“WE’RE THE MILLERS” DRIVES PAST $200 MILLION AT THE WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE

Warner Bros. movie release

BURBANK, CA – September 18, 2013 – Continuing its successful run at the box office, New Line Cinema’s smash hit comedy “We’re the Millers” has surpassed $200 million at the worldwide box office. The announcement was made by Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President, International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. The film has grossed an estimated $206 million globally, and still climbing.

 

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

“We’re the Millers” has taken in an estimated $132.6 million domestically and is still going strong. Internationally, the film has grossed $73.4 million, opening at #1 in key European markets such as Germany and breaking records in Russia, where it has become the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time. Major markets set to release in the coming weeks include Spain, France and Brazil. 

Fellman stated, “‘We’re the Millers’ has demonstrated terrific playability from coast to coast, and the phenomenal word of mouth has kept the weekly drops notably low and the attendance consistently high. We congratulate our partners at New Line, as well as director Rawson Marshall Thurber and the terrific cast, led by the tremendously talented Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston.”

Kwan Vandenberg noted, “The international rollout has been fantastic, with number one openings and powerful holds.  International audiences have responded in a big way to the film’s outrageous humor, and the chemistry of Jennifer and Jason and the entire cast. We join New Line in congratulating Rawson and his cast and crew on crossing this exciting benchmark.” 

From New Line Cinema comes the action comedy “We’re the Millers,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis under the direction of Rawson Marshall Thurber.

David Clark (Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids—after all, he has his scruples. Preferring to keep a low profile for obvious reasons, he learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help out some local teens and winds up getting jumped by a trio of gutter punks. Stealing his stash and his cash, they leave him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms).

In order to wipe the slate clean—and maintain a clean bill of health—David must now become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad’s latest shipment in from Mexico. Twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Aniston) and wannabe customer Kenny (Will Poulter), as well as streetwise teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof plan. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the “Millers” are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang.

The film also stars Emma Roberts, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Will Poulter and Ed Helms.

(Now playing across the Philippines, “We’re the Millers” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.)

“INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2” CONJURES ORIGINAL CAST FOR MORE HAUNTINGS

Columbia Pictures movie release

The new terrifying horror thriller “Insidious: Chapter 2” features a multi-generational family dealing with ghosts—from grandmother and parents all the way down to young children and a baby. 

 

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Directed by James Wan (“The Conjuring”) and written by Leigh Whannell (“Saw”), the sequel to the 2011 blockbuster “Insidious” reteams the original cast to play the family, including Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne (“X-Men: First Class”), Barbara Hershey (“Black Swan”), Lin Shaye (“There's Something About Mary”) and Ty Simpkins (the child actor in “Iron Man 3”).

The father of the family is Josh Lambert, played once again by Patrick Wilson, who marks his third collaboration with Wan. In addition to “Insidious,” Wilson also starred in Wan’s recently released box-office hit “The Conjuring.”

The Josh Lambert of “Chapter 2” is hardly the same person he was in “Insidious,” however, according to Wilson. “He’s literally vacant because he’s possessed. We know that he’s possessed, but will his wife, Renai, find out? It’s structured like a murder mystery with this husband and wife not getting along and her trying to figure out why that is. She wants to believe her husband, but he’s acting bizarrely.”

Australian native Rose Byrne reprises her role as Josh’s wife, Renai. At the start of “Chapter 2,” her character is still shaken by the events that transpired in the first film and is spiraling into depression.

“It’s literally a day later and she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” Byrne explains. “She’s thrown into action and, because of the events around her, that takes all her energy—she’s just trying to keep it together.” 

The filmmakers brought back Academy Award®-nominee Barbara Hershey to portray Josh’s mother and the Lambert family matriarch, Lorraine Lambert. The actress notes it’s the first time in her distinguished career that she has been cast in a sequel to one of her own films (the same is also true for Wilson and Byrne). 

“Coming back is definitely easy because we all know each other and are relaxed with each other now,” says Hershey. “I really think having good actors and a good script allows audience members to get more involved with and identify with the characters.”

The return of character actress Lin Shaye in the role of hypnotist and supernatural expert Elise Rainier may come as a surprise to “Insidious” fans, given that her character was mysteriously killed at the end of the original.

“During the first movie, James [Wan] was going back and forth about having me killed at the end because he wanted me back if there was a sequel,” Shaye recalls. “And then he remembered that because we were making a ghost movie, of course there was a place for me to come back.” 

For the role of the Lambert’s eldest son, Dalton—who was the main subject of “Insidious”—the filmmakers brought back Ty Simpkins. As often happens with young actors, there was some concern about how much Simpkins and the actor playing his younger brother, Andrew Astor (“The Hangover”), would have grown since completing “Insidious.”

“The fact that the story picks up directly from the first one was difficult,” Wan confesses. “Luckily, at their young ages, they still hadn’t changed too much.” 

Wilson concurs, joking, “We added a couple of inches to their pajamas and they were good to go!”

For Simpkins, returning to the role after three years was made easier by the genuine emotions evoked on set.

“I basically play myself, but with a little twist,” says Simpkins. “Even when we’re not filming and the ghosts are around, I start getting scared. But when they say ‘action,’ that’s when I get really scared. So it’s kind of easy for me to get into character.”

 

“Insidious: Chapter 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Sneak Peek: EXIT HUMANITY

Exit Humanity is a story told through the written and illustrated journal of Edward Young as he battles his way through an unexplainable outbreak of the walking dead a decade after the American Civil War. After returning home from a hunting trip to find a horrific re-animation of his wife Julia, and that their son Adam has disappeared, Edward starts to record his experiences with the walking dead as well as the unexplainable outbreak that has torn his family apart, and threatens all of mankind. Throughout his harrowing journey Edward finds friendship, guidance and love amongst chaos and despair, when all else seems to be lost in a world robbed of its humanity.

Showing Nationwide on October 9, 2013.

Released and distributed by CrystalSky Multimedia.

“GRAVITY” CHARACTER POSTERS

Two new character posters for Alfonso Cuaron's “Gravity” are now online, featuring George Clooney's Matt Kowalsky and Sandra Bullock's Dr. Ryan Stone. Check them out below!

Poster courtesy of Warner Bros.

Academy Award® winners Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) and George Clooney (“Syriana”) star in the heart-pounding thriller that pulls you into the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space.

In the film, Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

Opening across the Philippines in Oct. 3 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular cinemas, “Gravity” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

2 Guns movie review

Story: 2 unlikely allies. One DEA agent and the other a naval intelligence officer gone undercover as bank robbers.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

 

Review: Although it is an action movie, you wouldn't notice that this was adapted from a graphic novel. 2 Guns was published by Boom! Studios and created by Stephen Grant. It is unlike any action movie. You won't know if the main characters are good. They are all classified as anti-heroes.

 

They are anti-heroes because you can't tell if the person is good or bad depending on their actions. Despite the action, there are times that you can laugh at their humor. The story is good but if they cast unknown actors, the movie might not get notice.

 

The actors are also high-caliber profiles. Denzel Washington gives a great performance as a DEA agent. He was bad@$$ in Safehouse and did a box-office hit performance in Flight. As for Mark Wahlberg, he made a good tandem with Washington and I look forward for them to work again in the future.

 

The supporting cast are also high profile. 2 Guns also stars Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, Edward James Olmos and Fred Ward. What I can't forget is Ms. Patton's steamy appearance in one scene.2 Guns is a movie ideal for guys but women can also watch. 2 Guns is released and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Emily Blunt In Arthur Newman

Movie online release

As a youngster, Emily Blunt struggled to overcome a stammer, and with a teacher’s help eventually overcame it. So it’s quite a testament that the English actress would eventually make a career out of speaking, especially as the profession requires her to play different characters with various accents.

Photo courtesy of Solar Entertainment Corp.

In the romantic drama Arthur Newman, she is paired with fellow Brit Colin Firth, in which they both play Americans. Of course, Blunt is no stranger to American accents. She played a Yank in Sunshine Cleaning, Charlie Wilson’s War, and last year’s sci-fi epic Looper, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She also lives in America with her American husband John Krasinski (The Office).

As Mike, she plays a troubled young woman trying to escape her past who runs into Firth (playing the title character). His character has faked his death in order to erase his problems. The two end up on a road trip together from Florida to Indiana, where Newman (Firth) believes he can start fresh as a professional golf instructor. The two share some sexy scenes together as their characters share some intimate moments as they get to know each other.

Directed by first time feature filmmaker Dante Ariola, Arthur Newman is a quirky love story about two damaged souls learning to trust and love again.

Both you and Colin speak with American accents in this. Did you work with the same dialect coach?

We did, actually.

Did you stay in your accents when you weren’t shooting?

We didn’t, unfortunately, because we’re both Brits. Normally, when I’m shooting, I stay in the accent. When I did Looper, I was working with this little boy, so I would stay in the accent more so he wouldn’t get confused, but I didn’t have a chance with Colin because we’re so completely British.

What were you attracted to in the script that made you want to play the offbeat character?

The script was just completely refreshing in how original it was. It was pretty uncompromising, actually, and we didn’t want to conform to any genre that could be summed up in a one-line pitch. I like the idea of the movie that the more we mask ourselves, the freer we are able to be in ourselves. I think everyone at one point has wanted to escape or run away and take on a new identity. I don’t particularly feel these characters are necessarily crazy; they’re just acting on impulses that a lot of people have.

I just couldn’t quite put my finger on why I was so drawn to the script. It’s always quite good when there is ambiguity there and something to play with.

As an actress, you play different people all the time so does that mean you have less need to escape in your real life?

As an actor, I have less need to escape because I (play other people) all the time. I go away for a few months a year and get to live this strange, insular Neverland-like experience.

 

In the film, you and Colin’s character are heading to Indiana where he is expecting to take a job as a golf instructor. Do you play golf?

I like playing golf but I’m terrible. I’m really bad, but I like whizzing around in the golf cart with some booze in the back. (laughs) That’s probably about as good as my golf gets.

Was it fun playing a character whose acting like she’s someone else but isn’t a very good actress?

Well, it’s quite fun, actually, acting other parts badly. (laughs) It wasn’t that challenging, though, because we weren’t playing actors who were really good at taking on these personas. There was an awkwardness and a sweetness to it that was really fun.

 

Have you ever known anyone like Mike?

I grew up with someone like her.

Did you find Colin’s costumes a bit nerdy?

Yeah, they were so lame. (laughs) I remember the first costume fitting he had, and he was like, “Is it really embarrassing?” and I was like, “No, it’s amazing.”

There’s some ambiguity as to what happens to these characters at the end.

I like that because I think sometimes a tidy resolution can be really unsatisfying. It’s more exciting to just not know sometimes.

You and Colin have a few sex scenes where your characters are role-playing but only once do they make love as themselves. Why do you suppose that is?

Intimacy is terrifying to both of them so they have to pretend to be other people to touch each other and be touched, and laugh with each other and do anything that resembles any kind of connection. I think Mike desperately wants to be touched; she just doesn’t know how.

You recently worked with Tom Cruise on the sci-fi action movie All You Need is Kill. What was it like working with him?

It was fun (and) quite hardcore! I don’t think I’d ever done anything like that with the amount of training and physical duress that I had to go through. It was intense but I loved working with Tom. It was a dream. And (director) Doug Liman definitely has an unconventional approach to the genre. He’s not a conformist in any way.

How did the character change over time with all the re-writes on the picture and the production starting and stopping?

Well, (the starting and stopping) was because Tom had to do press (for Jack Reacher) and we had the Christmas break and everything, so we came back shortly after that. We were always due to have the break, which is good because you can edit together what you’ve got and see what you still need. It was a long process—the whole film— and I only just wrapped it really. For a movie of that scale, it was surprisingly collaborative.

“ARTHUR NEWMAN” is released and distributed by

 Solar Entertainment Corporation. showing on Oct. 9. Nationwide!

ALFONSO CUARON DEFIES ODDS TO BRING “GRAVITY” TO BIG SCREEN

“I have always had a fascination with space and space exploration,” states Alfonso Cuarón, the director, producer and co-writer of Warner Bros.’ new dramatic thriller “Gravity.” He continues, “On the one hand, there is something mythical and romantic about the idea of separating yourself from Mother Earth. But in many ways, it doesn’t make sense to be out there when life is down here.”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

In “Gravity,” Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) in command. But on a seemingly routine mission, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

“Gravity” was co-written by Alfonso Cuarón and his son, Jonás, marking their first official collaboration. “I was inspired by Jonás’s ideas for the movie,” Alfonso says. “I was very intrigued by his sense of pace in a life-or-death situation that dealt primarily with a single character’s point of view. But, at the same time, placing the story in space immediately made it more expansive and offered immense metaphorical possibilities.”

Jonás Cuarón adds, “The concept of space was interesting to us both; it is a setting where there is no easy way to survive, thousands of miles from what we call home, so it was perfect for a movie about surmounting adversities and having to find your way back. We also wanted it to be a realistic story, which required us to do extensive research to become familiar with space exploration in order to depict a plausible scenario.”

The filmmakers soon discovered that they would need to push the boundaries of moviemaking to tell a story that transpires wholly in zero gravity. “I have to say that I was a bit naïve; I thought making the film would be a lot simpler,” Cuarón admits. “Yes, I knew it would require a certain amount of tricks, but it was not until we started trying conventional techniques that I realized in order to do the film the way I wanted to do it, we were going to have to create something entirely new.”

To accomplish that, Cuarón called upon cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, and visual effects supervisor Tim Webber of Framestore. “From the get-go, Chivo, Tim and I decided we wanted everything to look like we took our camera into space. That would have been my dream, but, of course, that’s not feasible,” Cuarón smiles.

Simply put—though there was nothing simple about it—the filmmakers did not want anything akin to a sci-fi fantasy world, but rather to depict the stark realities of being marooned in the harshest environment known to mankind.

That objective turned out to be a game changer.

The filmmakers invented entire systems to generate the illusion of being in space in ways that were both totally convincing and utterly visceral. As a result, “Gravity” is a hybrid of live-action, computer animation and CGI, with sets, backgrounds and even costumes rendered digitally.

“Gravity” had been envisioned from the beginning as a 3D cinematic experience. Jonás Cuarón says, “The concept was always to do this movie in 3D because we wanted people to be truly immersed in the imagery as well as the narrative.”

That said, Alfonso Cuarón emphasizes, “We didn’t want it to be 3D for the sake of things flying in your face. We tried to be subtle…to let you feel like you’re inside the journey.”

Despite all the technological breakthroughs developed in making “Gravity,” the journey that remained the most vital to the cast and filmmakers was the personal one at the heart of the story—particularly that of Ryan, who is alone for a large part of the film.

“For us,” Jonás Cuarón offers, “the meaning of ‘Gravity’ isn’t just what keeps your feet on the ground. It’s the force that is constantly pulling you back home.”

The director affirms, “Throughout the film there are constant visual references of Earth as this beautiful, nurturing place. And floating above it is a woman who is cut off from her nurturing self. We wanted to explore the allegorical potential of a character in space who is spiraling further into the void, a victim of her own inertia, moving away from Earth, where life and human connections reside. Amidst all the tools and effects, we were always clear that Ryan’s struggle is a metaphor for anyone who has to overcome adversity in life and get to the other side. It is a journey of rebirth.”

 

Opening across the Philippines in Oct. 3 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular theatres, “Gravity” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.