Ernest Borgnine: All-American Badass

Compared to the generic twerps the Hollywood machine pumps out today and labels as “stars,” at 92, Ernest Borgnine remains the real deal. He is to the genetically-engineered robots like the Zac Effrons and Robert Pattinsons of the world what a shot of straight-up Jack Daniels is to a watered down cosmopolitan served with a straw. Borgnine has lived a real life, full of ups and down, and his face shows it. In contrast, today’s stars look like they were raised in protective cocoons after being genetically engineered to perfect their bone structure, dark eyebrows and pouting lips. And that’s just the guys.

Look at his life. Borgnine was born to Italian immigrant parents in 1917, spent 10 years in the Navy, including all of World War II, then bummed around as a second string character actor for another decade before snagging an Oscar in his first major role. The closest thing to life experience one of today’s stars has is a three week stint at $5,000-a-day rehab resort getting seaweed facials and talking about how his daddy never told him he loved him during group therapy while secretly gobbling the vicodins he smuggled in inside the liner of his Louis Vuitton cosmetics case. (more…)

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Tags: " "ER, Bad Day at Black Rock, Budweiser, Ernest Borgnine, Ethel Merman
Posted Jun 17th 2009 at 9:04 am in Entertainment | 1601346 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kschlichter/2009/06/17/in-praise-of-ernest-borgnine-2/Ernest+Borgnine%3A+All-American+Badass2009-06-17+16%3A04%3A52Kurt+Schlichter

‘Nine’ Opens November 25th

Here at Big Hollywood, the film folks get all the fun by previewing film trailers in their posts.  But, since the upcoming “Nine” is a film adaptation of a Broadway musical, I’m claiming this one! 

Directed by Rob Marshall, who did a pretty good job adapting a little show called “Chicago” to film, “Nine” is set for a Fall opening which usually means the studio has Oscar hopes.  “Nine” was a musical adaptation of Federico Fellini’s masterpiece “8 1/2″ and was staged by Tommy Tune in 1982 starring Raul Julia as Italian film director Guido Contini.  For that incredibly demanding role in the film, we get Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis.  The cast includes Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, Judy Dench and none other than Sophia Loren! (more…)

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Tags: 8 1/2, broadway, daniel day lewis, federico fellini, fergie
Posted Jun 9th 2009 at 8:23 am in Entertainment | 153510No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/06/09/nine-trailer/%27Nine%27+Opens+November+25th2009-06-09+15%3A23%3A18Stage+Right

The plight of 40+ Hollywood actresses; Don’t write off Julia Roberts because of DUPLICITY!

The movie business is not generally kind to women when they pass the age of 40, and Julia Roberts (now 41) is learning that lesson the hard way. The former Pretty Woman has returned to the big screen this weekend in Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity (Universal), and one prominent blogger wrote this headline:

Duplicity soft: Julia’s Comeback? Audiences Say Go Back

Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star in the fun, smart DUPLICITY, from writer/director Tony Gilroy

Roberts’ last starring role was in 2003’s Mona Lisa Smile ($63.8M domestic), and since then she has become a full-time Mom. Overall, she has 8 movies on her resume that have reached $100M in the US with her as a lead (I’m not including the Ocean’s Eleven franchise). Her most successful string of movies started in 1997 with My Best Friend’s Wedding ($127.1M cume) and ended with her Oscar winning performance in Erin Brockovich ($125.6M cume). During that span, she starred in 6 movies, generating an average of $115M in domestic box office.

(more…)

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Tags: 101 dalmations, 102 dalmations, 40+ actresses, ABBA, academy award winner
Posted Mar 22nd 2009 at 6:48 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Media Criticism, Reviews, Steve Mason's Box Office | 8689872 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/22/juliaroberts/The+plight+of+40%2B+Hollywood+actresses%3B+Don%27t+write+off+Julia+Roberts+because+of+DUPLICITY%212009-03-23+01%3A48%3A38Steve+Mason

And the Oscar for Best Non-Sexual Nudity goes to…

The film industry in Hollywood is the most rewarded vocational field in the world. Having been a part of the “Big Hollywood” launch team, I followed roughly forty-eight award shows this year. Generally, I would characterize them as slightly self-aggrandizing. By the way, I’m not confused; awards are nice (consult my bio), but why are there so many award shows? The people who win awards are rarely underappreciated.  Take Kate Winslet for example, one of Hollywood’s most overrated actresses.  I always feel I’m watching her act. Peter Mayhew was more organic as Chewbacca than Winslet as a suburban housewife in the off-putting “Revolutionary Road.” But Hollywood seemingly invents awards to celebrate Winslet and her ubiquitous bare breasts.

What irritates most is that while the shows may differ, the awards are roughly the same.  In sports, there’s only one MVP, one Rookie of the Year.  Yet every year, we are bombarded with the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, and the BAFTAs.  Not to mention all those snooty little film festivals in upscale ski towns. (more…)

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Tags: ashton kutcher, award shows, BAFTAs, Beyonce, big hollywood
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 at 3:17 pm in Entertainment | 7174690 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/amarlow/2009/03/03/and-the-oscar-for-best-non-sexual-nudity-goes-to/And+the+Oscar+for+Best+Non-Sexual+Nudity+goes+to...2009-03-03+23%3A17%3A44Alexander+Marlow

Hollywood embraces the “chick flick” – NOT THAT INTO YOU and CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC are only the two latest successes!

Hollywood execs seem to be waking up to the power of women at America’s multiplexes. The success of He’s Just Not That Into You (Warner Bros) and this weekend’s Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney) can be traced to Meryl Streep’s witty riff on the tyrannical Anna Wintour in The Devil Wears Prada in the summer of 2006. Prada opened to a $27.5M weekend on its way to a $124.75M domestic cume (Streep also earned an Oscar nomination).

Then in July of 2007, New Line grabbed an almost identical $27.47M with the opening weekend of the female-skewing Hairspray, translating to $118.87M domestic. Also Enchanted, starring Amy Adams, was a hit for Disney over the holidays reaching $127.8M domestic.

(more…)

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Tags: 3-d, accidental husband, alec baldwin, Amy Adams, amy poehler
Posted Feb 15th 2009 at 12:21 am in Steve Mason's Box Office | 5133828 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/15/chick-flick/Hollywood+embraces+the+%22chick+flick%22+-+NOT+THAT+INTO+YOU+and+CONFESSIONS+OF+A+SHOPAHOLIC+are+only+the+two+latest+successes%212009-02-15+08%3A21%3A44Steve+Mason

Biggest US opening ever for Luc Besson – TAKEN grabs up 24% Saturday and finishes with $24.6M for Super Bowl weekend; PAUL BLART: MALL COP strong at #2 while THE UNINVITED appears headed for 3rd with a possible $10.5M; Zellweger’s NEW IN TOWN may reach $6.75M opening; Not much of an “Oscar bounce” for THE READER and MILK!

Liam Neeson is officially a full-fledged action star. The Irish-born actor has often played heroes, whether it was Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Schindler’s List, the wise Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace or determined sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in 2005’s biopic Kinsey, Neeson has always had a knack for playing the earnest-but-flawed good guy. In his new movie Taken (Fox), writer/producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel have turned him into a Dad with the “mad skills” of a super-spy – think Mike Brady crossed with Jason Bourne.

The result is a well-reviewed (56% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) action film that will help to satisfy blockbuster-hungry audiences waiting for Warner Bros’ Watchmen (due March 6). Taken has scored big on its opening weekend. After grabbing an estimated $9.4M, the movie surged on Saturday to $11.62M (up almost 24% from opening day) and, despite today’s Super Bowl, the film could reach $24.62M according to studio estimates. That will be more than enough to win the Super Bowl 3-day, and positive word-of-mouth could get this one into the $70M-$75M range domestic.

(more…)

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Tags: a tale of two sisters, a.r. rahman, adam sandler, alexandre desplat, alfred kinsey
Posted Jan 31st 2009 at 2:15 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 3726234 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/31/early-estimates/Biggest+US+opening+ever+for+Luc+Besson+-+TAKEN+grabs+up+24%25+Saturday+and+finishes+with+%2424.6M+for+Super+Bowl+weekend%3B+PAUL+BLART%3A+MALL+COP+strong+at+%232+while+THE+UNINVITED+appears+headed+for+3rd+with+a+possible+%2410.5M%3B+Zellweger%27s+NEW+IN+TOWN+may+reach+%246.75M+opening%3B+Not+much+of+an+%22Oscar+bounce%22+for+THE+READER+and+MILK%21++2009-01-31+22%3A15%3A07Steve+Mason

PAUL BLART: MALL COP comes-from-behind for a weekend win with $21.5M; Sony finishes 1-2 with UNDERWORLD at $20.7M; GRAN TORINO adds $16M and will become Eastwood’s #1 grossing movie on Wednesday; No love for INKHEART!

The chubby guy on the Segway rallied for a come-from-behind win over the Beckinsale-less Underworld sequel, but regardless, it was a 1-2 finish for Sony. When I originally predicted that Paul Blart: Mall Cop as the likely weekend winner over the MLK 4-day, some online sites questioned my pick. Even I didn’t expect an opening close to $40M, and now the Kevin James vehicle has surprised again.

The Adam Sandler-produced comedy has broadened its audience, showing real family appeal. That led to stronger Saturday and Sunday matinees for a stellar $21.5M by Monday morning. That gives the movie a 10-day cume of just shy of $65M, which is impressive considering that it was budgeted at just $26M. After success as a supporting star in movies like Hitch ($179.5M cume) and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry ($120M cume), it appears that James can open a movie without the help of Will Smith and Adam Sandler. Mall Cop dipped only 32% from last Friday-thru-Sunday (and that was part of a 4-day weekend, which can often lead to a sharper drop). (more…)

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Tags: a special relationship, a.r. rahman, academy award nominations, adam sandler, albert wolsky
Posted Jan 25th 2009 at 5:55 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 2962930 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/25/estimates-3/PAUL+BLART%3A+MALL+COP+comes-from-behind+for+a+weekend+win+with+%2421.5M%3B+Sony+finishes+1-2+with+UNDERWORLD+at+%2420.7M%3B+GRAN+TORINO+adds+%2416M+and+will+become+Eastwood%E2%80%99s+%231+grossing+movie+on+Wednesday%3B+No+love+for+INKHEART%212009-01-26+01%3A55%3A17Steve+Mason

FINAL TRACKING: UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS could reach $24M with MALL COP at #2; Eastwood’s TORINO and INKHEART battle for third; SLUMDOG, THE WRESTLER and REV ROAD set for solid expansions!

Michael Sheen has two movies in release this weekend. The classically-trained Welsh actor plays Lucien in the wildly commercial Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sony), opening on about 3,000 screens, and he plays David Frost in Frost/Nixon (Universal), expanding to about 800 playdates.

He is a classically-trained stage actor, who has starred in heavyweight UK productions of Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Amadeus and The Dresser, was somehow overlooked by both Hollywood Foreign Press and Oscar voters when he starred as Tony Blair in 2006’s The Queen. (He was outshined by Helen Mirren, who won every acting prize imaginable). This year, he is in the shadow of Frank Langella’s towering portrayal of President Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon.

As an aside, The Queen was the second in screenwriter Peter Morgan’s Tony Blair trilogy. The first film was called The Deal for British television and tells the story of the rivalry between Blair and current British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. (This is a great title to put in your Netflix or Blockbuster cue.) The final film will be called The Special Relationship, which will focus on the intimate friendship between the British PM and President Bill Clinton between 1997-2000. Sheen has signed on, but there is no word on who will play Clinton. Morgan says the idea for the third film began to germinate when he heard that Blair and Clinton were alone together when Vice President Al Gore conceded the 2000 election.

In the meantime, Sheen will almost certainly have the #1 movie in America this weekend with Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. This is the third Underworld movie, but it is a prequel set in the dark ages with Sheen as Lucien, a young werewolf, who leads a war against Bill Nighy as Viktor, the leader of the vampire race. (more…)

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Tags: a.r. rahman, academy awards, adam sandler, Al Gore, Angela Bassett
Posted Jan 21st 2009 at 11:40 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 2725319 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/21/tracking-2/FINAL+TRACKING%3A+UNDERWORLD%3A+RISE+OF+THE+LYCANS+could+reach+%2424M+with+MALL+COP+at+%232%3B+Eastwood%27s+TORINO+and+INKHEART+battle+for+third%3B+SLUMDOG%2C+THE+WRESTLER+and+REV+ROAD+set+for+solid+expansions%212009-01-22+07%3A40%3A34Steve+Mason