Showing posts with label movie news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie news. Show all posts

Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight


Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight - Newark, New Jersey is auditioning to be Hollywood's next great backdrop -- a cheaper alternative to nearby New York with the architectural diversity to allow it to play almost any urban role.
Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight - Since the start of the year, the brand new Ironbound Film and Television Studios opened its doors and the city now has an Office of Film and Television. In January, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, went to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in part to talk up the city with top industry players.
But the nascent industry has been caught in the middle of the state's budget battle, after Republican Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have reinstated and increased a film tax credit that he suspended last year.
Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight -  Most U.S. states offer tax credits to film production companies using their locations. But across America, a municipal fiscal crisis is forcing states to rethink their courtship of the movie industry, which has taken up in unlikely locations such as Louisiana with the help of incentives.
Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight -  Just eight miles from Manhattan and with a seaport, international airport, a robust rail network, Newark -- once a thriving manufacturing center for leather, celluloid and light bulbs -- has worked to overcome its image of urban blight by attracting an array of new development projects.
"It's such a psychological lift for the people of Newark to see their city on screen. It instills a huge sense of civic pride," said O'Brien Kelley, a lawyer who heads the Newark office of Film and Television.
Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight -  Albie Hecht, the former president of Nickelodeon Entertainment, said Newark "actually has the potential for being a new hub for TV and film."
Hecht was filming his latest project, the Current TV show "Bar Karma," in the Ironbound studio, and said the tax credit would have saved his production about $300,000.
A GOOD VALUE?
Such credits are intended to entice producers to film in a state, attracting jobs and fostering a local film industry. But a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities last December concluded such credits were not a good value since the best jobs went to people from outside the state.
Rhode Island, Georgia and Missouri are poised to end their credits, while Connecticut and Michigan are looking at scaling back theirs.
By contrast, Puerto Rico has expanded its film tax credit, while Nebraska is considering adopting one.
Newark's film hopes snag on New Jersey budget fight -  Officials in Louisiana say its embrace of the film industry, including a generous film tax credit, has encouraged long-term investment in its flourishing film industry. "Battle: Los Angeles," opening this weekend, was shot in Louisiana, and not in less-generous California as its moniker suggests.
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Jeff Steele of Film Closings, a company specializing in film finance, argues that states should "try to capture a market during a down time."
He likened a film crew's arrival to a cruise ship docking -- a boon for local restaurants and other businesses.
"It's a very fast, high-powered start-up that comes in, leaves a lot of money and goes," he said of film productions.
New Jersey's tax credit of up to $10 million per year, began in 2005, allowed producers who spent 60 percent of their budgets in the state to write-off up to 20 percent of those costs. A related credit of up to $5 million was later added to encourage productions for the Internet.
Christie, who has taken an aggressive approach to closing the state's huge budget deficit, suspended the tax credit last year and this year vetoed a bill that would have raised the cap on the tax credit to $50 million.
For now, the tax credits remain suspended.
Meanwhile, Newark -- the location for parts of Steven Spielberg's 2005 film "War of the Worlds," and more recently the 2008 film "Cadillac Records" and many scenes in HBO's hit mobster show "The Sopranos" -- is forging ahead.
The city, nicknamed "Brick City" for its many red-brick, high-rise housing projects, has worked to build a reputation for being accommodating. Last year, the rapper Eminem shot a video for his song "Not Afraid" on a busy downtown street, holding up traffic for hours.
Now, industry watchers say that without a tax credit, the city might be relegated to becoming a place to shoot television commercials rather than movies.
While politicians haggle in budget talks over whether to reinstate the tax credit, the 37,000 square foot Ironbound plans to double its size this year, hoping to draw more business away from more expensive studios across the Hudson River in New York.
And Kelley, of the city's office of Film and Television, wants to launch an education and internship program to encourage Newark kids to work in the film industry.
"People think of it as a career that is so unattainable," he said. "But when you expose them, it just opens up a whole career vista."



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Olivia Wilde files to end 8-year marriage in LA


FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2009 file photo, Olivia Wilde, left, and Tao Ruspoli attend the premiere of 'Fix' in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)
 Olivia Wilde doesn't want to share a house with her husband of eight years — the television actress filed for divorce Friday in Los Angeles.
The "House" actress cited irreconcilable differences for her split with Tao Ruspoli, whom she married in January 2003.
The former couple separated in January. They have no children together.
Wilde's court filings do not indicate the pair have a prenuptial agreement, and the actress is asking that each party pay their own legal costs.
Ruspoli is a documentary filmmaker and the son of an Italian prince.
Wilde starred in "Tron: Legacy" and she is in the upcoming film "Cowboys & Aliens."

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Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge


FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2010 file photo, actor Mel Gibson looks on during a photocall to promote the movie 'Edge of Darkness', in Paris. Gibson is expected to be charged Friday March 11, 2011 with misdemeanor battery and appear in a Los Angeles courtroom to plead guilty and be sentenced. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, file)Mel Gibson used some lightning legal moves Friday to abruptly end a domestic violence case involving a fight last year with his then-girlfriend. Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - 
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - Within hours, Gibson was charged with misdemeanor spousal battery and pleaded no contest in a deal with prosecutors that kept him out of jail.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - In a separate case, prosecutors announced they found insufficient evidence to pursue Gibson's extortion allegations against Oksana Grigorieva, the victim in the battery case and the mother of Gibson's infant daughter.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - As part of the plea deal, Gibson will spend three years on probation, undergo a year of domestic violence counseling, and perform 16 hours of community service.
If he complies and doesn't get into further trouble, he won't have to make another court appearance in the case.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - Gibson, 55, dressed in a blue suit and blue striped shirt, said little during the brief hearing beyond acknowledging his rights and the terms of the plea deal.
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Grigorieva did not attend the proceeding.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - The developments marked a swift ending to a legal saga that began last summer when Grigorieva, a Russian musician, reported Gibson had hit her during a fight at his Malibu home in January 2010.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - By the time she went to police, the pair were locked in a bitter custody battle and the actor soon accused her of attempting to extort him during negotiations for custody arrangements involving their daughter.
Months of investigation by deputies followed. Sexist and racist rants by Gibson were leaked to celebrity website RadarOnline.com, and Grigorieva did interviews with Larry King and People magazine detailing threats she attributed to Gibson.
The custody battle continues in a Los Angeles court, but the proceeding is closed to the public and the records are sealed.
In the battery case, Gibson entered a plea in which he did not admit guilt and cannot be used against him if Grigorieva files a lawsuit.
His lawyer Blair Berk said the Academy Award winner made the move with the best interests of his children in mind.
"It is with only that in mind that he asked me to approach the district attorney with a proposal that would bring all of this to an immediate end," Berk said in a statement.
Prosecutors said they agreed to the deal because it offered adequate protection for Grigorieva and her daughter with Gibson.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - A protective order issued by Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner forbids Gibson from threatening or becoming violent with Grigorieva or her children.
Grigorieva, 41, also has a teenage son with actor Timothy Dalton.
The order, however, will not keep Gibson from seeing his infant daughter.
"The protective order has restrictions, as long as he complies with the protective order, he can see his daughter," said John Lynch, a head deputy district attorney who helped handle the case.
Lynch thought the plea agreement was warranted, given Gibson's lack of a serious criminal history.
"I think that this disposition would have occurred if we had taken it to trial," Lynch said.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge -  The battery charge was another blow to Gibson's reputation, which took a major hit after his 2006 arrest for drunken driving. A deputy's report leaked to the celebrity website TMZ revealed the action star had used anti-Semitic and sexist slurs.
His conviction was later expunged after he completed terms of his sentence.
The charge came a week before Gibson's latest film, "The Beaver," is due to premiere at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. It is only the second major film that Gibson has starred in since 2002.
He portrays a deeply troubled man able to communicate only through a beaver puppet in the film directed by Jodie Foster.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge - Although Gibson's prominence as an actor has diminished, he has remained a Hollywood fixture and drawn audiences as a director.
His relationship with Grigorieva helped return Gibson to the limelight, with the pair appearing on red carpets and award shows. Gibson confirmed her pregnancy on "The Tonight Show."
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge -  Gibson was accused of striking her on Jan. 6, 2010, although she did not report it until months later.
The Sheriff's Department opened its investigation in July, and later began its probe into the extortion allegation made by Gibson.
By then, the pair had broken up and reached a confidential custody agreement regarding their daughter Lucia. Although the exact details are not public, Gibson's attorney said last year the actor was paying for a house and car for Grigorieva along with child care.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge -  The former couple has appeared opposite each other several times in a family law court that has heard issues related to child care, financial issues and evidence in the criminal investigations of both parents.
Grigorieva's attorneys lauded the decision to not charge her with extortion, saying the conclusion was reached "after very careful consideration of all the facts and with complete fairness to all involved."
Mel Gibson pleads no contest to battery charge -  Grigorieva never invoked her Fifth Amendment right during interviews and turned over numerous confidential documents, according to a statement issued to The Associated Press by her lawyers Daniel Horowitz, Ronald Litz and Martin Garbus.
"Ms. Grigorieva will now concentrate on co-parenting Lucia, resuming her charitable work for the children of Chernobyl and moving forward with her life," the statement said.




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    Source Code sci-fi thriller premieres at SXSW


    Director Duncan Jones premiered his thriller Source Code at South by Southwest on Friday, bringing a tech-savvy movie to a high-tech festival.
    The film follows an Air Force captain played by Jake Gyllenhaal who finds himself inside another man's body searching for the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. Vera Farmiga plays his air force handler, Michelle Monaghan a passenger on the train and Cas Anvar plays one of the suspects. The film deals with traveling through time to parallel realities.
    The actors walked the red carpet outside Austin's Paramount Theater on the festival's opening night, along with screenwriter Ben Ripley.
    Gyllenhaal said he was a fan of Ripley's script and suggested it to Jones. Gyllenhaal said working within the bounds of the science fiction plot and inside the confined space of a commuter train was one of the most creative experiences he's had in film.
    "You could really make any choice you wanted within the simple rules of the world you existed in," he said. "Duncan gave us the ability to improvise within that given world."
    Source Code sci-fi thriller premieres at SXSW - Jones said he thought it as a good idea to release the film at a multimedia festival like South by Southwest, where digital gaming and Internet technology are just as important as film and music.
    Source Code sci-fi thriller premieres at SXSW -  "It's certainly the future and I can see how it's going to be more and more applicable as the industry on the technology and Internet side matures," Jones said. This is Jones' second feature-length film. He premiered his first film, Moon, at South by Southwest in 2009.
    Source Code sci-fi thriller premieres at SXSW -  While Source Code riffs on time travel, the plot is fundamentally a dramatic thriller, Ripley said. Source code is the programming language behind a computer application.
    "The science is more implied than seen, and it's a chamber piece," Ripley said. "Other time travel movies are obsessed with changing our past, but we can't change our past. Theoretical physics believes we can access our past in a parallel sense, and that's what (the lead character) does."
    Monaghan said Jones is breathing new life into science fiction films.
    Source Code sci-fi thriller premieres at SXSW -  "Science fiction is really tricky, and it's fun to do things that are thought provoking," she said. "And this one has a little bit of drama and romance as well, for me from an actor's standpoint it has all of the right ingredients."
    Anvar, who is of Iranian descent, said the problem of racial and religious profiling is dealt with in the terrorism storyline that underlies the film.
    Source Code sci-fi thriller premieres at SXSW -  "The beautiful thing about this movie is that the writer took into account the whole stereotype of this Middle Eastern guy who is a train that is going to be bombed," Anvar said. "It's not something treated in an irresponsible way."
    Source Code opens nationwide on April 1.

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    'Battle: Los Angeles' Easily Tops Friday Box Office


    Battle: Los Angeles got off to a great start on Friday, grossing at least $13.5 million to easily come in No. 1. 'Battle: Los Angeles' Easily Tops Friday Box Office -
    'Battle: Los Angeles' Easily Tops Friday Box Office - The sci-fi action pic could make as much as $38 million for the weekend, one of the best starts of the year.
    'Battle: Los Angeles' Easily Tops Friday Box Office - Conversely, Disney’s performance captureMars Needs Moms fared dismally in its first day, grossing roughly $1.8 million. The family film -- costing a pricey $140 million to produce -- could only gross $8 million for the weekend, one of Disney’s worst openings.
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    The prospects for Warner Bros.’ dark fantasy Red Riding Hood were more difficult to judge. The film, starring Amanda Seyfried, was in a close race Friday for No. 2 with Paramount holdoverRango.
    One set of estimates had Red Riding Hood grossing $6 million; others put the film’s tally closer to $5 million.
    Red Riding Hood will need a strong bump on Saturday if it’s to meet expectations for an opening weekend gross of $18 million to $20 million. Otherwise, it could be looking at an opening weekend gross of $15 million or $16 million, a softer-than-expected debut. 'Battle: Los Angeles' Easily Tops Friday Box Office -
    Rango, meanwhile, is looking at a weekend gross of at least $20 million after earning at least $5.3 million on Friday.
    Final Friday numbers will be released Saturday morning.




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      'Limitless'? Not Hollywood, says Robert De Niro


      Actor Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower attend the premiere of 'Limitless' in New York on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
      Despite his years in film,  Robert De Niro says he still can't do anything he wants in Hollywood.
      He notes the troubles and delays he experienced with "The Good Shepherd," the 2006 CIA tale that he directed and starred in. De Niro doubts he could make a similar film now. He says people don't really want to do "those kind of movies" nowadays.
      Still, De Niro says he does have a choice of roles that other actors would envy and that he "can't complain."
      The actor's latest film, "Limitless," debuts in theaters March 18.
      In it, De Niro plays a mega-mogul. Co-star Bradley Cooper plays an unsuccessful writer whose life is transformed after he discovers a secret drug that allows him to use 100 percent of his brain.

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      Access Investigates: Charlie Sheen's Money Woes


      With his estimated $66 million dollar "Two and a Half Men" salary over the next two seasons gone, is Charlie Sheen's vast empire of wealth and property merely a house of cards?
      Just before he was officially terminated from the hit CBS sitcom, Charlie added to his portfolio of properties when he spent an estimated $7.5 million dollars on a lush 9,000-square foot home. With expansive views, nine bedrooms, and sprawling pools and patios, the home is just around the corner from where he lives now.
      While some have reported Charlie's wealth to be as high as $85 million dollars, others believe it's well below that. No matter what the actual amount may be, most of the money is tied up in his six properties, which also include a $2.5 million dollar home for estranged wife Brooke Mueller, and Denise Richards' multi-million dollar mansion.
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      Additionally, the sum total of Charlie's child support paid to exes Denise and Brooke has been estimated at $1.3 million dollars per year. It's also believed Charlie still owes Brooke $1.8 million dollars to settle their prenuptial agreement and to buy her out of her share of "Sober Valley Lodge."
      But even with his $2 million-per-episode paycheck gone, it's a stretch to think he will be financially broken. Thanks to the syndication of the 177 episodes of "...Men" already shot, Charlie could still make up to $100 million dollars -- not to mention the earning potential by his new found exploitation of social media.
      Due to his Ustream and Twitter record-breaking popularity - he broke a Guinness World Record for gaining over a million Twitter followers in less than two days -- Charlie could potentially earn millions with product placement.


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      Matthew McConaughey Says His Children Are 'Like A Mirror'; Reveals His Abandoned Collegiate Law Aspirations

      Fifteen years have passed since Matthew McConaughey's stunning performance as a an embattled lawyer in "A Time To Kill." Now, Matthew is returning to the onscreen courtroom as a lawyer who practices out of his Lincoln town car in the upcoming drama, "The Lincoln Lawyer," and the actor says he nearly missed out on his Hollywood career to become an attorney, himself.


      "I woke up when I was in college - I think I was 21, and I said, 'Wait a minute -- a couple more years of this, four more years of law school, I get out and I'll be 28 before I actually have a job and am practicing what I want to do? I don't want to miss my 20s,'" the star told Access of why he chose to stop pursuing a law degree, at the junket for "The Lincoln Lawyer" in LA on Thursday. "I wanted to get out in my 20s and try and make some sort of imprint in society. I didn't have the patience or the want to go for another six years of just education before I wanted to try out and get my own experience.
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      "So I switched over to film production and I'm happy I did," he added, with his signature smile.
      In addition to his lengthy film career, the 41-year-old is enjoying playing daddy to his two children with "Shear Genius" host Camila Alves -- son Levi, 2, and daughter Vida, 1 - whom he described as "a mirror."
      "Children remind you something about yourself everyday that maybe you forgot -- or maybe you know, but you didn't think you were doing that till you were like 20 and they're doing it when they're like, 2," Matthew told Access of his clever youngsters. "And you're going, 'Wait a minute -- you're pulling something on me? You just pulled a McConaughey! You just pulled a Matthew! But I didn't know how to do that till I was 18 and you're two-and-a-half and you're doing it? Oh. Maybe I was doing it long before I thought I was.'"
      The proud papa also advised parents to let their children develop a sense of individuality while still imparting parental wisdom.
      "Take advantage of that fact that you have that amount of experience over those children and guide them that way,'" he told Access. "At the same time, hold on loosely enough to let them become their own thing.

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      "Battle Los Angeles" winning box office war


      "Battle Los Angeles" will win the battle of the sexes at the weekend box office in North America, likely to sell about $30 million worth of tickets to bloodthirsty young men.
      The distaff "Twilight" crowd, meanwhile, will flock to "Red Riding Hood," which should open with $18 million-$20 million. Its ranking depends on the size of the fall of last weekend's champion, "Rango," which started off with $38 million.
      There's also a new family offering -- Disney's performance-capture 3D toon "Mars Needs Moms." But meek interest has prepared Disney for an especially poor opening in the $8 million to $10 million range. The film cost about $140 million to make.
      "Battle Los Angeles," a sci-fi war picture that cost about $70 million, stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan and Michael Pena. In its marketing campaign, Sony has trumpeted the action and special effects.
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      The film also opens in a handful of foreign markets, including the U.K. and Hong Kong.
      "Red Riding Hood," starring Amanda Seyfried, is Catherine Hardwicke's first film since "Twilight," and Warner Bros. has relied heavily on the director's name in promoting the $40 million film.
      The dark fantasy is based on the well-known fairy tale -- only in this version, the wolf is a werewolf. Gary Oldman, Billy Burke and Shiloh Fernandez also star.
      "Battle Los Angeles" and "Red Riding Hood" are drawing especially bad reviews. "Mars" is faring slightly better.
      On the specialty side, Focus Features opens "Jane Eyre," starring Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland") and Michael Fassbender, in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Cary Fukunaga directed the critically acclaimed film, based on the classic novel by Charlotte Bronte.




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