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Weekly Wrap Up: "Despicable" Minions Shine Through "Eclipse"
13 July 2010 2:17 PM, PDT
The Steve Carell led animated feature "Despicable Me" topped the box office last weekend garnering $56.4M in its first week of release. "Despicable" as the title may lead one to believe, the film has thus far received extremely favorable reviews, with an 80 percent rating on rottentomatoes.com, and Kirk Honeycutt of hollywoodreporter.com saying the film is "funny, clever, and warmly animated with memorable characters."
Coming in behind "Despicable" by more than $24M, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" finished the weekend at $31.7M. Despite the more than 50 percent drop from its opening weekend gross, the third "Twilight" installment has now banked more than $235M since its June 30th release. The film series' continued popularity is great news for stars Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Kristin Stewart, who are set to receive $25M apiece for the next two installments of "Breaking Dawn" plus 7.5 percent of those films' gross.
Placing third in its opening weekend, »
Screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul talk "Despicable Me"
13 July 2010 12:51 PM, PDT
MakingOf recently sat down with screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio to speak about their most recent work, the just-released animated feature "Despicable Me," which topped all movies (including "Eclipse") at the box office last weekend with $56.4M.
After receiving the idea from Sergio Pablos and Chris Meledantri (Illumination Entertainment), both writers loved the concept of a villain who's trying to take over the world having to juggle the responsibilities of family life, saying "We thought it was great, that it was really funny, but it had the potential for great heart."
From storyboards to finished product, screenwriters have to exercise patience when it comes to seeing their work come to life. Having previously worked on "Horton Hears a Who!" together, both Paul and Daurio realized the time and energy that it takes to bring their writing to the screen. Expressing the satisfaction of the process, Paul states, "That's the thing that's amazing because. »
Advice on Shooting a Horror Film
13 July 2010 12:46 PM, PDT
I’d already made three feature films - Virgil Bliss (2001); Milk + Honey (2003); Paper Covers Rock (2008) - all of them indie character dramas, when Larry Fessenden of Glasseye Pix called and asked me if I had any horror scripts I’d be interested in making on a low budget. I’m not a horror guy. I mean, I love movies and there are certainly many horror films that I’ve enjoyed, but the thought of actually making a horror film seemed a bit of a stretch. That said, I’d never turn up the opportunity to make a movie, so I lied, said I had a script that needed a week of polishing. For the next seven days I wrote furiously, Glasseye accepted the first draft and my journey into the world of genre filmmaking was underway. Below I detail the single greatest tip I would pass along to anyone interested »
Exclusive Interview with Jon Turteltaub, Director of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
13 July 2010 11:58 AM, PDT
MakingOf recently sat down with director Jon Turtletaub to discuss his latest effort, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." While the film is firmly entrenched in Disney lore (including an excellent homage to the "mop scene" from "Fantasia"), Turteltaub and producer Jerry Bruckheimer made a conscious effort to make the film fresh and original. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" stars Nicholas Cage as master sorcerer Balthazar Blake, and features a strong supporting cast led by Alfred Molina as the villainous Maxim Horvath and Jay Baruchel as Dave Stutler, the reluctant apprentice who discovers his magical potential.
In our exclusive interview, Jon Turteltaub talked about the importance of a director to develop a unique rapport with each individual actor. "One thing I had to learn early in my career," says Turteltaub, "is that it's crucial to direct every actor differently. No two actors are the same, and they're never in a group."
To watch our full interview with Jon Turteltaub, »
Exclusive Interview with Legendary Producer Jerry Bruckheimer
12 July 2010 10:58 AM, PDT
MakingOf recently sat down with legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer to discuss his new blockbuster, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Drawing inspiration from "Fantasia" and the infamous Johann Wolfgang von Goethe poem of the same name, the film stars Nicholas Cage as master sorcerer Balthazar Blake finding himself in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch nemesis (and fellow master sorcerer) Maxim Horvath, played by Alfred Molina. Blake, realizing that he cannot save the city by himself, recruits an unlikely and reluctant protege named Dave Stutler, played by Jay Baruchel, who, unbeknownst to himself, has a lot of hidden potential.
In our exclusive interview, famed producer Jerry Bruckheimer talked about the rigorous timeline a film of this scope requires. During our conversation he also breaks down how the special effects sequences are created and names his favorite part of the filmmaking process. He describes the producer's role on-set by saying, »
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