LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Emilia Clarke remembers it, she had a grenade launcher in her hand when her agent called about “Me Before You .” To be fair, she was on the set of “Terminator Genisys” — not the most likely of places to curl up with a good tearjerker, but the timing was … Continue reading
ROME (AP) — Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone is back on his feet after canceling a string of concerts because of two collapsed vertebrae that raised questions about the continued prodigious output of the 87-year-old music legend. Morricone, whose memorable scores to “The Mission,” ”Cinema Paradiso” and other films have made him one of Hollywood’s most … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — To sell “Ghostbusters,” who are you going to call? In the film’s initial nationwide TV spots, not its female stars. Sony Pictures trotted out commercials Thursday night that promoted the female-led reboot not with cast members Melissa McCarthy or Kristen Wiig, but basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony. The ads … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Turtle power isn’t all that strong the second time around, according to comScore estimates Sunday, but not all is bleak at the box office. While many of the season’s sequels continue to struggle, the healthy debut of the romantic drama “Me Before You” proved that there is room for more than … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two words no one ever expected Captain America to say? “Hail Hydra.” The new “Captain America: Steve Rogers #1” comic book hits stands Wednesday featuring the return of the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, but with a shocking twist: in the final pages Rogers throws a fellow hero out of a plane … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Respect is due Julian Fellowes, who as a prolific writer has conquered TV with Emmy-winning “Downton Abbey,” film with “Gosford Park,” which earned him an Oscar, and theater with “School of Rock — The Musical,” a Tony Award nominee. So which author does he most admire? Anthony Trollope, at least among … Continue reading
It’s a bit of bad timing for “X-Men: Apocalypse” coming third in this summer’s superhero lineup. Director Bryan Singer invigorates his latest X-Men film with vintage 1980s charm in an origin story about how the mutant supergroup unites and divides in response to the villain Apocalypse. And while battles between heroes are an X-Men tradition, … Continue reading
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co. is eyeing the movie business for growth. Company spokesman Makoto Wakae said Monday details are undecided but the work might be a theater release or a DVD. Nintendo, which makes the Wii U home console and Nintendo 3DS hand-held machine, has licensed its game characters in the … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Harper Lee, the elusive novelist whose child’s-eye view of racial injustice in a small Southern town, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” became standard reading for millions of young people and an Oscar-winning film, has died. She was 89. Lee died peacefully Friday, publisher HarperCollins said in a statement. It did not give … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — A handful of new releases failed to come close to “Spectre” and “The Peanuts Movie,” which easily remained the biggest draws at movie theaters over the weekend. The James Bond film “Spectre” grossed $33.7 million in its second week, while “The Peanuts Movie” followed up its second-place debut with $24 million. … Continue reading
“Love the Coopers” is pretty formulaic as far as Christmas dramedies go, but there are always going to be those movies that just get to you — despite, perhaps, your best judgment. Modern holiday movies, with their aggressively unhappy families and sanitized Hallmark sentimentality, occupy an interesting space in entertainment. Big, starry ensemble casts assemble … Continue reading
Movies are forever trying to capture the essence of the human spirit, and by that measure, it’s hard to imagine there was ever a story more tailor-made for the moviesthan the incredible 2010 Chilean mine rescue. If the details are hazy in your mind, just go to YouTube right now and watch the first miner … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Look at this! There’s a line!” Brie Larson says, beaming and pointing at the queue outside Cinefamily, an artsy, single-screen theater in LA’s Fairfax district. Weeks before its limited release Friday, Larson arranged a free screening of “Room” for the Women of Cinefamily group, which she helped co-found over a year … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” edged out Johnny Depp’s “Black Mass” at box office, as the two films split young and old moviegoers in half on the first weekend of the fall movie season. 20th Century Fox’s sequel to “The Maze Runner” earned an estimated $30.3 million, according to studio … Continue reading
VENICE, Italy (AP) — With wars, atrocities and the desperation of refugees dominating the daily news, it’s easy to feel despair about human nature. French filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand hopes to restore movie-watchers’ faith — or at least awaken their compassion — with “Human,” a documentary that compiles the extraordinary stories of ordinary people from around … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 