, this became one of the most hotly contested roles in Hollywood right now and, while it isn't yet clear who else was up for the part, and while the details of the part remain elusive, it was Washington who emerged victorious. For the time being, it remains unclear who will be starring alongside Washington, but Nolan tends to work with an ensemble and he can attract A-grade talent, so we'll surely be hearing of some other big names who will be boarding the project as well ahead of filming.

This is another major step for John David Washington, who has been on the rise as of late. He starred in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman last year, which ended up earning a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. While it lost out to Green Book in a controversial decision, the movie was still a major hit and helped put Washington on the map. Washington also gained notoriety for his role on HBO's Ballers, starring alongside Dwayne Johnson. The actor also starred in movies such as The Old Man & the Gun and Monsters and Men in 2018.

Related: Christopher Nolan's New Movie Is a Mashup of North by Northwest & Inception?

Previously, a report circulated stating that Christopher Nolan's next movie would be like Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest mixed with Inception. Warner Bros. has since refuted that report, meaning we're totally left in the dark on this one. However, this report states that it's being described, vaguely, as a "massive, innovative, action blockbuster." With that in mind, the Inception comparison may not be too far off base. This sounds like it will be a pretty radical departure, in any event, when compared to Nolan's previous movie, the WWII thriller Dunkirk. While that movie did carry his signature, inventive style, it was a historical epic.

Christopher Nolan is in a league of his own at this point. Few directors have earned the respect of Hollywood like he has, innovating at every turn and seemingly getting better as he moves along. At the same time, he can reliably produce a massive hit blockbuster, while maintaining that signature, auteur style. Even setting The Dark Knight trilogy aside, Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk were all huge hits at the box office. Whatever this new movie ends up being, it's set to hit theaters on July 18, 2020. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any additional details are made available. This news was first reported by Variety.

‘Breakthrough” In Theaters Soon

× 'Breakthrough" In Theaters Soon

A new movie based on the incredible true story of one mother's unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds.  'Breakthrough' is in theaters April 17 and stars Chrissy Metz.  Devon Franklin is the Executive Producer of the film.

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segunda-feira, 18 de março de 2019

New movie theaters at Hudson Valley Mall in Ulster scheduled to open April 19

TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. â€" Local moviegoers should be able to see the next "Avengers" film on the big screen without having to drive far. The new NCG Cinema mulitplex in Hudson Valley Mall is scheduled to open April 19.

Tim Dilts, marketing director for NCG Cinema, provided the planned opening date on Thursday. He said the company does not want to miss showing "Avengers: Endgame" when the Marvel movie opens April 26. 

"We're pushing forward as fast as we can," Dilts said. 

NCG is renovating and taking over the former Regal Cinemas location at the mall, which closed in August 2018. Initially, the new cinema was to open in January, but that date was pushed back to the spring. 

Hull Property Group, the mall's owner, said previously that the new theaters will offer assigned seating in new "luxury reclining chairs." 

"All 12 auditoriums will feature luxury reclining chairs and assigned seating in addition to state-of-the art sound and projection systems," Hull said in a press release. "NCG offers affordable movie tickets, free refills on popcorn and soda, select $5 movie tickets on Tuesdays, and a loyalty program for moviegoers." 

Ticket prices for the new multiplex have not yet been announced. 

Dilts said NCG Cinema is still having work done at the new location and will host a job fair at the end of the month to hire staff. 

"We'll be open before you know it," he said.

The job fair is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. March 29 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m on March 30 at the mall, 1300 Ulster Ave.

Applications can be found online at www.NCGmovies.com.

Today in Hip-Hop History: Cult Classic Hip-Hop Film ‘Wild Style’ Debuted in Theaters 36 Years Ago

During the time when Hip Hop was being passed off as a fad that wouldn't last beyond "Rapper's Delight", a vivid reenactment of the introduction of this artistic culture to the world was made. Wild Style is arguably the very first movie and definitely one of the very few that shows the true essence of what Hip Hop is about. On this date in 1983, film director and cultural artist Charlie Ahearn premiered the flick in Times Square, breaking records by selling out at all screenings for the three weeks it played.

Ahearn, a member of the artist collective group Collaborative Projects, was originally exposed to Hip Hop in the late 70s through graffiti when he went to film the youth in the projects in Manhattan's Lower East Side that studied martial arts. He was soon approached by Fred "Fab 5 Freddy" Braithwaite about making a movie encompassing all elements of Hip-Hop (emceeing, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti). Fab 5 Freddy brought legendary graff artist Lee Quinones to meet Ahearn to further discuss the approach of filming graffiti and introducing it as a legitimate art form. Ahearn found out that Lee was the same graf king whose work he admired while filming in LES. With Ahearn as producer and director, the three began embarking on a journey to gather the individuals who would be the faces of this landmark film.

Developing its name from an abstract letter design made popular in the graffiti world by graff king Tracy 168, Wild Style featured some of the most prolific pioneers from all aspects of Hip-Hop. The Cold Crush Brothers, Rock Steady Crew, and Grandmaster Flash were just a few of Hip-Hop's trailblazers that made their debut on the silver screen in Wild Style. The Furious Five could not appear alongside Flash and had to be cut from the film because of prior obligations to another more mainstream motion picture depicting the development of Hip Hop that came out later called Beat Street. This is why Afrika Bambaataa, the New York City Breakers, The Treacherous Three, or female pioneer MC Sha Rock were not seen in the film. Other notable legends included Busy Bee Starski, graf legends Dondi, Zephyr, and Revolt, who all designed the Wild Style logo, and the Fantastic Freaks.

Lee Quinones played the main character "Zoro", the anonymous graf phenom that is introduced to the art world by his pal and fellow graffiti writer "Faze" who is played by Fab 5 Freddy. Faze introduces Zoro to Virginia, a journalist portrayed by cultural icon Patti Astor, who later shows Zoro to art's world stage of galleries and museums. The story is an accurate historical account of how Hip-Hop, in general, was introduced to mainstream America and later, the rest of the world. It also showed the poverty and despair that existed in the South Bronx out of which the culture of Hip Hop emerged.

Over 30 years later, Wild Style is still an icon of American pop culture. The players that participated and performed in the movie have made themselves legends in their own right, however, most will recognize their appearance in the film as the catapult of their career. The movie has been sampled on various classic Hip Hop albums including ATCQ's Midnight Marauders, Common's Ressurection, and the Five Mic classic, Nas' Illmatic. Wild Style was voted as one of the top ten rock n' roll movies of all time by the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame and VH1's Hip Hop Honors acknowledged the film's influence in Hip Hop with a tribute in 2007.

'Mary Poppins Returns' has flown from theaters, facing an uncertain future in movie history

Bryan Alexander USA TODAY

Published 11:31 PM EDT Mar 15, 2019

Like Emily Blunt's magical nanny, "Mary Poppins Returns" is disappearing again, this time from theaters.

Rob Marshall's original musical has transitioned to the eternal world of home viewing (available on digital platforms now, Blu-ray on Tuesday). But less certain is where it will land in movie history.

Will Blunt's portrayal stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Julie Andrews' performance in 1964's classic "Mary Poppins"?

Somewhere along the way during the film's theatrical release and the politically charged awards season that followed, "Mary Poppins Returns" lost some of its luster, going home empty-handed on Oscar night.

"Momentum ebbs and flows with movies. But 'Mary Poppins Returns' is a huge and gutsy undertaking and enormously successful follow-up," says Ben Mankiewicz, film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies. "It's an incredible task to make a movie nostalgic and new at the same time, which they did. ... They're bold, knowing that the first conversation people would have afterward is, 'I really like it but it's not as good as the original' – which happens to be one of the classic musicals of all time."

Dick Van Dyke: How the 'Mary Poppins Returns' actor, 91, danced madly on that desk

The missing 'Mary Poppins Returns' song: We let loose 'The Anthropomorphic Zoo'

"Mary Poppins Returns" had all goodness going into its release with the musical pedigree of Marshall, the most exquisitely suited modern Mary Poppins in Blunt and the hottest musical talent in "Hamilton" star Lin-Manuel Miranda as lamplighter Jack.

Marshall shot the $130 million project over eight months on eight elaborate soundstages and some of the most iconic locations in London (Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace), and recruited Dick Van Dyke to reprise his role as Mr. Dawes, who danced on a desk at age 91.

Critics reviewed "Mary Poppins Returns" positively (though not with the universal acclaim of the original), giving it a 79% "fresh" rating on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute placed the movie on their top 10 list for the year, important historical markers. Audiences embraced the family musical, not overwhelmingly, with a healthy $347 million worldwide box-office haul.

Where "Mary Poppins Returns" went awry was the long haul of awards season. After four Golden Globe nominations, including for best comedy or musical, and nine Critics Choice nominations, the musical slowed to respected Oscar race also-ran with four nominations (costume design, score, song and production design) and no wins. By comparison, the original movie dominated in 1965, pulling in 13 Oscar nominations and winning five, including best actress for Andrews.

"By the time it got to Oscar nominations this year, it was clear this movie was not going to be the contender so many people thought it would be," says Pete Hammond, awards columnist for Deadline.com. As momentum and award wins built for films like "Bohemian Rhapsody," the Disney musical faded.

Marshall says he prefers to see the positive of even pulling off the nominations in a far less-innocent era dominated by lethal, often negative social media.

"It's such a different time from when musicals like 'My Fair Lady,' 'The Sound of Music' and 'Mary Poppins' came out. I actually see it from the other side; I'm thrilled with what we have achieved. We're not in fashion in that way," Marshall says. "I sort of walked away from the season going, 'Wow, we were part of the discussion.' " 

He says he's proud of the final run and for the achievement.

"I'm even more aware now how unique we are," he says. "It's so rare that a film comes out that lacks any kind of cynicism in this day and age."

As far as how film history will remember "Mary Poppins Returns," Marshall is going to leave that to the world.

"I have my own perception of it. That's for me to hold onto myself," he says. "But so many people have said to me, 'This is a movie you want to revisit over and over again.' That's what I consider a classic."

Time and the repeat viewings will ultimately decide. Mankiewicz imagines a future with a "Mary Poppins" double feature.

"Fifty years from now, 2069, I'll still be hosting, I'll be sitting down," Mankiewicz says. "We'll play the 1964 'Mary Poppins' and 2018 'Mary Poppins Returns' side-by-side. That will be a pretty good night on Turner Classic Movies."

quinta-feira, 14 de março de 2019

Movies in local theaters, Thursday, March 14

Capsule review of movies in local theaters

Arthur Curry (Jason Mamoa) inherits Atlantis, the undersea kingdom, and must learn to lead it. In 3-D. Rated PG-13.

“Alita: Battle Angel” H½

A cyborg has no memory of her past and goes in search of it. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12

“Apollo 11” HHHH

A documentary on Apollo 11, the first manned landing on the moon using archival footage of the mission. Rated G.

“Birds of Passage (Pajaros de Verano)” HH

A family in Colombia get caught in the drug trafficking that eventually destroys the country’s culture. Not rated.

Charlie is about to celebrate her 18th birthday when she finds Bumblebee. It’s not your typical VW Beetle. Rated PG-13.

“Captain Marvel” HH½

Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) steps in when the Earth is threatened by a galactic war between two alien races. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, AMC Classic 10, Liberty Theatre, RED Cinema, Starmount, Two Rivers Cinema, Lexington Cinema

“Captive State” HH

The occupants of a Chicago neighborhood that has been invaded by an alien force for 10 years are divided into dissidents and collaborators. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, AMC Classic 10, RED Cinema, Two Rivers Cinema

“The Competition (Le Concours)” HH

A French documentary about the competition to get in to La Femis, the prestigious French film school. Not rated.

“A Dog’s Way Home” HH

Bella (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard) is separated from and travels 400 miles to find her owner. Rated PG.

“Everybody Knows (Todos lo Saben)” HHH

Laura (Penelope Cruz), a woman from Spain, living in Buenos Aires, goes home for her sister’s wedding. During the festivities, secrets begin to come out. Rated R.

Showing: Aperture, RED Cinema

“Fighting With my Family” HH

A family travels around putting on wrestling shows. The children dream about joining the WWE someday. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Lexington Cinema

“Five Feet Apart” HH

Two teenagers with cystic fibrosis meet in the hospital and fall in love, despite the life threatening illness they both have. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, RED Cinema, Two Rivers Cinema

“Free Solo” HH½

Alex Honnold free climbs El Capitan, the 3,000-foot wall in Yosemite National Park, using no ropes or safety gear. Rated PG-13.

A security guard (Bruce Willis) tracks a man with 24 personalities (James McAvoy). Samuel L. Jackson also stars. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Rated PG-13.

“Green Book” HHH½

Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) is an Italian American driver from New York who is hired to chauffeur Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), an African American classical pianist, through the South in the 1960s. Winner of the Best Picture Academy Award. Rated PG-13.

A widow and a young woman meet, but the widow has a vendetta against the woman. Not rated.

“Happy Death Day 2U” HH½

A college student (Phi Vu) and a group of students are working on a time-machine when he meets Tree, the woman who died over and over in the first movie. Rated PG-13.

“How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World” HH½

Hiccup and Toothless search for a secret dragon world before a malevolent dragon hunter finds it. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, RED Cinema, Starmount, Two Rivers Cinema, Lexington Cinema

“Isn’t it Romantic” HHH

A woman who has given up on romance finds herself trapped in a romantic comedy. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, Lexington Cinema

“The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” HHH

LEGO DULPOs destroying everything in their path. Rated PG.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, Lexington Cinema

“Mary Poppins Returns” HHH

The magical Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) comes back to help the Banks children, now adults, and Michael’s children through a terrible loss. Rated PG.

“Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” HHH

Nancy and her friends try to solve the mystery of Twin Elms mansion. Are the mysterious happenings manmade or from a different source? Rated PG.

“On the Basis of Sex” HH

The story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg from her days as a law student to her appointment to the Supreme Court. Felicity Jones stars. Rated PG-13.

“Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse” HHH½

Spiderman and some of his compatriots from other dimensions team up to stop a threat to reality. Rated PG.

“Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral” HH

Madea and her family are in the backwoods of Georgia for a reunion and find they have to plan a funeral that may reveal family secrets. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, RED Cinema, Two Rivers Cinema, Starmount, Lexington Cinema

“United Skates” HH

A documentary about the underground roller skating culture. Not rated.

Showing: Aperture, Monday only

A wealthy quadriplegic (Bryan Cranston) hires an unemployed man with a criminal record (Kevin Hart) to take care of him. Nicole Kidman also stars. Rated PG-13.

Showing: AMC Hanes 12, RED Cinema

While a family is staying the mother’s childhood home, a group appears that look just like the family. Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss and Winston Duke. Directed by Jordan Peele. Rated R.

Showing: Aperture, Grand 18, early screening March 21

“What Men Want” HH

A woman (Taraji P. Henson)gets the better of the men she works with when she develops the ability to read men’s minds. Rated R.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Classic 10, Lexington Cinema

A competitive sailor (Matthew Modine) forms his own group to win back the America’s Cup from the Australians. Rated PG-13.

Showing: Marketplace, today only

“Wonder Park” HH

At a large amusement park the wild imagination of a little girl named June runs rampant. Rated PG.

Showing: Grand 18, AMC Hanes 12, AMC Classic 10, Liberty Theatre, Lexington Cinema, RED Cinema, Starmount, Two Rivers Cinema

A documentary about the wrestling team at J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville, Alabama, a school that is a long-time under performing school and how their coach helps on and off the mat. Not rated.

Full week of Circle Cinema special film events highlight art-house movie calendar

A series of special film events at Circle Cinema, featuring a Steinway piano, Mr. Rogers, "The Wild Bunch" and more, are highlights of this week in specialty cinema.

NEW AT CIRCLE CINEMA

"Who Will Write Our History?": "Resistance comes in many forms" is the tagline for this documentary about the keeping of a secret archive in the Warsaw Ghetto that came to contain some of the most important eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust. A week of screenings, but director Roberta Grossman will take part in a Skype Q-and-A following a 2 p.m. Sunday, March 17, screening.

"Note By Note: The Making of Steinway L1037": This documentary about the making of the acclaimed Steinways returns to Circle Cinema, as does the piano from the film, which will be in the theater's gallery. A week of screenings, but also planned is a 6 p.m. Friday, March 15, "piano cocktail hour" with a Saied Music demonstration of music on the piano ahead of a 7:30 p.m. screening.

"Climax": Eccentric foreign filmmaker Gaspar Noe (“Love,” “Enter the Void”) returns with another unusual drama: A group of French dancers gather for a rehearsal, at which they drink sangria that they don’t know is spiked with LSD.

"Birds of Passage": "Generations of tradition, consumed by greed" is the poster tagline for this foreign drama that sees family drama smashing into Colombian drug trafficking.

"Night is Short, Walk on Girl": This story of a young woman's long night of partying, and her suitor's attempts to follow her, is the March entry of the Circle’s Anime Club, playing at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 15-16.

"The Wild Bunch" at 50: A 2 p.m. Saturday, March 16, discussion between author W.K. Stratton, who has published a new book about the making of the movie, and local author John Wooley, will precede a 3 p.m. screening of the movie.

"Won't You Be My Neighbor?": The acclaimed documentary about Fred Rogers and his PBS show screens for free at 6 p.m. Monday, March 18.

ALSO...

“Gone With the Wind” 80th anniversary screenings: The Oscar-winning best picture of 1939 returns to the big screen with 1 p.m. Sunday, March 17, and 6 p.m. Monday, March 18, screening times at Cinemark Tulsa.

"Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase": The latest update on the teen girl who tests her detective skills stars Sophia Lillis, a breakout star from the box-office hit "It."

“Spence vs. Garcia”: A full live boxing card highlighted by Errol Spence Jr. vs. Mikey Garcia for the world welterweight title screens at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at Cinemark Tulsa.

New movies this week: Captive State, Wonder Park

Raleigh, N.C. — A look at what's new in theaters this week.

Captive State (SciFi/Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller, PG-13, Starring John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Colson Baker, Vera Farmiga) - Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict -- the collaborators and dissidents.

Wonder Park (Action/Adventure, Animation, PG, Starring Jennifer Garner, Matthew Broderick, John Oliver, Mila Kunis, Kenan Thompson) - Wonder Park tells the story of a magnificent amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive.

quarta-feira, 13 de março de 2019

Historic movie theater 'The Pikes' reopens in Pikesville

A 43-seat, luxury movie theater has opened in an historic Pikesville cinema.

NextAct Cinema at The Pikes opened last week on the 900 block of Reisterstown Road, according to a spokeswoman for the theater.

The Pikes movie theater initially operated from 1938 to 1984 before reopening from 2013 to 2016. That year, The Baltimore Sun reported that the theater's future was in question, with the building's owner complaining that theater operators were "slow to commit."

Historic Pikes Diner may once again become a movie theater

"I'm going to get it open one way or the other, even if I have to open it myself," owner Wil Reich said.

Recent upgrades brought leather seats, new screens and an immersive sound system.

Movie patrons can order concessions, beer, wine and meals from Pikes Cinema Bar & Grill in the rear of the building. Guests ordering meals should arrive 30 minutes before showtime.

Although most vestiges of the original Pikes are long gone, the theater marquee, facing Reisterstown Road, has been a constant presence.

ctkacik@baltsun.com

twitter.com/xtinatkacik

terça-feira, 12 de março de 2019

The Dark Knight Trilogy Is Returning to Theaters in IMAX 70mm This Spring

Some consider it the greatest superhero trilogy of all times. Others call it a seminal masterwork in the genre. Now, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy is returning to select theaters this spring, playing exclusively in IMAX 70mm.

All three of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movies will be back on the big screen, which include 2005's Batman Begins, 2008's The Dark Knight, and 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. The movies will be traveling to five different cities throughout the next month, with one-night only screenings to celebrate Batman's 80th anniversary.

Things will kick off at the Los Angeles engagement on March 30. Christopher Nolan will be in attendance for a special live Q&A, so if you're planning a special trip to one of the five participating cities, this is the premiere ticket to get your hands on. Nolan will also sit with the audience through back-to-back screenings of all three movies.

Related: Check Out Cillian Murphy and Anne Hathaway's Batman Auditions

This is all going down at the Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk in Universal City. The next stop on the mini-tour will be New York on April 13. The movies will screen at the AMC Lincoln Square. From there, the festivities move to San Franscico, playing the AMC Metreon. Next up is the Cinesphere Ontario Place in Toronto. The final stop will be the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, though a specific date has yet to be announced.

Each screening following the Los Angeles presentation will be accompanied by footage from the CityWalk Q&A. The movie is screening in 70mm at all five theaters. Warners' domestic distribution president Jeff Goldstein had this to say about the event.

"Christopher Nolan broke new ground with the Dark Knight Trilogy, and this is a rare chance for today's audiences to experience these extraordinary films as they were meant to be seen. To have the added privilege of hearing Chris' insights firsthand makes this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

In Batman Begins, a young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels to the Far East, where he's trained in the martial arts by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows. When Ducard reveals the League's true purpose, the complete destruction of Gotham City -- Wayne returns to Gotham intent on cleaning up the city without resorting to murder. With the help of Alfred (Michael Caine), his loyal butler, and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a tech expert at Wayne Enterprises, Batman is born.

In The Dark Knight, with the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.

The final chapter, The Dark Knight Rises, it has been eight years since Batman (Christian Bale), in collusion with Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), vanished into the night. Assuming responsibility for the death of Harvey Dent, Batman sacrificed everything for what he and Gordon hoped would be the greater good. However, the arrival of a cunning cat burglar (Anne Hathaway) and a merciless terrorist named Bane (Tom Hardy) force Batman out of exile and into a battle he may not be able to win.

Tickets for the ultimate Dark Knight trilogy in IMAX 70mm go on sale Wednesday at 9 AM. More dates on the five city tour will be announced soon. This news comes from Deadline.

Woodside Drive In Cinema is returning to Wirral - with huge Bohemian Rhapsody screening

a group of people standing on top of a ramp: PUBLICITY PICTURE Joseph Mazzello, Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, and Ben Hardy in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) © PUBLICITY PICTURE PUBLICITY PICTURE Joseph Mazzello, Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, and Ben Hardy in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Wirral's only open air drive in cinema is set to reopen next month - and there's a huge film kicking the season off.

Returning on Saturday, April 6, Woodside Drive In will launch for 2019 with a screening of the  award-winning Bohemian Rhapsody.

The outdoor cinema is bringing back its roller skating waiters and enormous 13 metre screen to provide an authentic American-themed drive in cinema.

Screening new releases, cult classics and old favourites, Woodside Drive In also offers pre-movie games, circus performers and even fire eaters.

LIMF announces the full line up for its 2019 summer festival in Sefton Park  

Upon arrival, each guest will be greeted with a menu - and all you have to do to order is turn on your hazard lights and wait for a roller skating server to take your order.

a car driving on a city street filled with traffic at night: The outdoor cinema returns on April 6 © Woodside Drive In The outdoor cinema returns on April 6

You don't even need a car to attend, you can simply pull up one of the drive in's bean bags and relax.

Cinema-goers can order from the shop, take along their own food, or even order a takeaway to be delivered to your (car)door.

Prices start from £15 per car.

For more information and full movie listings visit www.woodsidedrivein.co.uk .

Sign up to the What's On newsletter - packed with brilliant things to see and do in Liverpool and beyond.

domingo, 10 de março de 2019

New movie theater now open in Downtown Memphis

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - From recliner seats to reserved seating and a full service restaurant, the Malco Powerhouse Cinema Grill is making a statement in Downtown Memphis.

The much-anticipated theater opened its doors Thursday and WMC Action News 5 was given a quick tour.

It has seven different screens, a wood burning brick pizza oven and a large screen MXT "Extreme" Theater. It can also seat up to 600 people.

We caught up with the general manager who told us this day has been highly anticipated.

"We're hoping to really be a part of this community. For folks to bring their families, their friends, come down have a drink, go to the bar and come see a movie," said Thomas Gandee, general manager.

Malco Powerhouse is located on South Front Street.

Downtown Memphis movie theater now open

Rhamy Alejael works just down the road from the new cinema. He says it's a good addition to the South Main District.

"There's been so much new housing coming downtown. There have been all the new residents moving in. Anything to make downtown more walkable," said Alejael.

It's been almost a decade since a movie theater was in the downtown area.

Malco Powerhouse will be the first theater since Muvico closed in the Peabody Place mall.

"South Main area has come back and it's really the place to be right now, so we're thrilled to be a part of that for sure and Malco's going to get it right. Don't worry," said Gandee.

Concern over parking has also come up with the re-development of the downtown area.

"As downtown develops and the South Main arts district becomes more like Downtown Memphis, parking is always going to be an issue," said Alejael.

We asked Gandee about movie theater parking. He said there's more than 200 spots right available beside the theater.

"We have a parking lot right here behind the theater. It's where the farmers market meets every week right off of South Front Street," said Gandee.

Showings have already started at the theater but most are sold out.

You can check online for availability.

Copyright 2019 WMC. All rights reserved.

quinta-feira, 7 de março de 2019

Hello Kitty Movie in the Works at New Line

The feature marks the first time Sanrio has granted film rights to the iconic feline and its other popular characters to a major studio.

Hello Kitty will be making her Hollywood debut.

Sanrio, the Japanese company behind the iconic feline, has granted film rights to the Warner Bros. label New Line Cinema and Flynn Picture Company to develop the character's first English-language feature film.

The partnership marks the only time Sanrio has granted film rights to Hello Kitty and its other popular characters — including Gudetama, My Melody and Little Twin Stars, among others — to a major film studio.

It is currently unclear if the project is being developed as an animated or live-action feature, but the search for writers has already begun. Beau Flynn will produce and Wendy Jacobson will executive produce for Flynn Picture.

Hello Kitty has previously appeared in comic books, TV series, video games and several Japanese-language animated movies, as well as on more than 50,000 different branded products (if you can name it, you can find a Hello Kitty version of it).

"I am extremely pleased that Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters will be making their Hollywood debut. Hello Kitty has long been a symbol of friendship and we hope this film will only serve to grow that circle of friendship around the world,"  Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji said Tuesday in a statement.

"We are thrilled to partner with Sanrio and FlynnPictureCo. on developing a film based on this treasured icon. It's a rare privilege to have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of such timeless IP," New Line's Richard Brener and Carolyn Blackwood offered in a joint statement.

Added Flynn: "With the positive and family-oriented values that Hello Kitty and Sanrio embody, there has never been a better time than now to share her message with the world!" 

Why artists are speaking up against ‘dirty money’ in Iranian cinema

The phenomenon of "dirty" or suspicious money appears to have increasingly found a new haven: Iran's cinema and TV production industry.

In 2015, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli spoke of an issue that had existed for a long time but was rarely confirmed: "dirty money." The term has since come to be used in Iran to refer to money laundering or financing with unclear sources.

Mentioning the "large amount of money" in the Iranian economy, Rahmani Fazli said in 2015, "A portion of this [type] of money has entered politics and has been used by individuals in elections etc." This issue has also been reiterated by Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani. "When there are drugs, there is dirty money too. … There is money laundering going on somewhere," Rouhani said last year.

Now, "dirty money" appears to have found a new place to operate — Iran's cinema and TV production industry, which has been flourishing in the past decade, with movies and series setting records in attracting audiences and income.

The story began when notorious billionaire Babak Zanjani brought his cash windfall from sanctions-busting to the cinema. Upon the imposition of US sanctions during the second term (2009-2013) of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the government had to resort to third parties to do banking transactions and receive oil export proceeds. Zanjani was one of these figures; he made extraordinary amount of money in a short time and didn't return a considerable amount of the Iranian Oil Ministry's money.

Hearing the whispers about a possible deal with the West over Iran's nuclear program, he entered the cinema industry in 2013, establishing Sourinet Film and producing three movies. He, however, was soon arrested, and sentenced to death for financial crimes and corruption.  

Meanwhile, in 2015, the Shahrzad TV series directed by celebrated director Hassan Fathi gained popularity. After a while, what made people more curious were the names of its producers: Mohammad Emami and Mohammad-Hadi Razavi. Razavi is the wealthy son-in-law of Rouhani's minister of cooperatives, labor and social welfare, Mohammad Shariatmadari, who is also accused of corruption. Razavi left the project concurrently with the launch of the "No to Shahrzad" campaign, which began in late 2016 after reports were leaked to media about the detention of Emami owing to his role in an embezzlement case. On Jan. 28, the judiciary referred to Emami as a "corrupted figure."

Moreover, on Jan. 21, the judiciary announced that a large amount of the money related to the massive embezzlement case engulfing Bank Sarmayeh has been transferred out of the country in the name of "bypassing sanctions," and that a portion of it has been spent on producing movies and series.  

"Dirty money" in Iranian cinema has raised concerns among veteran artists. In an open letter to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in October, Manijeh Hekmat, a prominent producer and director, criticized the current situation of Iranian cinema given the presence of "dirty money gangs."

More clear and direct criticism came from one of the most popular actresses of Iranian cinema, Fatemeh Motamedaria. "The problem is the type of money and individuals who are entering cinema. … [These are] people who mostly do not belong to this profession and have no cultural concerns, and have come to drag down everything to their level," Motamedaria said Jan. 5.

Expressing her disapproval over the "dirty money" in the industry aimed at "changing the path of Iranian cinema," Motamedaria said such investments have negatively affected Iranian film, bringing up the "fake and third-rate culture and relations of Hollywood-like star-making and pretentious actions such as [rolling out] the red carpet," thereby diminishing the popularity of artists among the public.

Referring to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the veteran actress said, "It is important to know what should be monitored. Should you control the word-for-word of the scripts and the [attire of] actresses, or should you become sensitive to the source and purpose and the result of the billions [of rials] entering cinema?"

However, such harsh words by artists haven't borne fruit as more and more unknown producers are entering the cinema industry. For example, Mohammad-Sadegh Ranjkeshan, a wealthy tourism activist, produced at least eight movies in one year and had a few movies in this year's flagship Fajr Film Festival, raising questions about the source of his money.

In response to a question about dirty money in the cinema industry, Ebrahim Daroughezadeh, the secretary of the state-backed Fajr Film Festival, said Jan. 24, "One of the policies of the Cinema Organization [run by the Ministry of Culture] is to encourage private investment in cinema. The private investment will help cinema." He added, "The [sources] of the investments are important for us … but we aren't the ones in charge of investigating [possible] financial violations of investors."

Moreover, member of parliament Tayyebeh Siavoshi, a member of the legislature's cultural commission, said Feb. 14 that the parliament last year passed anti-money laundering legislation and that it is the judiciary's duty to pursue the issue of dirty money in the entertainment industry.

Two days earlier, on Feb. 12, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi officially confirmed money laundering in Iranian cinema and television production, referring to the producer of the "Shahrzad" TV series, Emami, as an example. In the meantime, reports about the prosecutor general investigating money laundering in the Iranian entertainment industry has been welcomed by a group of producers. In a statement Feb. 18, the Association of Independent Producers of Iranian Cinema said that "dirty money … has damaged the balance of the market."

As such, while flourishing, Iranian cinema is clearly struggling to survive the phenomenon of "dirty money." As industry icons have now pinned their hopes on the judiciary to counter the money-laundering activities, one can only wait and see whether the judicial branch will begin to address to address the footprint of corrupt investors.

quarta-feira, 6 de março de 2019

‘Hello Kitty’ Movie in the Works, Could Be Live-Action or Animated

hello kitty movie new

Hello Kitty is getting her own movie from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. The popular cartoon character from Japanese company Sanrio has been around since the '70s, and lent her visage to a cavalcade of merchandise. Now, she'll grace the silver screen, at which point she might remind audiences that she's not actually a cat (weird, right?). There are no more details than that, and it's not even clear if this will be an animated movie, or live action. I'm hoping for live-action, and I hope Glenn Close plays the character so she can finally get that Oscar. More on the Hello Kitty movie below.

THR has the news about the Hello Kitty movie. The search for writers is currently underway, with Beau Flynn producing and Wendy Jacobson serving as executive producer. This will mark the first time rights to any character from Sanrio have been granted to a major film studio, so it's kind of a big deal, I suppose.

"I am extremely pleased that Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters will be making their Hollywood debut. Hello Kitty has long been a symbol of friendship and we hope this film will only serve to grow that circle of friendship around the world,"  said Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji.

"We are thrilled to partner with Sanrio and FlynnPictureCo. on developing a film based on this treasured icon. It's a rare privilege to have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of such timeless IP," added New Line's Richard Brener and Carolyn Blackwood.

Said Flynn: "With the positive and family-oriented values that Hello Kitty and Sanrio embody, there has never been a better time than now to share her message with the world!"

Hello Kitty was born as a cartoon figure included on merchandise from Sanrio. The popularity of the character steadily grew, especially after making her way to the United States in 1976. The character adorns school supplies, fashion accessories, and more, and has inspired manga comics and anime films, and even theme parks. According to the character's backstory, Hello Kitty is "a perpetual 3rd-grade student who lives outside London." And here's the kicker: despite her name and appearance, Hello Kitty is not actually a cat.

"Hello Kitty is not a cat," said Christine R. Yano, an anthropologist who has spent years studying the Hello Kitty phenomenon. "She's a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She's never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it's called Charmmy Kitty."

That's right – Hello Kitty is not a cat. But she does have a cat. And the cat also has "Kitty" in its name. I hope all of this is explained in the movie, or I'll be furious.

This isn't the first time Hollywood tried to bring Hello Kitty to the big screen. Back in 2015, a possible Hello Kitty movie was announced as being in development, but nothing ever came of it.

terça-feira, 5 de março de 2019

Film fan finds the real joy of movies is still in theaters

NEW YORK (AP) â€" Sure, it's easy to Netflix and chill these days. Or Prime and recline. Or Hulu and ... well, whatever. But if you really want to savor a film, there's still no substitute for a movie theater.

Turns out that there are few better ways to rediscover the joy of heading to the theater than a year of free movie tickets, courtesy of MoviePass. Among the greatest attractions: no distractions from Facebook, online chats, household chores and what not.

I was a regular moviegoer until ticket prices rocketed past $10 several years ago. In New York, $15 is now common; some theaters can charge $18 or $19, even before 3D and other surcharges. Streaming at home became far more affordable â€" and convenient. Who has time to go to the movies when you're already behind on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and everything else?

But then came a too-good-to-be-true subscription deal from MoviePass, a promotion that offered a daily movie for a year for just $94. With ticket prices no longer an issue, I ended up seeing 181 movies â€" including most of the Oscars contenders. Those movies would have cost me $2,747 without MoviePass. That's 52 cents per film, a 97 percent discount from $15. The deal was so good that MoviePass no longer offers it.

That MoviePass subscription has expired, but I've already seen 42 movies on other subscriptions this year â€" a mix of Sinemia, AMC A-List and memberships with individual theaters. It's costing about $60 a month in all, far more than the $8 a month with MoviePass â€" but all worth it.

I confess I have it easier than many people. Having no kids means no worries about babysitters and bedtime. I can squeeze in a 10 p.m. showing after a night out with friends.

Once the lights dim, it's just the movie and me.

When watching Netflix, you need discipline to put your phone or laptop away. I've sometimes had to consult Wikipedia for a plot point I missed because I was responding to a text or reading about the next movie to watch. Even folding laundry takes your eyes off the screen.

And while it's convenient to be able to stream movies in bits and pieces, as time permits, that detracts from their rhythm and pacing. Some movies, such as the Netflix drama "Roma," are meant to feel slow and deliberate, but you lose that feeling if you multitask on Facebook. The Netflix thriller "Bird Box" just doesn't feel right without the proper buildup of suspense.

Costumes and landscapes come to life on the theater's big screen. Rock climber Alex Honnold's nerve-wracking, rope-free ascent of the gigantic Yosemite rock formation El Capitan in "Free Solo" wouldn't have been the same on a phone. This documentary was even worth watching a second time, in the mega-size Imax format.

Then there was "Cold War," a Polish drama on romance in the Eastern Bloc. It was filmed in black and white in the boxy, 4-by-3 frame used by TV screens of that era. That gives the movie a nostalgic feel, even though it just came out. With streaming, video sometimes gets squeezed or stretched to match the dimensions of the TV or phone.

Sound quality at many theaters far exceeds what I could get at home. That became clear watching â€" and hearing â€" "Bohemian Rhapsody," about the rock band Queen, and "A Star is Born," a Lady Gaga-led drama on a singer's rise to fame.

True, theaters can still be a hassle. You have to be there at showtime â€" and then big theater chains show nearly a half-hour of trailers. (I typically read an e-book at low brightness or catch up on podcasts.) Coordinating schedules with friends can also be complicated, though if you're OK watching movies alone, that doesn't have to be a problem.

Spending all that time at the multiplex has changed how I watch movies and shows at home. I try harder to pay attention; my phone's screen-time controls, which block message notifications and the like, help me focus. But it still takes willpower, like avoiding the chocolate cake that's right in front of you.

For that reason, I choose theaters when I can, even when streaming is available right away. Some movies never make it to theaters outside big cities. I don't have that problem in New York, where several theaters show more than just the latest mega-blockbuster sequels.

So instead of asking, "Who has time to go the movies?," I ask myself, "Who has time for streaming?" And Netflix just raised its prices yet again. Hmmm.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Hollywood Finds a New Golden Age of Cinema in Indonesia

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Hollywood studios and global cinema chains are funding a new golden age in Indonesia's movie industry as box-office receipts soar and new screens open at a rate of about two a day. The resurgence of I...

Surprise! AMC Shows Movie Theaters Can Make Money From Subscriptions

Expectations were low going into AMC Entertainment's (NYSE: AMC) fourth-quarter earnings report. The company had been under a cloud of skepticism amid tepid box-office results to start 2019, along with nervo usness surrounding its new subscription service, AMC Stubs A-List.

However, some of that skepticism may have vanished after the report, which sent shares skyrocketing as much as 17.6% on Friday.

In the quarter, AMC met its revenue guidance and trounced expectations for profitability, posting earnings per share of $0.43, well ahead of estimates for just $0.17. One particular bright spot for AMC was the U.S. market, where the company's full-year attendance growth of 6.1% bested the overall domestic market's 5.8% growth.  

So what's causing these eye-popping profits and U.S. market share gains? It appears to be AMC Stubs A-List.

After A-List's rollout last June, the market soured on AMC. After all, movie subscription service MoviePass is barely clinging to life. Could a subscription service really work without cannibalizing existing full-priced patrons?

As this earnings report showed, AMC appears to have cracked the movie subscription code.

A young man has a surprised expression.

More

AMC A-List appears to be surprisingly profitable. Image source: Getty Images.

Higher food and beverage sales

In the movie business, theaters typically make about a 50% gross margin on ticket sales, give or take. That's good, but the real money is made on those egregiously priced buckets of popcorn. Last quarter, AMC earned a whopping 85.9% gross margin on food and beverage sales in the United States.

While AMC may be taking a hit on its admissions profit per A-List subscriber, higher frequency means more sales of high-margin food and beverages. CEO Adam Aron said A-Listers are spending 2.5 times more on food and beverages per month than before they joined A-List.

A-Listers bring friends... at full price

Aron was also excited about A-List's "bring-along rate." While movie lovers may be getting a great deal on their A-list subscription, many don't like going to the movies alone. 

On the conference call with analysts, Aron said A-list subscribers doubled their "bring-along revenue" of friends and family, who, unlike A-Listers, pay full-price. It's not clear how one measures this item, but given that A-Listers are now seeing several movies per month, as opposed to just six movies per year before joining, it's likely that many more incremental full-priced friends are coming along. That helps mitigate the lower admissions margins from core A-Listers.

A-List signups continue ahead of expectations

Management also revealed that the number of A-List members surpassed 700,000 shortly before earnings, after crossing the 600,000 mark near the end of December and the 500,000 mark around the time of the November earnings call. At this rate, it's possible that A-List could have 1 million subscribers by its one-year anniversary in June: double management's initial expectations for the service's first year.

In addition, Aron said that usage trends remain similar to what management described in November: heavy upon initial sign-up, at 3.3 average visits by the end of the first month, but falling below 3 visits per month in short order. Average usage across the whole footprint, which includes many high-frequency new subscribers, was already at a manageable 2.8 visits per month in February.

Story continues

It all adds up

As A-List initially ramped up, management expected it to cost the company $10 million to $15 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2018. However, the hit came in toward the lower end of that range at just $11.6 million, despite AMC signing up more subscribers than expected, which theoretically should have caused a larger hit to earnings in the short run. While management had previously expected A-List to break even in 2019 before adding incremental EBITDA in 2020, management now expects A-List to add to AMC's adjusted EBITDA in 2019, ahead of schedule.

Aron said he would "not be surprised" if A-List wound up generating $3 in incremental EBITDA per subscriber per month when mature. At the current 700,000 member count, that equates to an extra $2.1 million per month, or $25.2 million per year, already above the high end of management's initial hopes of $15 million to $25 million. If membership reaches 1 million, that's an extra $36 million in annual EBITDA. A t 2 million subs, it's an extra $72 million. 

Considering AMC's full-year 2018 adjusted EBITDA was $929.2 million, that would be a meaningful boost to profits. In short, shareholders should be excited, not fearful, about AMC Stubs A-List. It could bring a happy ending to 2019. 

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Billy Duberstein owns shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings. His clients may own shares of some of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.