New “Twilight” Movie Eclipses Box Office Competitors

The most recent “Twilight” film sailed over the $100 million tag during its third day at the North American box office, and was predicted to deal with a record-breaking $200 million by the end of the U.S. Independence Day holiday weekend, based on quotes released on Saturday.
“The Twilight Saga: The Eclipse,” the excitedly envisioned third installment in the vampire love series, sold about $121.4 million worth of tickets from Wednesday to Friday, stated distributor Summit Entertainment.
For the conventional Friday-Sunday part, the privately owned studio predicted sales of $80.2 million, and a four-day total of $106.1 million with addition of the Monday holiday. That would take its six-day run to $198.9 million.
The record for an Independence Day launch is presented by “Spider-Man 2,” which gained $180 million in its first six days in 2004, having also opened on a Wednesday.
As for the other movies in the “Twilight” series, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” gained $179 million in its first six days during a nonholiday time in November. A year before, the six-day haul for the first movie, “Twilight,” was $88 million.
The actual weekend sales sum for the new movie could change largely when further quotes are issued on Sunday and Monday. Studios sometimes make a mistake on the traditional side when issuing estimations. Ultimate data will be unveiled on Tuesday.
If primary quotes hold, “Eclipse” would rank No. 3 among all-time six-day openers, behind “The Dark Knight” ($222 million) and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” ($215 million), based on Box Office Mojo.
The movie orbits about the love between teen Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson ), as werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) attempts to take her heart away. Critics loved the movie more than they did the first two, based on Web site Rotten Tomatoes.
The family movie “The Last Airbender” from “Sixth Sense” director M. Night Shyamalan was another new launch. The two-day total for the Thursday launch was $32.95 million, stated distributor Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
After two weeks at No. 1, the Pixar cartoon “Toy Story 3″ was predicted to fall to No. 3 for the weekend. It gained $10.5 million on Friday — vs. $28.6 million for “Eclipse” and $16.6 million for “Last Airbender” — taking its North American total to $269.3 million, stated Pixar parent Walt Disney Co.

SOURCE

People Go Along With Critics On ‘Last Airbender’: It’s A Stinker

The good information for Paramount going into this great holiday weekend is that its M. Night Shyamalan-directed “The Last Airbender” has gained a big upsurge in critical excitement. Well, perhaps big would be placing it a bit too powerfully. The movie, which on Thursday was embedded at a surprisingly lowly 6 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has maintained to slide up to a 9 on the critic aggregation site. At this rate, the movie could strike double results by the end of the weekend.
The bad information for Paramount is that contrary to a movie like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” which was drubbed by the critics but appreciated by the people, “Last Airbender” is acquiring the identical poor evaluations from rank-and-file moviegoers as from the critical mandarins. Relating to CinemaScore, the corporation that monitors opening-night response from moviegoers in a lot of cities around the nation, first-night moviegoers — the folks most excited about viewing “Last Airbender” — gave the movie a woeful C.
Based on studio marketers, a C level from CinemaScore is a portend of gloom and doom, since it’s a very clear indication that even a cinema’s most devoted viewers believed the movie was a stinker, a viewpoint they are sure to share with their buddies and family just before the weekend is out. So while box office prognosticators like my coworker Ben Fritz have estimated that “Airbender” could produce approximately $50 million over the weekend, the C level is a fairly trustworthy indicator that the cinema will have a sharp dropoff in its grosses in the weeks to come.
In the run-up to the movie’s opening, Shyamalan has been preaching about rapidly getting to work on a sequel, but if I were him, I’d be keeping my choices open. This film, to quote one of my father’s favorite expressions, seems like a dog that won’t hunt.

SOURCE

4th Of July Concerts Include Justin Bieber, B.o.B, The Roots

The Fourth of July weekend. A time for potato salad, backyard barbecues, trips to the ER following fireworks mishaps and patriotic concerts headlined by Canadian tween stars.

Yes, Ontario's own Justin Bieber will headline this year's Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on Sunday. The show will be broadcast on NBC and also feature appearances from Enrique Iglesias, LeAnn Rimes and a few yet-unnamed "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" castmembers. Nick Cannon will host the night's festivities, which will beam out from the deck of the Norwegian Epic cruise liner.
Rapper B.o.B will also be in New York, performing at the third annual Brooklyn Music Festival along with a host of reggae stars, including Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, Barrington Levy, Marcia Griffiths, Yellowman, Gregory Isaacs and Lady Saw.
The Independence Day holiday coincides with Chicago's massive Taste of Chicago event, a gastronomic mecca that this year will host Passion Pit, Carney, Alejandro Escovedo and Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
In St. Louis, John Legend will warm things up on Saturday night under the famous Arch before new-wave favorites the B-52s headline on Sunday. Rockers Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will do the honors at the San Diego County Fair, and Mary J. Blige will top the bill at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans as part of the Essence Music Festival, which will also feature sets from Jill Scott, Estelle, Earth, Wind & Fire and Trey Songz.
One of the day's biggest celebrations is A Capitol Fourth in Washington, D.C., which will be hosted by actor Jimmy Smits and feature sets from Reba McEntire, Gladys Knight, Darius Rucker, David Archuleta and a number of military bands. In Boston, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will get a hand from country icon Toby Keith, while the Roots, Goo Goo Dolls and Chrisette Michele will hold it down in Philadelphia at Ben Franklin Parkway, which organizers are promising will be the biggest free concert in the United States on Independence Day.

SOURCE

Alicia Keys unlocks pocket full of dreams at Essence Music Festival

Alicia Keys didn't need a cadre of dancers or an arsenal of special visual effects to capture the hearts of the crowd at her headlining concert Saturday at the 16th Essence Music Festival. All it took was her powerhouse laser beam voice soaring through a strong collection of hit anthems and her face beaming from beneath a mound of shoulder-length curls.
After actress Jada Pinkett Smith introduced her about 25 minutes past midnight (the program was running nearly an hour late), Keys launched into Love Is Blind from her 2009 album The Element of Freedom and kept the intensity steady and the mood uplifting all the way through to show-closer No One an hour later.
Keys, who recently announced that she was pregnant, hid her baby bump beneath a roomy emerald green-and black dress but couldn't disguise her pleasure in performing before the loyal, but less-than-capacity crowd.
Switching frequently between several types of keyboards (including a baby grand piano and a strap-on electronic keyboard), she worked her way though signature tune Fallin', Diary, Like You'll Never See Me Again, Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart and a dozen other inspirational torch songs. For Till You See My Smile she climbed atop the baby grand and sang while reclining, leading an "oooh oooh'' sing-along on the chorus.
Current hit Empire State of Mind Part 2, played against a video backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, illuminated the affection that New Orleans has for New York and earned her some of the loudest applause of the night.

SOURCE

M. Night Shyamalan Reveals 'The Last Airbender' Deleted Scenes

"The Last Airbender" hit theaters this week, offering moviegoers a live-action adaptation of the hit Nickelodeon animated series — or more accurately, its first season.
In order to cram 20 episodes of cartoon story into 103 minutes of movie, however, some parts of the "Airbender" tale had to be left on the editing room floor. And when I spoke to director M. Night Shyamalan about the film, I asked him about the scenes that didn't make the final cut.

"The single most difficult decision was [cutting] the Kyoshi Warriors," he said of a chapter in the story that involves Aang, Sokka, and Katara encountering a group of female warriors along their travels.
"We shot [the scene] and they were amazing, and we spent an unbelievable amount of time choreographing them," he explained. "And they just distracted from the movie, because the movie wasn't about them."
According to Shyamalan, the decision to edit out the Kyoshi Warriors had a lot to do with their lack of involvement in the final chapter of the first season — and therefore, the finale of the film itself.
"It was like introducing these great characters who had nothing to do with the third act," he explained. "That's what happens in the series, but in the short form of the movie, it becomes blatant. Where did they go? Why aren't they in the third act?"
"So I made the very difficult decision of pulling them from the movie and introducing them in the second movie if we have the opportunity," he added.
Along with the removal of the Kyoshi Warriors, Shyamalan also admitted to cutting much of the slapstick humor of the story.
"I did it naturally in the first draft, and as the drafts went on, I kept on doing it more," he said of cutting out the jokey side of the trio's adventure. "Then when we shot it, I did it even more, and then when we were editing it, I kept on reducing it."
"What I found was... the audience wants to take this seriously," he explained. "They want this to be real and important to everyone, and if a character is being too silly, they go, 'Okay, I guess he's not very upset. I guess there's not a big threat. I guess the fact that an entire culture's been wiped out is not a big deal.'"
"When everyone has the same threats and value systems going on, you really start to lean in more," continued Shyamalan. "You have to be really careful — a slapstick moment can really drain a movie."

SOURCE

The casting of 'Spider-Man 4': Who's Andrew Garfield?

The new "Spider-Man" movie finally has a leading man and it is… Andrew Garfield?

Sony Pictures made the announcement on Thursday that Garfield would take over for Tobey Maguire as the new Peter Parker, People.com reported, and ever since fans have been furiously googling this little-known actor.

Garfield, who was born in Los Angeles, may not be a familiar face in America, but across the pond he is popular for his starring roles in the British television series "Red Riding," a crime drama, and the movies "Boy A" and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
The new Spider-Man movie's director, Mark Webb, who directed last summer's hit "(500) Days of Summer," told People.com that, "Though (Garfield's) name may be new to many, those who know this young actor's work understand his extraordinary talents. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker."

Earlier this year, Sony said the movie's plot will take Parker back into high school and will focus on, "A teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises." Spider-man will begin filming later this year and is set to be released the July 3, 2012.


SOURCE

Lindsay Lohan punched on birthday

What a birthday.
Lindsay Lohan, who was celebrating her 24th birthday early Friday morning at Voyeur nightclub, was allegedly punched by a waitress, according to multiple reports.
The actress tweeted about it at around 1 a.m. Pacific: "A waitress just hit me - punched me for no reason."
A witness who was there told Us Magazine that the waitress was jealous Lohan was hanging out with Doug Reinhardt, Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend.

SOURCE

Lady Gaga nears 10 million Facebook fans

Lady Gaga is on track to soon become the first living person to log 10 million Facebook fans, according to British website Famecount.
Gaga overtook Barack Obama as the most popular living person on Facebook on June 25. Only five entities, none of them living people, now have more Facebook fans than Lady Gaga, including the late Michael Jackson, Texas Hold 'em Poke, the Family Guy TV show, the game Mafia Wars and Facebook itself.

SOURCE

'The Last Airbender': An Inside Look At Five Cool Powers And Weapons

Last summer, MTV News took a trip inside M. Night Shyamalan's mad-scientist brain when we visited the Philadelphia set of "The Last Airbender." The hyperkinetic director was in the midst of bringing "Airbender" out from the animated small screen and into real life, and the results were big, big, big — sets twice the size of football fields, massive green screens, hundreds of extras in elaborate costumes and a production budget two and a half times the size of any of his other movies.

"I'm scared to death," he admitted back then.
Yet, at the same time, Shyamalan knew exactly what he was doing. Now the results of that focused anxiety have arrived in theaters. Set in an imaginary world in which various tribes can control the elements of the planet, the film follows the century-long war that the Fire nation has been waging against other nations until a young boy named Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the only person capable of controlling all four elements and bringing about peace.
As the tribes go at one another, the audience gets to sit back and take in all manner of badass weaponry and cool, CGI-assisted powers. Visual-effects supervisor Pablo Helman ("War of the Worlds") and set decorator Larry Dias ("Transformers") walked MTV News through the creation of these various features to give us the inside scoop about five cool weapons and powers.
Manipulating Fire
The Fire nation is one committed to ceaseless warfare. Their weapon of choice, obviously, is all manner of wicked flames — flung in various ways at the enemy to cause maximum damage. It's fantastical stuff, no doubt, but Shyamalan wanted that computer-generated power to be grounded in reality. Helman's source of inspiration? The annual Burning Man festival in Nevada.
"Night wanted something that no one had seen before," Helman said. "And he wanted the fire to look different every time it was used. At Burning Man, they've got a bonfire there, and they put a bunch of fans around it so the fire looks like a tornado fire. That was the main inspiration. We showed it to Night and said it's a cool look, and he loved it."
Manipulating Water
The Water nation, meanwhile, is a more peaceful tribe — until they're challenged by the Fire folks and have to fight back. Their ability is controlling water and using it every conceivable way to eliminate the aggressor. Helman looked to the U.S. space agency to come up with something that would work for computer animation.
"We looked at NASA footage. They did some experiments with liquid water in zero gravity," Helman said. "If you look at the water in zero gravity, it behaves in a specific way. It stays together, it forms balls, and there's all this interesting stuff that happens inside the balls of water. That's what we showed Night, and he loved it. So we had to come up with a piece of software that allowed us to manipulate water in the same way."
Fire Balls
The Fire nation doesn't just hurl fire. They also build huge, spiky metal spheres that they launch from their warships. Think of them like the scariest, flame-assisted catapults you've ever seen.
"The Fire nation is the only one of the nations that has industrialized, and we needed to create something that would work for them," Dias explained. "So for the military ships, we manufactured these giant orbs — basically a metal framework that would have fire put in digitally. They have huge spikes, they're flaming, they're intense. They inflict a lot of damage."
Zuko's Double Swords
"Airbender" features a slew of weapons, from Aang's powerful staff to the various swords of the warring tribes. But ask star Dev Patel what his favorite weapon in the movie is, and of course he's going to choose one that his character — the Fire nation's Prince Zuko — gets to wield in a seriously badass fashion. Too bad Patel himself didn't actually get to swing those double swords.
"I actually didn't use the two broad swords," Patel told MTV News. "Most of the other action I did. With two big, sharp swords in my hand, they had an amazing stunt guy called Stephen Oyoung, and he is brilliant with these two swords. He deserves lots of credit."
Fire Braziers
Here's the thing about the Fire nation: While they maintain a mighty army capable of manipulating fire, they can't create enough fire themselves to rein terror on their enemies. Instead, they have to cart around huge fire carriers that give them the raw material.
"We built these big fire baskets called braziers that are really ornate," Dias said. "We built them in different sizes. They have these poles that are decorated with spearheads, and four soldiers carry them. The Fire nation can't go to war without them."

SOURCE

Twilight sequel sets new box office record

The latest film in the Twilight series has broken the record set by its predecessor for takings from midnight screenings in the US and Canada.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse made more than $30 million (£20.1m) from midnight screenings on Wednesday, according to its distributor Summit Entertainment.

That exceeded the $26.3m (£17.6m) New Moon made when it opened last November.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart star in Eclipse, the third instalment in the vampire romance series.
The film has its UK premiere later, with advance screenings to follow this weekend ahead of its official UK release on 9 July.

Neither Stewart and Pattinson will be at the London premiere, although it will be attended by director David Slade and other cast members.

Twilight fans - dubbed "Twi-hards" by some - lined up hours ahead of the first midnight showings.

Experts expect Eclipse to have a record-breaking US debut over the traditionally lucrative Fourth of July weekend.

SOURCE