Hugh Jackman is terrific as Charlie Kenton, the promoter in question and a degenerate gambler and former boxer who lives a step ahead of a beating at the hands of his many creditors. Director Shawn Levy is equally good at showing us around the world in which our characters inhabit, where robot boxing is the top sport in the country and exists at every conceivable level — from nationally televised events as big as the Super Bowl to underground matches where the wagering and bloodlust rival a good old-fashioned cock fight.

Like most fathers in these kinds of stories, Charlie’s never known his son, Max (Dakota Goyo). Charlie’s been too busy aimlessly moving from one hustle to the next. After circumstances I won’t spoil bring the two of them together, Charlie’s still not interested in any kind of father/son bonding until he sees an angle where he can make $100 thousand by spending a few months with the boy.

With  money in hand, Charlie buys a new robot, but Charlie being Charlie, this new beginning is hardly that before he ends up flat broke again with no prospects other than the inevitable day his creditors catch up to him. His only hope is to steal the pieces of a new fighting robot from a junkyard, and this is where Max comes across Atom, an old sparring robot built to take a ton of punishment but not trained to win. Need I tell you where this is going?

“Real Steel” is a colorful, entertaining story that works because the elementary, by-the numbers screenplay is wrapped around a half-dozen outstanding fight scenes. The movie bursts to life during these scenes and, robot or no,  you do find yourself caring about who wins or loses. The special effects are seamless, the fight choreography well crafted, and best of all, because the fights all take place in wildly different environments, each is a feast for the eyes.

Jackman, who I haven’t been a big fan of until now, effortlessly carries the film and delivers enough masculine charm to offset the irredeemable character Charlie really is. He’s helped some by the character of Max, who’s one of those unique movie creations: an obnoxious, smart-mouthed, wise-beyond-his-years 12 year-old who makes you rethink the whole pro-life thing. A nice surprise is the arrival of “Lost’s” talented beauty, Evangeline Lily, as the daughter of Charlie’s late mentor, a mechanical whiz, and, naturally, a potential love interest.

Another Stallone film that might come to mind as the climactic showdown looms is “Rocky IV.” Our trio of heroic scrappers in search of a second chance hail from the heartland of America. They reside in a small town and make their living in county fairs. Our antagonist, however, is a foreign-made robot owned by snotty not-from-Americans willing to do anything to win. In the end, it’s the can-do American spirit versus an elite foreign Goliath.

If you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen “Real Steel” a dozen times before. It’s the not the story, though; it’s how it’s told, and this one delivers in that department about as well as one could hope.

“Real Steel” is available January 24. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon.

But he’s never had to work up a sweat like he does in the new action film ‘Real Steel.’

The Aussie strains every acting muscle in his hulking frame to make this story about a father, his son and their rock ‘em, sock ‘em robot work.

And, in the end, it’s the audience throwing in the towel. It’s impossible to resist ‘Real Steel,’ even if we feel a bit guilty afterward.

Jackman stars as Charlie, a washed up ex-boxer who barely makes a living managing robot boxers. In the not-so-distant future, human boxers have been replaced by robots who can take far more punishment and boast cool names like Atom and Zeus.

Charlie’s debt woes are shoved aside when he learns his ex-girlfriend has died and he may get custody of their 11-year-old son Max (Dakota Goyo). Charlie doesn’t have a fatherly instinct in his body, so he works out a financial arrangement with the boy’s rich aunt (Hope Davis) for her to adopt the lad.

But first, Charlie will have to watch Max for a few weeks until the aunt returns from a European trip. The father and son reunion is as awkward as you’d imagine.

“You sold me?” the boy asks Charlie when he learns about the money exchange.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, kid,” Charlies responds. Of course it is, but Jackman’s natural decency will come shining through at some point, no doubt.

Turns out Max loves robot boxing as much as his estranged pa, and the two find common ground while working on a scrap-heap ‘bot who can really take a licking.

Director Shawn Levy (the ‘Night at the Museum’ movies) possesses keen populist instincts, and he knows just how hard to push our emotional buttons. But Levy can’t chase the film’s ‘Rocky’ cliches away, nor can he do much with Max, a child with the personality of a wedding DJ who simply won’t shut up.

Max exists to draw in young viewers, and that’s the best audience for ‘Real Steel’ – teens who don’t mind being manipulated if it means seeing cool robots punch each other into spare parts. Boxing’s rougher edges are smoothed away for family consumption, and even a scene that looks stripped out of a ‘Mad Max’ movie ends up without any bloodshed or suffering.

And don’t fret over any possible social commentary in ‘Real Steel.’ You won’t find a trace of it, or anything else that lets us know the story takes place a few years down the road.

Jackman may muscle the story over the finish line, but he can’t flex away some of the clanking dialogue.

“You’ve been working with these robots so long you’ve become one of them,” Davis’ character tells Charlie.

Goyo gets it the worst, forced to say things like, “I got that,” “Let’s do this” and, of course, “Let’s work.” And here’s hoping the Blu-ray version allows viewers to zap past Max doing synchronized hip-hop dancing with his robot.

‘Real Steel’ squanders some interesting subplots, from the notion that one of the robots may be sentient to a sweet performance by Evangeline Lilly of ‘Lost’ fame as Charlie’s sorta-kinda girlfriend.

‘Real Steel’ doesn’t want to be taken too seriously. It’s a tale of redemption sweetened by robots beating each other until their circuit boards crack. But darn if it doesn’t entertain more than it should. Jackman won’t let you leave the theater without having had a semblance of a good time.

This weekend’s predictions and projected revenue results go as follows:

1. Real Steel ($26 million) – The sci-fi action is its big sell, but the film’s focus on its father and son relationship will help fuel word of mouth. The flick will easily venture past openings posted by Contagion and other recent original IPs.

2. The Ides Of March ($12 million) – The major film critics may support them, but overall audience disenchantment is a long-established fact with these political message films. These productions have become so clichéd anyway, most viewers feel they can predict their entire plots; where’s the excitement in that? Add to this the lackluster box office results the genre has consistently pulled over the past few years, and the film will definitely struggle to find an audience. Look for, at best, only sub-par results here.

3. Dolphin Tale ($10 million) – This film now holds the cards and is playing with dealer’s money. Lion King 3D has shifted focus to its Blu-ray release, which gives Dolphin free reign to draw sizable family audiences. It could even overtake Ides Of March if audience ratings for that film really sink.

4. Moneyball ($9.2 million) – A break in the baseball playoff schedule will allow more of the film’s target audience to fuel the film’s Blind Side-like run. Because of this, look for Moneyball to stay close behind Dolphin Tale, picking up bigger numbers over the later weekend days.

5. Courageous ($6 million) – Historically, these Kendrick brothers’ films have solid legs at the box office, and Courageous will likely post an even better take than Fireproof did in its second week. Considering how the film was only produced for only 2 million dollars, you have to like those numbers.

All our best wishes go out to this weekend’s releases and you, the viewer.

But I still love movies, and I still have hope that Hollywood is going to accidentally let slip though its paws at least a couple films this year that don’t insult my intelligence, that don’t hector me with pinko propaganda, and that don’t derive from some obscure comic book beloved by a cult of social misfit fanboys whose idea of a romantic evening is a hi-speed Internet connection, a two-liter bottle of Pepsi, and an old tube sock.  

And I love trailers too.  I hate commercials in front of movies, but there can never be too many trailers.  Each new trailer is like a bright new dawn or a just-poured pint of draft Dos Equis lager – full of hope and promise.  Sure, most of the time that hope and promise fades when Kevin James waddles on-screen to make a fart joke, but still….there are moments where something awesome blows your mind.  

Those rare, fleeting moments where a trailer teases you with the promise of a great story, an exciting adventure, a hilarious romp…where you think “Wow, that looks cool!”…where you just know that as funny as the jokes the trailer reveals are, the ones that await in the movie itself will be even funnier…they make sitting through the crap worth it.  That’s what makes me love trailers – trailers have the power to remind us that movies don’t have to suck.  

With that in mind, in descending order of how awful they look to me, let’s check out just some of the movies that are coming down the pike in the next few months….  

Final Destination 5  (Due August 12, 2011):  

This latest entry in this apparently never-ending series of gore-soaked exercises in armchair sadism raises an important question:  Why do we allow people who pay to see these movies to vote?  

I am not saying that the kind of brain-dead quarter-wits who would plop down $15 of dough that probably came from some government handout are responsible for this administration and the Democratic majority in the Senate, but I’m not not saying it.  For the sake of our nation, I propose an amendment to our Constitution that forever bars anyone buying a ticket to a Final Destination film from ever again exercising the right to vote.   

On the up side, the special effects look okay.  Pass.  

The Adventures of TinTin (Due December 23, 2011):  

Finally, Steven Spielberg has given in to the public clamor for a motion capture movie based on some Belgian comic strip that no one in any country that matters has ever heard of about a creepy-looking kid and his stupid dog.  

At the threshold, motion capture technology can’t yet bridge the uncanny valley and always tends to create there weird characters that cause you to spend the whole movie thinking “If that thing comes near me I’ll kill it with a rake.”   

So, instead of using the technology in a limited way to spice up live action with some strange being – like Gollum in Lord of the Rings – they make it the whole movie and it’s almost always a disaster.  You’ll notice how this post does not refer to the upcoming Polar Express 2: The Revenge.  

Second, comic book movies are awful enough, but a Belgian comic book?  Belgium is like France without the good parts.  Pass.  

30 Minutes or Less (August 12, 2011):  

I’m a traditionalist and I like my comedies funny, which is why I’m not looking forward to this one.  Apparently inspired by the incident where some poor pizza guy was blown apart by a psycho who clipped a bomb to him to force him to rob a bank, this features the same general scenario with the addition of lots of people shouting, making funny faces, swearing and driving cars badly.  There’s your comedy gold; I’m eagerly awaiting to their hilarious spoof of the Rwanda genocide.   

A little of stars Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride goes a long way, light years in fact.  Aziz Ansari is there too and he’s kind of funny.  But this just looks agonizing.  Pass.  

Killer Elite (Due September 23, 2011):  

No.  No, it’s not a remake of the awesome, quirky 1975 Sam Peckinpah masterpiece The Killer Elite.  In that, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Burt Young and a bunch of other studs fought World War III all over the San Francisco Bay Area.  It kicked more ass than John Boehner could ever get in line.  

But this…what a waste.  I like Jason Stratham, I really do, but he’s becoming to playing invincible killing machines what Michael Cera is to playing quirky millennial smartasses.  This is the same karate-kicking, gun-wielding, unstoppable guy he’s been in every movie he’s ever made – it needs to end.  In fact, the whole invulnerable, unstoppable hero trope needs to end.  Move on!  There’s no suspense – super death dealer guy gets wronged, he seeks vengeance, he wins.  We’ve seen it a zillion times before, but I’m not seeing it again.  

And De Niro’s in it.  De Niro!  What, did he invest with Madoff or something?  You can practically see him mentally endorsing his paycheck as he goes through the motions in the explodey/shooty trailer.  And I usually like movies that are explodely and shooty.  Pass.  

Just for a taste of what could have been, here’s the kick-ass Suisun Bay mothball fleet climax of the original.  Savor:  

Real Steel (Due October 7, 2011):  

I can hear just the pitch that got this made: “Think Rocky meets Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, and best of all, we don’t have to pay Stallone or Mattel a dime!”  

Okay, so big robots box.  There’s that.  Oh, and there is a kid too, of course.  He’s wise beyond his years.  Didn’t see that coming.  And Hugh Jackman is a down on his luck boxer who needs to teach a robot to fight to save his relationship with his kid.  But the real question is, can he teach the robot to love?  

Kill me.  Pass.  

Immortals (Due November 11, 2011):  

I think I liked this CGI swords, sandals and screaming movie better when it was titled 300.  

Sure, it looks impressive, if you like watching CGI renderings in slow motion and digitally enhanced bloodletting.  But then the actors open their mouths and it’s all downhill from there.  If the best dialogue they could find is in the trailer, what aural torment awaits us in the theater?  I hope they think to include subtitles translating Cliché into English.    

And I’m exhausted by movies about unbeatable sword guys who literally mow down hundreds of faceless, nameless opponents without a receiving scratch, though they do break a sweat – all these guys seem to literally glisten.  It’s boring.  And it’s creepy.  Pass.  

Moneyball (Due September 23, 2011):  

Now, you need to understand that I detest spectator sports – particularly baseball – with a venom I usually reserve for liberal social programs, Red Lobster, and Rage Against the Machine.  Which is why the trailer for this film, the true story of an Oakland A’s manager who apparently radically changed the game, is so good.  I can’t wait to see it.  

Let’s look at why, because it illustrates what Hollywood can do to get people like me back into those stained, stinky seats.  The trailer introduces the conflict – an impoverished ball club on the rocks – and then hints at how it will be solved – by interesting characters coloring outside the lines.  Add the incomparable charisma of Brad Pitt, plus some solid dialogue and some fine technical work (the cinematography and direction look fantastic) and you have a movie that adults want to see.  The fact that the trailer is expertly cut to hint at the story and pique our interest without giving away the entire plot only helps.  

Now, I know from the sports fans who pester me with their yammering all the time that there is a lot more to this real-life story than what is on this trailer.  But the point is that I want to find out.  I want to know the story; I want the movie to take me into world that I know (and, frankly, care) nothing about and show me how it works.  That’s what makes a great movie – and a movie I will plop down my $30 to take my hot wife to see.  I’m there.  Go!  

So there it is – an enormous amount of crap, but maybe a few little nuggets of gold as well.  Remember that we get crap in large part because people pay to see crap.  Don’t see crap.  Instead, criticize, mock and disrespect crappy movies with a vengeance.  This is important – stupidity needs to be mocked or bad things happen, like Obamacare and Lady Gaga.  But good stuff – well, you need to support it.  

Happy movie-going!

I bet that headline got your attention!  But, as you’ll see a little later in this post, the scene in question is not really a “rape” at all.  But that didn’t keep the NY Daily News from running this headline yesterday:

‘Bye Bye Birdie’ revival on Broadway drops scene for ‘gang rape’ concern

“Just a copy editor trying to get attention by over-exaggerating a story,” you think?  That’s what I thought, too.  But here is the story with Gina Gershon’s quote:

According to Gina Gershon, who stars as Rose in the upcoming revival, the production has said bye bye to a frisky dance sequence that has been in the show since its debut in 1960.  In the scene, Rose, originated on stage by Chita Rivera and on film by Janet Leigh, crashes a Shriners banquet, flirts and cavorts on, around and underneath a table with the fez-heads.  As written, it’s a funny dance showcase. So why is it too hot to handle in 2009? Gershon told The News’ theater critic Joe Dziemianowicz, “It seemed a little too gang rape-y.”

The Daily News takes the words right out of my mouth when it says:

That should come as interesting news to countless high schools, parochial academies and theater camps where this number has been performed for nearly 50 years.

Before I give you my guess as to what is really going on here, I will let you judge for yourself.  Here is Chita Rivera performing Gower Champion’s original Broadway choreography:

It’s not my favorite scene from a 60’s musical, but I don’t think it could be objectively described as a “Gang Rape”… unless you mean that the character of Rose is raping the gang of Shriners!!!

So, what is this REALLY all about?  Here is my hunch:

Whenever a Hollywood star is cast to do a Broadway musical, the first question everyone asks is:  ”Can he/she sing?”  In the cases of Glenn Close and Hugh Jackman, the answer was “YES!”  In the case of Faye Dunaway, the answer was “Oh God, NO!”

But, in the case of Rose in “Bye, Bye Birdie,” the relevant question is not whether Gershon can sing, because Rose’s songs are not very challenging… no, what defines the role of Rose is following in the footsteps of Chita Rivera and living up to the distant memory of her dancing.  Rivera is a Broadway legend who enjoys a reputation of holding an audience captivated with her body and how she moved it.  So, the big question in relation to Gershon being announced as Rose in this revival was not “Can she sing?”; it was “Can she dance?”

Now, I try my best not to be too snarky or catty in my posts.  And I’ve already noted this revival as something I am personally looking forward to…  but, based on this little kerfuffle over cutting this dance sequence and the really lame excuse (“gang rape-y”?  come on!), I think it is fair to say that the answer is, “No, she can’t dance.. at least not well enough to hold the stage for a dance sequence like this.”

As we’ve all seen on “Dancing With the Stars,” if you are paired with a great dancer, you can learn enough and practice enough to be a good enough partner to look like you can dance.  But when you are alone on stage dancing without a partner as Rose is in this number… well, that is something you can’t fake.  And to me, this sounds like a good director and a good choreographer protecting their star and coming up with a press agent’s excuse for cutting a number.

Further evidence of this?  The show is set to begin previews on September 15.  This means the show has been in rehearsal for a couple of weeks.  If the producers and director of this show wanted to cut this number for the reason they are stating now, the decision would have been made a while ago.  You have to believe that they tried it out, and it wasn’t working.  (Unless you believe that they only now have realized that the scene is “Gang Rape-y” after spending the time creating the scene, rehearsing the scene, costuming the scene… etc…)

By the way, revivals have recently been subject to political correct revisions.  The most common is the song “I’m an Indian Too” being excised from Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun.”  The Native American community (how PC am I???) have found these lyrics from the 1946 play offensive:

Like the Chippewa,
Iroquois,
Omaha…
Like those Indians
I’m an Indian too
A Sioux
A Sioux

Just like Rising Moon
Falling Pants
Running Nose
Like those Indians
I’m an Indian too
A Sioux
A Sioux

Some Indian drummers they’re without a care
I may run away
With Big Chief Sun-of-A-Bear

And I’ll have totem poles
Tomahawk
Small papoose
Which will go to prove
I’m an Indian too
A sioux
A sioux
A sioux
Oh, I’m an indian
I’m an Indian
I’m an honest Injun Indian

I’m an Indian, too.

What has always bugged me about this song being removed is the CONTEXT of the song in the show (context still means SOMETHING, doesn’t it?).  Annie sings it right after Chief Sitting Bull adopts her into the Sioux tribe.  She is honored, proud and happy to be adopted.

Here is rare footage of Mary Martin in the original 1946 production:

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Now, obviously this scene is not meant as a historically accurate depiction of a traditional Sioux ceremony, but is it mean-spirited, insulting, derisive?  Not in my politically incorrect opinion.

So, I guess I’m saying…  Gina, if you can dance it, BRING ON THE GANG RAPE SCENE!

Stage Right is on Facebook.

Just as last season brought a record number of plays as well as stellar gross sales (despite doom-sayers in the industry) this season already looks locked and loaded with a huge number of shows scheduled to open between October 1st and the first week of May (the traditional Tony nomination cut-off).  So to help the readers of Big Hollywood plan their trip to the Great White Way (we can still say that, can’t we?), I submit the top 10 things to look for from the center/right perspective:

10.  ”Superior Donuts” – A transfer from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre (one of my personal favorite regional houses in America), the play stars “Spinal Tap”’s Michael McKean as an aging hippie who owns a donut shop in a largely black neighborhood and Jon Michael Hill (do all young Broadway actors HAVE to go by three names now?) as a 21-year-old from the neighborhood who talks his way into a job at the shop.  From the New York Times review:  ”In one of the play’s most amusing exchanges Franco challenges Arthur to name 10 black poets. Arthur names a few, then stands dumb, a look of deep concentration on his face. “It’s like watching George Bush on ‘Jeopardy!’ ” Franco cracks.”

9.  ”Hamlet” – Uber-UN activist Jude Law stars as the Danish prince in a Broadway transfer from London’s famed Donmar Warehouse theatre company.  His performance was almost universally praised by Fleet Street’s snarky critics.  This production has Hamlet delivering his “To be, or not to be” soliloquy in an on-stage snowfall.

8.  ”Bye, Bye, Birdie” – One of the first musicals to embrace pop music with a back-beat, “Bye, Bye, Birdie” will receive a revival at New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company.  It will star Gina Gershon, Dee Hoty, Bill Irwin and (wait for it….) John Stamos.  All I can say is this production has the potential to be fantastic, or to be a complete disaster… don’t expect anything in between.

7.  ”The Neil Simon Plays:  Brighton Beach Memoirs & Broadway Bound” – Revivals of two of the three plays which made up the Neil Simon “BB” trilogy will play in repertory this Fall (I’m guessing the middle play, “Biloxi Blues,” is omitted because Brighton Beach and Broadway Bound share the exact same set which is the Brighton Beach home of Simon’s alter-ego, Eugene, so it is much easier to play them in Rep.  Biloxi takes place in an Army barracks as it follow Eugene through basic training).  The revivals will star Laurie Metcalf.

6.  ”In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)” – After having its world premiere at Berkley Rep., this play is transferring to Broadway via Lincoln Center Theatre.  The New York Times describes the play as:  “A fanciful but compassionate consideration of the treatment, and the mistreatment, of women in the late 19th century” and the show’s website calls it “a comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity.” Hmmm…  In the words of Forrest Gump:  ”And that’s all I have to say about that.”

5.  ”Race” – World Premiere of David Mamet’s newest play starring James Spader, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas.  When asked about details of the plot, producer Jefferey Richards said:  ”The title speaks for itself.”  Mamet, Spader and a play called “Race.”  Seriously, ENOUGH SAID!

4.  ”A Steady Rain” – Starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, this play is one of the most anticipated of the Fall.  A press report describes the Chicago premiere as: “A Steady Rain chronicles love and rage on the streets of Chicago as a domestic disturbance call sends two Chicago cops, friends since childhood, on a harrowing journey that will test their loyalties and change their lives forever.” But, as the NY Post succinctly said: “Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in police uniforms? All the boys will be there!”

3.  ”The Addams Family” – A musical adaptation of the famous, macabre characters starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwerth.  I am both embarrassed and proud that I am SO looking forward to this show!

2.  ”The Royal Family“  – George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s famous parody of the Barrymore family, this revival will star Rosemary Harris, Stephen Collins, John Glover, Tony Roberts, Jan Maxwell, Ana Gasteyer and Reg Rogers.  Its view of celebrity and privilege in the tunnel-vision perspective of an actor’s life resonates just as perfectly today as it did in 1927.  Really looking forward to see this cast play those characters (especially since I went to school with one of them!).

1.  ”Oleanna” – The Broadway premiere of Mamet’s 1992 Pulitzer-Prize winning play (it appeared off-Broadway at that time making this production it’s Broadway premiere).  When originally produced, this play was a compelling, challenging and electrifying reflection of the ground-breaking Clarence Thomas hearing that had split the nation the year before.  The 1992 production starring William H. Macy and Rebecca Pidgeon was universally praised for its thought-provoking approach to the issue of sexual harassment and the use of rhetoric as a weapon in politically correct America.  None other than Frank Rich gave it one of his strongest endorsements as theatre critic of the New York Times.  But, a funny thing happened between 1992 and today, David Mamet famously proclaimed himself “No longer a brain-dead liberal.”  Will this breach of liberal dogma and orthodoxy in any way affect the theatre community’s once universal praise of “Oleanna”?  I know I will be looking very closely at how it is received by the critics as well as industry insiders.  This new revival premiered in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles.

Stage Right is on Facebook.

I was at the Houston airport the other day and I couldn’t find my baggage carousel. I asked the employee there where it was:

“What does it say on the screen?” he asked grumpily.

“Well, it says Carousel 2 but…”

“Then that’s what it is. You should be old enough to know that,” he said as he went off mumbling about how they weren’t paying him enough. 

Anyway, it turned out that Carousel 2 wasn’t working and I had to pick up my luggage at Carousel 3, but I digress.  I had two more run-ins with airport employees, all of whom were putting out the same vibe that the crumminess of their jobs was somehow my fault.  In this country, people are of such an entitlement mentality that they want to blame everybody they comes across, requiring them to legitimately do their job and serve a purpose. I hate to say this but…

More often than not, people who are poor…. are right where they should be.

Nobody likes being broke. As somebody who’s had to live out of a 1982 Datsun, trust me, I know. I also understand that the first step to improve your situation is to fix the problem that landed you there in the first place.

The mistake that all “long-term poor people” make is putting others under a microscope in an attempt to set blame. That right there is a true loser’s mentality (or “poppycock” if you will).

When a great fighter loses a fight, he analyzes his loss extensively to look for possible fixes. He’ll watch tape, review the footwork and counter-punches, but most importantly, he’ll take a good, long look inside of himself. He’ll figure out which possible repairs are within his control and take charge of it. That’s what separates the champions from the “bums,” as Burgess Meredith so eloquently put it.

The same applies to life. If you’re unhappy with your circumstances, then change them. Don’t blame the government or your boss or the guy down the street who’s better looking than you (exceptions include Hugh Jackman and George Clooney).  Just take some Pepto-Bismol and be a man (or woman, for all of you bullish feminists).

Until then, how about shutting your mouth and doing the job you’re paid to do?  We don’t need any more Sean Penn’s running around.

Doing your job and doing it well may result in long-term success. What a concept!

A shiny new Enterprise is luring in a new generation of STAR TREK fans

J.J. Abrams is officially the Lazarus of movie directors as his all-new Star Trek has gone “Boldly Gone Where No Star Trek Movie has Gone Before.” With a cast of relative unknowns, the 42-year-old has resurrected a franchise that had been killed by insular “nerdyness” and timid imagination. The Gene Rodenberry creation didn’t so much bomb as it died slowly over a period of years. First, the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis starring the Next Generation cast disappointed with a meager $43.3M domestic. Then, the final TV series Enterprise, which starred Scott Bakula, was not embraced by core fans or broader audiences and was canceled after four seasons, ending May 13, 2005.

Director J.J. Abrams will definitely "Live long and prosper"

Now riding a staggering 96% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes – that’s 96% of America’s movie critics issuing positive reviews – The Enterprise is riding high again thanks to the creator of TV hits Alias and Lost. Try getting 96% of any group to agree on anything. It’s no small feat. Compare Star Trek’s RT score against the ratings for the last 5 Best Picture winners.

STAR TREK has better reviews than Oscars darling SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORES FOR THE LAST 5 OSCAR WINNERS
2004 – Million Dollar Baby – 91% Fresh
2005 – Crash – 75% Fresh
2006 – The Departed – 92% Fresh
2007 – No Country For Old Men – 94% Fresh
2008 – Slumdog Millionaire – 94% Fresh

The original STAR TREK cast (above) with the next generation of franchise stars

With the ringing endorsement of tough-to-please critics, Star Trek hit warp speed at the box office last night with lightly-promoted preview screenings starting at 7pm. The impeccably-reviewed feature film seized an estimated $7M or so in Thursday night ticket sales. The idea may have been to get some of the hardcore Trekkies and Trekkers out of the way, clearing multiplexes for mainstream movie audiences today, and they have showed up in massive numbers.

William Shatner (left) with Captain Kirk 2.0 Chris Pine

With Chris Pine (Bottle Shock) in the legendary role of Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto (NBC’s Heroes) wearing the pointy ears made famous by Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek has soared to a history-making $26M on its official opening day according to multiple studio execs, double the previous-best opening day for any movie in the franchise. That means in the first 29 hours of general release, the re-imagined sci-fi blockbuster has delivered an estimated $33M.

STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT had the previous-best opening day in franchise history

ALL-TIME TOP 5 OPENING DAYS FOR STAR TREK MOVIES
1. Star Trek (2009) – $26M [$33M in its first 29 hours]
2. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) – $13M
3. Star Trek: Generations (1994) – $9.7M
4. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – $9.5M
5. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) – $7.7M

How will the weekend play out? The Thursday night preview screenings will probably make Star Trek a bit less front-loaded. In fact, I’m guessing that, based on word-of-mouth and its family-friendly PG-13 rating, my sources believe that the movie could get a 5% boost on Saturday to a possible $27.3M, followed by an aggressive Mother’s Day drop of 40% on Sunday. That would mean a 4-day gross of almost $77M or so.

The great news for Paramount and Abrams and Pine and Quinto and the rest of the cast is that Star Trek will almost certainly have the best legs of any of this summer’s major tent-pole movies. Rank-and-file moviegoers are likely to discover Star Trek for the first time in coming weeks or, now that Trek is cool again, it may rekindle interest with core fans who rejected the most recent incarnations.

STAR TREK could have "legs" like BATMAN BEGINS

It will not be a surprise to see Star Trek sail past $200M. After all, 2005’s Batman Begins performed that way. The Christopher Nolan Batman reboot opened on a Wednesday with $15M and had banked $72.9M in 5 days. Based on that movie’s Friday-thru-Sunday of $48.7M, the first Batman movie in 8 years reached its $205M domestic total at a 4.2 multiple (4.2 X $48.7 got Nolan’s original to $205M). Anticipating a 4.2 multiple for Star Trek is probably overreaching, but a 3.4-3.5 multiple is possible. That would propel Abrams and company to well past $200M.

Competing studio execs  tell me that X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) took a big tumble as expected. The Hugh Jackman X-Men spin-off only mustered $9.15M or so on its second Friday, but it will still likely top $27.95M for the weekend, down about 67%. Meanwhile, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) coaxed about $3M to start the frame, and it will likely be helped by Mother’s Day, grabbing a possible $10M, down a mere 35% from last weekend.

Beyonce continues to sell tickets in OBSESSED

Obsessed, the low budget sizzler from Sony Screen Gems, continues to outperform its low expectations with $2M on Friday, which pushes the Beyonce catfight flick past $50M. The thriller should finish the 3-day with about $6.25M and a spectacular $55.89M by Monday.

The urban-geared comedy Next Day Air (Summit) got off to a disappointing start with just $1.25M (likely #5 for the day), and it will drift down the top ten to #6 for the weekend with a meager $4.1M or so from its thousand or so playdates.

The Zac Efron comedy 17 Again (Warner Bros) will likely spend another weekend in the top five with about $1.15M on Friday and about $4.5M for 3 days. That will give the Efron vehicle a new domestic cume of about $54.26M.

EXCLUSIVE STEVE MASON EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW – Star Trek (Paramount) – $26M, $6,755 PTA, $33M
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $9.15M, $2,231 PTA, $111.77M cume
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) – $3.05M, $961 PTA, $22.84M
4. Obsessed (Sony) – $2M, $769 PTA, $51.64M cume
5. NEW – Next Day Air (Summit) – $1.25M, $1,098 PTA, $1.25M  cume
6. 17 Again (Warner Bros) – $1.15M, $396 PTA, $50.91M cume
7. The Soloist (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $1M, $478 PTA, $20.89M cume
8. Monsters vs. Aliens (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $847,000, $388 PTA, $184.36M cume
9. Earth (Disney) – $697,000, $389 PTA, $24.29M cume
10. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) – $690,000, $300 PTA, $72.35M cume

EXCLUSIVE STEVE MASON EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW – Star Trek (Paramount) – $69.68M, $18,103 PTA, $76.68M
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $27.95M, $6,814 PTA, $130.57M cume
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) – $10.06M, $3,170 PTA, $29.86M
4. Obsessed (Sony) – $6.25M, $2,402 PTA, $55.89M cume
5. 17 Again (Warner Bros) – $4.5M, $1,550 PTA, $54.26M cume
6. NEW – Next Day Air (Summit) – $4.1M, $3,603 PTA, $4.1M  cume
7. The Soloist (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $3.6M, $1,722 PTA, $23.49M cume
8. Monsters vs. Aliens (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $3.55M, $1,625 PTA, $187.06M cume
9. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) – $2.62M, $1,140 PTA, $74.29M cume
10. Earth (Disney) – $2.44M, $1,361 PTA, $26.03M cume

Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter@LAMase.

William Shatner (left) with Captain Kirk 2.0 Chris Pine

Keep in mind that Paramount never changed its Star Trek marketing to promote the 7pm Thursday start, so the opening night audience was likely heavy on Trekkers or Trekkies (not sure which term is “politically correct” anymore). So this was a “soft” opening and what amounts to a night of word-of-mouth screenings. Keep in mind that Transformers premiered during the summer when kids are more available while Star Trek has made its premiere during the school year.

The reviews are through-the-roof at 96% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and, as a topic, Star Trek is trending at #1 on Twitter. The reviews in the Twitterverse are just as positive.

just got back from seeing Star Trek. I am not typically a fan of sci-fi, but I really liked this movie.

Star Trek was surprisingly good, and even Star Trek newbies like myself could enjoy it.

I saw the new Star Trek last night with my son, who just turned 7. It was great; we both loved it. Next gen of Trekies/SciFi buffs is born.

I’m still pumped up from having seen Star Trek. Looking forward to seeing it tomorrow and Sunday [diff. grps].

still thinkin’ of how f*****’ awesome Star Trek was. now wanting a phaser to set from “stun” to “kill”

Go see star trek immediately. Incredible!

The new Star Trek movie was great when I went in with low expectations. It is what Nemesis was trying to accomplish and succeeded much …

for those of you who were curious. Star Trek rocked my FACE OFF. It was Shamazing! <3 Spok…*droooool*

Star Trek is fresh, funny, exciting and – biggest surprise of all – emotionally engaging.

Now the question is, “How high will The Enterprise fly on its opening day?” Seems like $20M is a lock, but it could be bigger. If the movie does $20M today, the 4-day should be $63M-$65M. $22M or better should send this spectacularly-reviewed blockbuster past $70M. If the day is $25M or better, the number for the opening 4 days could start with an 8.

I’ll be online with my Exclusive Early Friday & 3-Day Estimates as early as humanly possible tonight (Friday).

Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter@LAMase.

As of Wednesday night, Star Trek is cruising with 94% Fresh (positive) reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics are slinging some seriously glowing hyperbole.

“Paced at warp speed with spectacular action sequences rendered brilliantly and with a cast so expert that all the familiar characters are instantly identifiable, the film gives Paramount Pictures a new lease of life on its franchise.”
– Ray Bennett, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“It’s an exciting, stellar-yet-earthy blast that successfully blends the hip and the classic.”
– Joe Neumaier, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

“Trading on affections sustained over 40 years of popular culture, STAR TREK does what a franchise reboot rarely does. It reminds us why we loved these characters in the first place.”
– Ty Burr, BOSTON GLOBE

“Blasting onto the screen at warp speed and remaining there for two hours, the new and improved STAR TREK will transport fans to sci-fi nirvana.”
– Todd McCarthy, VARIETY

LOST and ALIAS creator J.J. Abrams has successfully rebooted STAR TREK

Let’s be honest. Prior to what, by all accounts, is Abrams’ full-on Lazarus-style resurrection of Kirk, Spock and The Enterprise, Star Trek was dead. Worse than dead, it has been considered “uncool.” That’s what Paramount is fighting in the marketplace, and realistically, even in its peak as a movie franchise, it wasn’t a powerhouse.

The biggest opening weekend for a Star Trek movie was 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact with $30.7M and the top grossing title ever was Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (with that ridiculous humpback whale storyline), which surpassed $109M. Consider this. Here are the top five opening days for movies in the Star Trek franchise.

ALL-TIME TOP 5 OPENING DAYS FOR STAR TREK MOVIES
1. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) – $13M
2. Star Trek: Generations (1994) – $9.7M
3. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – $9.5M
4. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) – $7.7M
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) – $7M

Erik Estrada as Ponch & Larry Wilcox as Jon Baker with Chris Pine's dad Robert, who played Sgt. Joe Getraer

When journeyman actor Robert Pine, best known for playing Sgt. Joe Getraer on the late 70’s TV hit ChiPs, appeared as an Akritirian Ambassador named Liria on the series Star Trek Voyager (the TV series with Kate Mulgrew as Captain), he could have never imagined that his son Chris would someday play Captain Kirk, but the 28-year-old is now in the Trek’s most pivotal role. He was excellent in a little movie called Bottle Shock last year, but aside from that, and roles in The Princess Diaries 2 and Smokin’ Aces, he is basically an unknown.

Original Gene Rodenberry STAR TREK television cast above and Abrams' 2009 casting choices below

In fact, the new Star Trek is filled with actors who are more-or-less unknown. Simon Pegg, the brilliant UK star of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and cast as the colorful Scotty here, is probably the biggest name in the cast along with John Cho from the Harold & Kumar movies, playing Sulu. But these are all talented actors who will wear well as the franchise turns into a steady hit machine for Paramount. Fans of NBC’s Heroes already know Zachary Quinto who gets to don Spock’s pointy ears and Chekov is being portrayed by one of my favorite young actors, 20-year-old Anton Yelchin, who was heartbreaking in the gritty Alpha Dog and showed a lighter touch in Charlie Bartlett. Trekkers are also likely to take to the sexy Zoe Saldana (Drumline, Guess Who?) who steps into Nichelle Nichols’ shoes as Uhura and will appear in James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar at the end of the year.

The appropriate movie to look to for box office guidance is 2005’s Batman Begins. Great filmmaker (Christopher Nolan), spectacular reviews, but the franchise was dead and uncool after 1997’s ridiculous Batman & Robin. The reboot 8 years later opened on a Wednesday with $15M and had banked $72.9M in 5 days (the Friday-thru-Sunday was $48.7M). That lays the groundwork for an accurate prediction for Star Trek.

My bet is on a possible $65M for 4 days. With Thursday preview screenings starting at 7pm, Star Trek could snag as much as $8M on Thursday night (the Trekkers will be out in full force). Then Friday could be something in the $20.5M range with a slight uptick of 5% on Saturday to a possible $21.6M followed by a standard 30% Sunday drop to about $15M.

Once audiences realize that Star Trek is light year better than previous movies in the franchise (and last weekend’s Wolverine), the picture will play and play and play. I think that, of all of the major studio releases this summer, Star Trek may have the “longest legs.” If the movie opens within 5% of my number or bigger, the multiple (the number by which you multiply the opening weekend in order to arrive at the final domestic gross) could be 3.4-3.5, which would push J.J. Abrams reinvented Rodenberry opus to something in the $220M-$230M range.

I am anticipating a steep drop of 65%-70% for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and producer/star Hugh Jackman will be forced to settle for a second weekend of $27M-$30M. That would still be a nifty 10-day gross of $130M or so.

Finally, Next Day Air (Summit), a low budget, R-rated urban comedy starring Donald Faison (Scrubs), Mike Epps (Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins), Wood Harris (The Wire) and Mos Def (Cadillac Records), will open in the shadow of the retooled U.S.S. Enterprise and is unlikely to wrap up the weekend with any more than $6M.

FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEKEND OF MAY 8-10
1. NEW – Star Trek (Paramount) – $65M (includes Thursday previews)
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $30.6M
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) – $8.8M
4. Obsessed (Sony) – $6.7M
5. NEW – Next Day Air (Summit) – $6M
6. 17 Again (Warner Bros) – $3.8M
7. Monsters vs. Aliens (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $3.7M
8. The Soloist (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $3.3M
9. Hannah Montana The Movie (Disney) – $2.6M
10. Earth (Disney) – $2.4M

Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter@LAMase.