Movie News

Independence Day Sequel: Jeff Goldblum And The Aliens Return To Earth

Published

6 years ago

May 30, 2015

jeff goldblum independance day feature movie spoon

All it takes is a photograph to light up the Internet, and the photo supplying the star power this week is one of actor Jeff Goldblum, looking every bit the accidental genius (a familiar role for him) in what will be the sequel to the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day.

Director Roland Emmerich reportedly released the photograph of Goldbum reprising his role as the cerebral, but nervous David Levinson, the computer expert who saved the day in the first Independence Day. The reason for the photo’s release was apparently to quell rumors that the sequel was actually in the making.

The film, which features another alien invasion, might seriously be called Family Reunion given the number of stars who are returning for the remake.

You might start by asking “who died in the first film?” and go from there. The president’s wife Marilyn Whitmore died in the first film; cancel the return of Mary McDonnell, who played that part. And Randy Quaid’s character Russell Casse dies in a memorable act of kamikaze heroism, so he can’t come back, either.

Watch: Randy Quaid’s Meltdown

Otherwise, Independence Day 2, which is set for release on 24 June 2016, looks to have a solid returning ensemble. Character actor Judd Hirsch, who played David’s father Julius is back. Bill Pullman, who played the let’s-tough-this-one-out president Thomas Whitmore is now the ex-president in a plot that picks up almost 20 years after the end of the first installment. (This makes for less fuss in the makeup room.) Vivacious Vivica Fox returns as Jasmine Dubrow and Brent Spiner returns as the befuddled, comedic scientist Brackish Okun.

The missing link: Will Smith, whose career was catapulted to new heights by the first film is not returning as Steven Hiller.

At the time, Smith’s character put the final touch on the ascension of heroism in film roles for African Americans. After all, Hiller was just an everyday, show-up-to-work Air Force pilot in the first film, who happens to save the world from eminent destruction by aliens with spaceships so large they hovered over entire cities at a time.

Hiller got in a little one-on-one with one alien dude and bested him in a full-speed dog fight, then returned for the visit to the alien’s master ship. He gave them a bit of a run for their money, as well.

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Izzy

Movie Magic: The De-Aging Technique of The Irishman

Published

2 years ago

November 20, 2019

Matt

Have you read Izzy yet? If so, you know that Izzy makes the apples that give the Gods their youth and immortality. It also seems Robert De Niro discovered one of Izzy’s apples too… In Martin Scorsese’s upcoming biographical film, he stars as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, a labor union leader and alleged hitman for the Bufalino crime family. The trailer for the movie, which will premieres NEXT WEEK (!), also features a “de-aged” De Niro. “We’re so used to watching them as the older faces,” Scorsese said in an interview on the A24 podcast. “Does it change the eyes at all? …If that’s the case, what was in the eyes that I liked? Was it intensity? Was it gravitas? Was it threat?…How do we get that? I don’t know.” Some might consider this magic and I for one can’t wait to see the impact of Izzy’s apples on screen for myself. ????

Movie News

“Captain Marvel” Retains Top Slot at the Box Office

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2019

Mark McPherson

It’s no surprise that in its second weekend, the first Marvel Cinematic Universe of 2019 is still riding high. Captain Marvel, the latest in the MCU with Brie Larson starring as the lead, generated another $69 million over the weekend, placing its domestic total at $266 million. Tallying up the international box office, the film’s global total to date is $760 million. Despite the online controversy, the film is looking to be another strong box office smash for Disney and Marvel.

As for the premieres for the weekend, and there were plenty, they were all over the map. Just below Captain Marvel was the animated adventure Wonder Park, bringing in $16 million, another film with controversy when the director’s name was removed from the picture after sexual harassment charges. Five Feet Apart, the dying teen drama about a romance amid cystic fibrosis, only came in at #3 with a weekend gross of $13 million. And debuting the lowest in the top 10 for debuts was Captive State, a sci-fi dystopian tale, only making $3 million. The film debuted so low the little film No Manches Frida 2 was able to sneak about it at #6 with a gross of $3.8 million.

Drops were fairly low all around for the returning films, mostly because Captain Marvel was dominating the previous weekend. The only milestone worth noting is that The LEGO Movie 2, after six weeks at the box office, finally cracked $100 million. And the sun is now setting on Green Book’s post-Oscar run by coming in at #10 for the final weekend of its top 10 run over the past few weeks.

View the full top ten weekend box office results below:

Captain Marvel ($69,318,000)

Wonder Park ($16,000,000)

Five Feet Apart ($13,150,000)

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World ($9,345,000)

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral ($8,085,000)

No Manches Frida 2 ($3,894,000)

Captive State ($3,163,000)

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part ($2,135,000)

Alita: Battle Angel ($1,900,000)

Green Book ($1,277,000)

Next weekend, Captain Marvel may very well have some competition when Jordan Peele’s new horror film Us hits over 3,600 theaters.

Movie News

“Dragon” Continues To Soar, “Funeral” Close Behind, “Green Book” Back

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2019

Mark McPherson

With little competition for the weekend, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third in the animated fantasy saga, was able to secure the box office once more. In its second weekend, the animated epic made $30 million to push its domestic total to $97 million. So far the film has done about the same as the previous film and is on track to stay in the top 10 for a few more weeks in March.

Debuts this weekend were small with one big exception. Tyler Perry’s latest Madea film, A Madea Family Funeral, naturally made a relatively big splash with its dedicated audience. Starting at #2, the film made $27 million for its first weekend. No word on the budget yet but it’s most likely on a budget as most Tyler Perry productions are, so it’s safe to call this a success, especially for debuting with a box office so close to Dragon.

The rest of the premieres were not as strong at all. Greta, the new thriller starring Chloe Moretz, debuted all the way down at #8 with $4.5 million box office. To be fair, however, the film was in a constant battle for its spot as three other films also reported earnings around $4 million for the weekend. Of note, Green Book, fresh off winning the Academy Award for Best Picture one weekend ago, splashed back into more theaters to arise even higher in the top 10 with its domestic total now sitting at $73 million. Don’t count on it remaining there long as bigger blockbusters will be swooping as we plow through the last remnants of winter movies.

Check out the full listing of the top 10 box office weekend results below:

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World ($30,046,000)

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral ($27,050,000)

Alita: Battle Angel ($7,000,000)

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part ($6,615,000)

Green Book ($4,711,000)

Fighting With My Family ($4,691,284)

Isn’t it Romantic ($4,645,000)

Greta ($4,585,000)

What Men Want ($2,700,000)

Happy Death Day 2U ($2,516,000)

Next weekend is once again all about Marvel as their latest superhero solo film, Captain Marvel, will be appearing in 4,100 theaters.