SSN ORIGINALS
‘Angry Birds’ Director Fergal Reilly on Breaking the Story, Working at Lightening Speed and Answering the Question, ‘Why are These Birds Angry?’
There are many movies that have originated through original specs or little known articles. The Angry Birds Movie isn’t one of them. The film, which Sony slingshots into theaters on May 20th, is based on the most downloaded mobile game of all time. While a movie with that much name recognition might be easy to sell, building an entire world filled with characters with personality was a challenge to say the least. Luckily, the film had Fergal Reilly at its helm. (SSN)
SSN Box Office Trending Report For 5/6/16: ‘Captain America: Civil War’ to Lay Siege to Theaters While ‘X-Men’ Starts Presales
In our ongoing weekly series, SSN Insider will take a deep dive into the film ticket sales of the week leveraging data from the powerhouse ticketing website, MovieTickets.com. Not only will the infographic pinpoint which movies are claiming the largest piece of the pie from day to day in terms of sales but also which film had the biggest uptick in terms of a percentage variance surge and which had the biggest downtick or steepest dive between any two points. (SSN)
On the Set for 5/6/16: Taron Egerton Starts ‘Kingsman’ Sequel, Hugh Jackman Begins on ‘Wolverine 3’, Rooney Mara & Robert Redford Finish ‘The Discovery’
It’s been an extremely busy week in Hollywoodland, with other projects like the biopic of Mark Felt (aka Deep Throat), Ken Marino’s directorial debut, the Jacob’s Ladder remake and the new flick from Todd Haynes all get rolling, while a bunch of other projects wrap things up, including a new film starring Burt Reynolds. As usual, there’s plenty more, so click on the link to read on. (SSN)
OTHER HEADLINES
FCC Approves Charter Acquisition of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks
Paving the way for the rise of a new No. 2 in the cable TV arena, the FCC has formally approved the acquisition of TWC and Bright House Networks by Charter Communications. The FCC said today that the three-way $66 billion merger had been approved with certain conditions on Charter’s activities that were outlined by FCC chairman Tom Wheeler last month. With this approval, the deal is sure to close within the next week or so. (VAR)
Sumner Redstone Trial: “Severely Impaired” Mogul Suffering From Dementia, Doctor Tells Court
Testimony by a doctor who examined Redstone ahead of the mogul’s health care trial seemingly revealed that the 92-year-old is suffering from dementia. “He does have major neurological problems,” said Dr. Stephen Read today in a downtown courtroom after a videotape deposition of Redstone was played in a closed court. (DH)
Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ With Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci Might Finally Be Moving Forward
Paramount needs to finalize its deal to sell off the international rights in time for the Cannes marketplace, but should that happen, The Irishman could finally be well on its way to being made. The movie would bring together Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in the Steve Zaillian-penned adaptation of I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, which tells the true story of Frank Sheeran, a high-ranking Teamsters officer who dabbled as a hitman. (TP)
So Much For James Franco’s ‘Blood Meridian’ Project, as the Film Has Been Scrapped
Franco was set to star in and direct the adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy book, which was also set to star Ryan Reynolds, Russell Crowe, Tye Sheridan and Vincent D’Onofrio, but apparently the announcement was made before certain tricky deals – specifically the rights to the book, which you might just think would be important to make the movie – had been finalized. So now the film is off the table and has apparently been scrapped as it currently stands. (EMP)
Ben Affleck Is Now an Executive Producer For the Two-Part ‘Justice League’ Movie, but What, Exactly, Does That Mean?
A creative change is taking place behind the scenes on Warner Bros.’ superhero epic. Apparently, the actor/filmmaker is making this move “to support Snyder,” adding that he’ll work with Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio “behind the scenes to make the film the best it can be.” After the disappointment of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the studio is looking to make certain its superhero centerpiece doesn’t go off the rails. (COL)
Oscar Isaac Signs On For ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ Helmer’s Next Effort
The Force Awakens star is teaming up with director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon to star in the thriller A Foreigner. The story revolves around a murdered Guatemalan man who arranges for videos of his killers to be distributed after his death in hopes to uncover the corruption that has led to other murders. The story is based on the New Yorker article “A Murder Foretold” written by David Grann in 2011. (IW)
A Question We Have To Really Start Asking Ourselves: When It Comes To Comedy, What’s the Limit?
In the wake of Will Ferrel’s Reagan debacle, how far is too far? When have we crossed over from satire into offensiveness? What, if anything, is off limits? Have we entered a time when we can’t really laugh about things anymore? Do we take ourselves too seriously? You work in a creative industry and people are telling you what you can and can’t create. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. (TB)