Author Archives: Candace Ramirez

About Candace Ramirez

"Sun is bad for you. Everything our parents said was good is bad. Sun, milk, red meat... college." -Woody Allen Accomplished wearer of dresses.

Casting Update For Walt Disney’s Maleficent

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It was announced quite a bit ago that Angelina Jolie will star as the titular character in Maleficent, a new take on the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. And now several other cast members have finally been added to the project.

Imelda Staunton, from the Harry Potter series, and Miranda Richardson (Sleepy Hollow) have also joined the cast. According to the blog from Hollywood Reporter, Staunton and Lesley Manville will be playing the characters of Knotgrass and Flittle, respectively. The characters are “two of the three pixies that end up taking care of Aurora.”

The new project comes from Director Robert Stromberg, most known for his work on Pan’s Labyrinth. 

According to Heat Vision, Elle Fanning, star of Super 8, has officially been added to the cast as the Princess. As for Queen Ulla, Richardson will be “a Fairy Queen who is Maleficent’s aunt with a dislike of her niece.”

Kenneth Cranham (Made in Dagenham) and Sam Riley (Brighton Rock) have also joined the production, which is set to begin filming in June.

Cranham will be playing the role of the human king who plots to conquer the fairy kingdom. Riley will portray Diaval, a character described as a raven who changes into human form and is Maleficent’s right hand.”

Sharlto Copely has also been announced to be going the cast in the lead role of Stefan, “the half-human, half-fairy bastard son of the human king.”

Maleficent tells the story from the point of view of the witch who cursed Aurora to a permanent sleep on her 16th birthday. The character of Maleficent is often viewed as the most powerful and sinister of the Disney Villains, frequently acting as their leader in many genre crossovers, and her scenes in the climax of the film are among the darkest and most intense produced by Disney. In Ultimate Disney’s top 30 Disney Villains countdown, Maleficent ranked #1.She also plays a major role in the Kingdom Hearts series, as a recurring villain.

It is projected to be released March 14, 2014.

Marvel’s The Avengers Has Massively Successful Opening Weekend

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Probably no surprise to anyone, Marvel’s The Avengers took the top spot in the U.S. box office ratings this weekend, earning roughly $200,300,000 in 4,300 U.S. theaters. The film, directed by Joss Whedon, broke the record for highest grossing debut of all time, previously held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2, according to a report by Walt Disney Pictures.

The Avengers averaged $46,063 per theater in North America.

The film has received positive reviews from fans and critics alike, scoring 93 percent from Rotten Tomatoes and 96 percent from fans on the movie rating site.

Christopher Orr reviewed the film for The Atlantic.

But ultimately it all comes back to Whedon: his clear vision for each character and how they might be profitably intermingled; his unexpected knack for action choreography; his funny, tender, immaculately constructed script (from a story he co-wrote with Zak Penn). I don’t think I’m giving anything away by revealing that the picture ends with Loki locked up for years. If Marvel has a lick of sense, they’ll do the same with Whedon.”

Think Like a Man was knocked out of the top spot by The Avengers and is now at number two, in its third week since release. It earned $8,000,000 over the weekend and $73,029,000 since its release. Think Like a Man cost $12 million to make.

When looking at figures provided by ComingSoon, it seems that Marvel’s The Avengers have not only been a definite commercial success but the film has broken several other records as well.

The global box office for The Avengers has already surpassed the global box office totals of Captain America: The First Avenger ($364 million), Thor ($449 million), Iron Man ($585 million) and Iron Man 2 ($624 million). The film had the biggest opening weekend of all time in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Central America, Peru, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines. In Russia, the film earned $17.9 million. The movie has become the fastest to reach the $200 million mark domestically in three days. It earned $80.5 million on Friday, which is the second-highest single day take of all time and Saturday’s take of $69.7 million is the highest Saturday of all time.”

Before The Avengers was released, The Hunger Games was the biggest box office moneymaker, earning $155 million domestically in its first weekend. The Hunger Games is now at spot number three, making $5.7 million during the weekend. It has made $380.7 million in seven weeks domestically and cost $78 million to make.

Figures provided by ComingSoon.net.

“One Last Thing Before I Go” Being Adapted For The Big Screen

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Paramount recently announced it is working on a seven-figure deal to acquire the film rights to Jonathan Tropper’s novel, “One Last Thing Before I Go.” It has also been reported that J.J. Abrams, famous for his hit television show “Lost,”  will be producing, and Tropper will be writing the script.

Paramount, making a leap forward, has optioned the book that hasn’t even been released yet. The book will be published in August by Dutton Publishing. According to Deadline, multiple studios were in competition for the rights to adapt the novel.

“One Last Thing Before I Go” is the story of a man in a mid-life crisis. His ex is about to remarry, his Princeton-bound teenage daughter is pregnant and he could die at any moment without an operation he refuses to undergo.

Tropper has written five other novels, including “This is Where I Leave You,” “The Book of Joe,” “Plan B,” “How to Talk to a Widower” and “Everything Changes.”

“This is Where I leave You” is also being adapted for film by Warner Brothers, and will be directed by Adam Shankman, known for his previous adaptation of A Walk to Remember.

Read the official synopsis below:

Silver has begun to accept that life isn’t going to turn out as he expected. His ex-wife is about to marry a terrific guy Silver can’t quite bring himself to hate. And his Princeton-bound teenage daughter Casey has just confided in him that she’s pregnant—because he’s the one she cares least about letting down. With the wedding looming and Casey in crisis, this broken family struggles, bonds, and comes together only to risk damaging each other even more. Lives begin anew, change radically, or in Silver’s case—as he discovers that he could die at any moment without an operation he refuses to have—may be about to end in an instant.

One Last Thing Before I Go demonstrates yet again Tropper’s deft touch with the darkest of materials and his ability to make readers laugh out loud in one paragraph and move them to tears in the next.”

There is no word yet on who will be starring in the film, or a projected release date for the project. We do know they are aiming for sometime in the year 2014.

Fans of Tropper’s work or those who want to stay updated on his novels and film adaptation can visit his official webpage.

Black Widow Film In The Works For Scarlett Johansson

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With Marvel’s The Avengers topping the U.S. weekend box office (earning a total of $200,300,000 in its opening weekend) it is no surprise that Marvel is wasting no time moving on to its next film, a standalone project about Scarlett Johansson’s character, Black Widow/Natasha Romanov.

Producer Kevin Feige confirmed that the project is in preparation. Johansson, 27, hinted that the film will be more of a prequel that focuses on the gun-wielding hero’s origin.

Johansson spoke with Ace Showbiz about the project saying:

I love her origin story. I think it’s just such a riveting one… It’s just steeped in history and the richness to shoot in Russia, perhaps… I hope that the fans’ voice is loud enough and they want to see a Widow origin story, I know Marvel would be happy to entertain that. We’ve spoken a lot about it.”

In the same interview, Johansson said her character is not just fighting for the good of the world.

She was almost salvaged by S.H.I.E.L.D. and so she’s loyal to that group, to that agency, but only as sort of paid debt,” she said.

The character Black Widow first appeared in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #14 (2002).

Her official history, provided by Marvel is as follows:

“A descendant of Russian royalty, Natasha Romanov was abandoned as a child and found by soldier Ivan Petrovich. A ballerina in her youth, she joined Russia’s K.G.B. and became an elite intelligence operative, a combination of consummate skill and classified government enhancements of her natural abilities. She also became infamous as an often-wed, often-widowed heartbreaker whose husbands (beginning with test pilot turned intelligence agent Alexi Shostakov) tended to suffer “unfortunate accidents”, a quirk which may have influenced her choice of long-term code name: the Black Widow. She eventually embarked on a lucrative freelance spy career, which culminated in her infiltration of New York City’s Latverian Embassy.

Manipulating the naïve young superhero Spider-Man into helping her escape Latverian security, Natasha used the information she gathered to audition successfully for the American-based international spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. She became a mainstay of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s black ops division, often partnered with Hawkeye (Clint Barton).

After Hawkeye and the Widow led the successful extermination of over five hundred Chitauri extraterrestrial subversives, the duo was promoted to the ranks of the Ultimates, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s celebrity super-agents, with newly falsified personal backgrounds. Alongside the Ultimates, Black Widow helped save Earth from a Chitauri plot. She and teammate, Iron Man (Ultimate)”


Comic character photo of Black Widow/Natasha Romanov.

Disney To Adapt Neil Gaiman Novel The Graveyard Book

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Disney recently announced that they have bought the movie rights to adapt Neil Gaiman’s 2008 children’s novel The Graveyard Book. After several years of attempt by different studios to adapt the novel it seems that it is finally moving forward with Disney. As the fourth studio to purchase the rights to the film, they wasted no time handing the project over to producer Gil Netter, who just finished producing another Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, another book-to-film adaptation.

This will be Gaiman’s third film, preceded by 2009’s Coraline and 2007’s Stardust, both of which received positive reviews. Gaiman also has a television series in the works with HBO based on his novel American Gods.

His two movie adaptations have both received relative success in the box office as well. Coraline has an IMDb rating of 7.7 out of 10 and Stardust received a 7.8.

The next adaptation for Gaiman, The Graveyard Book, tells the story of a young boy who lost his parents and is raised instead by the ghosts of graveyard inhabitants.

The official plot synopsis is below:

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren’t really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman’s first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman’s legion of adult fans.”

In the novel, each of the eight chapters is a short story, telling the story 2 years apart allowing the audience to see the protagonist growing up.

The book, already a commercial success, won the 2008 Newberry Medal for distinguished contributions to children’s literature.  It also won the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novel, Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the 2010 Carnegie Medal.

Gaiman based his tale on a previous short story called The Witch’s Headstone, according to TGDaily.com.

It is unknown whether the movie will be live-action or animated, and no other production details have been announced.

Marvel’s The Avengers Storms International Theaters

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As of May 2nd, Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that Marvel’s the Avengers had already grossed $260.5 million before it opens in North America this Friday. Premiering in 39 foreign territories, the film earned $185.1 million in its first week.

The film is currently ranked number one in 25 different foreign territories. With these figures, it appears Marvel’s the Avengers will be the film to take the top U.S. spot from Think Like a Man, which is in its 16th week.

Marvel’s The Avengers is the superhero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

The highly anticipated film has an all star cast which includes:

  • Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man:
A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist with a mechanical suit of armor of his own invention. 
  • Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:
A World War II veteran who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum. 
  • Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk:
A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or excited. Ruffalo was cast after negotiations between Marvel and Edward Norton broke down.

  • Lou Ferrigno will voice the Hulk.
  • Chris Hemsworth as Thor:
The god of thunder based on the Norse deity of the same name. Hemsworth was cast as part of a multiple movie deal. Hemsworth stated that he was able to maintain the strength he built up for Thor by increasing his food intake, consisting of a number of chicken breasts, fish, steak and eggs a day.
  • Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow:
A highly trained spy working for the international peacekeeping organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. 
  • Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye:
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and master archer known in the comics as the “World’s Greatest Marksman”. Renner said it was a very physical role and that he trained physically and practiced archery as much as possible in preparation. 
  • Tom Hiddleston as Loki:
Thor’s adoptive brother and nemesis based on the deity of the same name. 
  • Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:
The director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was revealed in previous films to be coordinating the “Avenger Initiative”. Jackson was brought to the project with a deal containing an option to play the character in up to nine Marvel films.
  • Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill:
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works closely with Jackson’s Nick Fury. 

Joss Whedon (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, “Dollhouse” and “Firefly”) directed the film. Both Hemsworth and Whedon have another current top 10 film as well. Hemsworth acted and Whedon co-wrote Cabin in the Woods, currently ranked number 10 in the U.S. in its third week.

With the North American release happening tomorrow, they have released a brand new TV spot to entice you even more to see the film.

Two New Dorothy And The Wizard of Oz Adaptations Moving Forward

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Some classic books provide fodder for directors for decades to come. They get remade every decade or so by new directors for a new audience. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has inspired numerous film adaptations. Ronald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has also been adapted multiple times. The latest addition to the list is L. Frank Baum’s Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz.

Most recently adapted for television in the form of SyFy’s “Tin Man”, starring Zooey Deschanel and Alan Cumming, the story is now providing the foundation for two new projects.

E!, a network known mostly for reality shows such as Keeping Up With the Kardashians, is now developing several scripted drama series. Among the new shows is “Dorothy”, a new take on Baum’s classic story.

Here is E!’s description:

Inspired by the book Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, a girl from Kansas City falls for a man and moves with him to the Emerald City to work at his Emerald Hotel.”

The show will be written by Natalie Krinsky (Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy), so viewers can expect hearty servings of weekly drama.

In other Oz-related news, Summertime Entertainment is developing its own adaptation—a 3D CG animated film.

The role of Dorothy will be voiced by Lea Michele, most known for her role on “Glee.” Tony Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters will lend her voice to the character of Glinda the Good Witch.

To have Bernadette Peters as Glinda is such a treat,” said Will Finn, one of the film’s directors in a report from Summertime Entertainment. “She epitomizes the character who is known by Oz fans worldwide to have a very caring and generous heart.”

Peters agreed with this sentiment.

“Glinda and I have the same heart and soul,” she said. “Her hair has a mind of its own like mine!”

According to ComingSoon, Peters and Michele will perform a duet on the film’s soundtrack.

Also starring are Martin Short, Jim Belushi , Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Hilty, Hugh Dancy, Oliver Platt and Patrick Stewart. The film will be directed by Dan St. Pierre.

Fox Animation To Adapt The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

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Most everyone knows the stories of literature’s classic fairy tale princesses by now— Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella… etc. Children have been reading these stories and watching their respective Disney adaptations for decades. Now first-time author Jeff Healy is telling these classic stories from a different perspective.

Now available, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom tells the story of the four princes from these familiar fairy tales.

“In the tome, the princes’ due is glossed over by various minstrels, but the four young men—cast out of their respective castles—get a shot at redemption and glory when they uncover a plot that could destroy the kingdoms,” according to Hollywood Reporter.

The 432 page novel was released by Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins Children’s Books. Before penning the novel, Healy was a children’s entertainment reviewer, and before that a haunted house zombie actor. If these former occupations are any indication of Healy’s writing style, Save Your Kingdom should be an interesting read.

Those interested in checking out the book may want to do so quickly, as there will soon be an animated film version as well. It was also announced that Fox Animation has picked up the movie rights to Saving Your Kingdom. The project will be produced by Chernin Entertainment—the same company that produced Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

See the book’s official plot synopsis below:

Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You’ve never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change. Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it’s up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be. Debut author Christopher Healy takes us on a journey with four imperfect princes and their four improbable princesses, all of whom are trying to become perfect heroes—a fast-paced, funny, and fresh introduction to a world where everything, even our classic fairy tales, is not at all what it seems.”

There is no word yet on when the adaptation will be released or who is expected to provided the voices for the characters.

The Walking Dead Video Game Receives Wide Critical Acclaim

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Fans of “The Walking Dead” now have more than author Robert Kirkman’s monthly comic book releases to get them through the AMC show’s off-season. Friday, Telltale Games released The Walking Dead: Episode One- A New Day for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac and PC.

According to a press release from GamesPress, despite the game taking place in the same world as Kirkman’s comic series, there will be some key differences.

The Walking Dead: Episode One – A New Day is set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series. Lee Everett, a man convicted of a crime of passion, has been given the chance for redemption in a world devastated by the undead. Players will experience life changing events, meet new characters and familiar ones from the original comic, and also visit locations that foreshadow the story of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes. The Walking Dead offers a tailored game experience – player actions, choices and decisions affect how the story plays out across the entire series.”

The Walking Dead: Episode One – A New Day follows a character named Lee Everett, though a convicted criminal for a crime of passion, he has the opportunity for redemption in this post-apocalyptic world of the undead. Players experience events that can be life-changing. You also get to meet new characters as well as some familiar ones from the original comic book. And as a tie in to the story and tv series, players will visit locations that foreshadow the events of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the game is that decisions players make will affect them and the story throughout the entire game.

The game has received a positive critical reception, earning Editors’ Choice awards from both Official Xbox Magazine and IGN.com. Gaming website Polygon gave the game a 9 out of 10 score.

Polygon praised the game for its enthralling gameplay and heart-stopping action.

With choices that matter and intensity to spare, Telltale Games delivers one of its best efforts to date […] The first episode of The Walking Dead held me in as I was thrown from one story-twisting, heart-stopping conflict to another, disaster threatening if I looked away from the screen even for a moment.”

Popular game review site, IGN, also praised the first episode the video game adaptation for its intense and emotionally engaging gameplay.

This is a deeply personal and emotional experience, and that’s why it feels so right as a part of this franchise,” one IGN reviewer said.

Official Xbox Magazine praised the game’s “striking art style and cinematic presentation.”

Episode One – A New Day is the first of five monthly episodes of  The Walking Dead  games series and will be available for 400 Microsoft®Points on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® on April 27th; it is available now for $4.99 per episode on PlayStation®Network, and is available as the first part of a five episode season pass for $24.99 on PC and Mac from the Telltale Online Store and other digital outlets.

The Walking Dead: Episode One- A New Day is rated M (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language by the ESRB.

Peter Jackson Answers Criticism Regarding Filming The Hobbit

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Director Peter Jackson is facing criticism for the style of filming he used for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. A preview of the highly anticipated film was unveiled at Cinemacon last week and despite the excitement, many of the viewers were displeased. Some of the viewers who saw the preview for the unfinished movie stated they were unimpressed with the footage. The film was shot in a “hyper-realistic” style at a rate of 48 frames per second, instead of the standard 24.

Jackson recently took on the criticism of his hyper-realtistic film during an interview with TheWrap.

He spoke about his reasons why he decided to film the movie using the 48 frames per second stating that it would “improve the film’s 3D imagery and better immerse audiences in the action.”

The director plans to continue with his original format despite audience protests.

I can’t say anything, just like you can’t say anything to someone who doesn’t like fish,” Jackson said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “You can’t explain why fish tastes great and why they should enjoy it.”

Jackson also said he feels that people will get used to the film style, and prefers that they enjoy other aspects of the movie.

“I just wonder if they were getting into the dialogue, the characters and the story,” Jackson said. “That’s what happens in the movie. You settle into it.”

Though audience members may be able to “settle into it,” Jackson may run into more problems when getting movie theaters to screen the film. Because of the style used, most theaters will have to upgrade their technology to show the film. While this may not be an issue for large chain theaters, smaller operations may turn The Hobbit down.

One theater owner said “he was unimpressed by the high frame rate footage and unsure if it was worth the investment,” according to an article by Brent Lang. “He noted that he had already made a substantial investment to convert his theaters from film to digital in recent years, spending roughly $150,000 per screen. He said that he estimated updating his projectors would cost $8,000 apiece.”

Jackson, however, said he feels higher film rates are in many directors’ future.

Nobody is going to stop,” he said. “This technology is going to keep evolving.”

An executive from New Line told TheWrap that they almost didn’t preview with film with the high frame rate but that Jackson had pushed very hard for the preview and ended up winning the debate. The executive also assured that the film would look even better once the finalized coloring and special effects were included.

Despite the lackluster response to the look of his film, there was a strong positive reaction to the overall tone and story of the film with MSN calling it “chilling and absorbing.”

The Hobbit will be released Dec. 14, and will also be available at the standard film rate of 24 frames per second. It’s sequel, The Hobbit: There and Back Again will be released on December 13, 2013.