“THE HEAT” IS ON

Budding comedy scribe Katie Dippold loved cop movies growing up.  Now a grown up, her love for cop movies continues and had successfully penned the latest Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy starrer “The Heat” directed by Paul Feig.   The estrogen-filled comedy features Sandra Bullock as the uptight FBI agent Sarah Ashburn and Melissa McCarthy as the unorthodox Boston police officer paired together to hunt down a ruthless drug lord.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

“The Heat” is the first produced screenplay by Katie Dippold, who has written for television shows like Parks and Recreation and MadTV.  The film was born from Dippold’s love of buddy-cop movies.  She has many favorites, but singles out the 1986 comedy-action film Running Scared, starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines as wisecracking Chicago street cops.  “I’ve always enjoyed those kinds of movies,” says Dippold, who recently signed a deal to write another comedy for director Paul Feig.  “The characters and actors always seemed like they were having so much fun.”

Dippold’s love of buddy-cop films provided the foundation for a script that ultimately transcended the genre with outrageous humor and heart.  Feig sparked to the script, calling it “one of the funniest I’ve ever read.”

“It turns the genre on its head by adding some breasts,” jokes Bullock.  “It’s gonna surprise people what women with breasts can do.”

When the filmmaker told Dippold that “The Heat” was going to be his next film, the neophyte screenwriter was flummoxed. “I thought I was being pranked,” Dippold admits.  “I got an email saying that Paul wanted to have lunch with me.  After reading the email, I sat there frozen for several minutes.  Then, I thought it was a joke.”  “Well, that’s Katie,” says producer Jenno Topping.  “She’s incredibly humble and real.”

With Dippold’s first draft in hand, Feig moved at warp speed to cast the film, a task facilitated by his visualizing his “dream team” in the script.  “I’ve always been a fan of Sandra Bullock, and as I was reading I was just like, okay, Ashburn is Sandra.  Ashburn felt like her.  Sandra is so funny in movies and in real life.  She’s confident and cool, but she’s also analytical about things to a point where it’s comical, and which I love.  And that’s how I felt about the Ashburn character.”

“Sandra brings a sweet quality to what could have been an unlikable character,” adds Katie Dippold.  “She really nails that ‘A+-student’ vibe, and she’s hilarious.”  And McCarthy notes that, “Sandra is great, funny and weird.  We are very much in sync.”

It didn’t take much convincing to bring Bullock aboard. She was a big fan of “Bridesmaids,” and eager to work with its director, Feig.  “Watching Bridesmaids was one of those rare moments when I thought to myself that this is a person [Feig] I want to work with because you know he is going to make you better – and that he could turn “The Heat” into something memorable.”

The strength of the Bullock-McCarthy dynamic, evident even then, inspired additional script fine-tuning.  “By the end of that first read, it was obvious that Sandy and Melissa really inhabited these characters, and that it was up to Katie Dippold and me to take all that magic and get it into the script – and really let the women fly,” says Feig.

               

For Dippold, the process was liberating.  “Sandy and Melissa took what was on the page and made it funnier than I thought it could ever be,” she says.  A particular favorite came during a Mullins’ tirade against her captain (played by Tom Wilson) – accusing him of lacking a set of testes – when he refuses her demand to boot Ashburn from the case.  “Melissa really ran with the one scripted line, ‘Have you seen the captain’s balls?’ and turned it into something spectacular.”

Rated R-13, “The Heat” opens June 27 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

“AFTER EARTH” OPENS AT NO.1 IN PHILS.

MANILA, June 6, 2013 – Columbia Pictures’ “After Earth” starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith, rocketed to the No. 1 spot of the Philippine box-office, with a first-day gross of P8.72-million yesterday.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

            This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

            Described as the ultimate father and son adventure, “After Earth” dislodged “Fast and Furious 6” from the top box-office spot.

            “After Earth” is on track to become one of Will Smith's biggest hits locally. “Coming off last year's blockbuster `Men in Black 3,' Will Smith is definitely on a roll,” said Cabrera. “The film's father-and-son theme is also expected to draw in family audiences, and this bodes well for a huge opening weekend.”

            The biggest gross on opening day was recorded by Trinoma at P388,872 followed by SM North EDSA at P301,626 and Power Plant with P289,269.

            The fourth to tenth place in the rankings are claimed by SM Megamall (P262,989), SM Mall of Asia (P245,070), Glorietta 4 (P242,280), Greenbelt 3 (P214,497), Alabang Town Center (P203,662), Ayala Cebu (P193,716) and Gateway Cineplex (P191,924).

            Also posting impressive results are SM Cebu (P187,020), Robinsons Galleria (P172,051), Gaisano Davo (P152,178), SM Fairview (P148,054), Eastwood (P141,493), Market! Market! (P140,942), Robinsons Ermita (P138,945), SM Clark (P135,694), SM Southmall (P127,009) and Harbor Point (P126,160).

            In “After Earth,” a crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

 

            Now playing across the Philippines, “After Earth” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

HENRY CAVILL's TRANSFORMATION INTO SUPERMAN

Movie release

 

He starred on the popular Showtime series “The Tudors” for four seasons, and most recently, in the No. 1 hit mythological actioner “Immortals.” Now, British actor Henry Cavill puts on the iconic blue suit with an S emblem in Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' epic action adventure “Man of Steel.”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

            Directed by Zack Snyder (“300,” “Watchmen”), the film tells of a young boy who learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

When we first meet Clark Kent (Cavill) in “Man of Steel,” he is a grown man hiding from the world. He is unable to remain unnoticed under the watchful and increasingly suspicious eyes of the people of Smallville—thanks in large part to the manifestations of his superpowers and his inability to keep them completely under wraps, as his Earth father, Jonathan (Kevin Costner), advised him. Therefore, Clark has abandoned all he knows and loves, wandering in a metaphorical desert of odd jobs and emotional isolation in search of his true self.

“Clark feels he has to stay on the fringes of society,” Snyder explains. “That way, if he’s forced to use his abilities—if he saves someone’s life or does anything else out of the ordinary—it is easy for him to disappear.”

However, it is a solitary existence, one devoid of companionship and equally filled with longing. Knowing he is not of this planet, he also worries about what humans would do to him if the degree of his uniqueness were to be revealed. And, if he is ever able to discover his true origins, will he find that he belongs there instead?

The director continues, “He’s wondering, ‘What is my purpose?’ We all ask that of ourselves, but it’s harder for Clark because the things that he’s best at are also the things that are most frightening about him to others; knowledge of his existence would call into question everything we know about who we are. So he’s on his own, trying to find out what his place is in the world, where he belongs, what is his destiny. I think the audience will relate because most of us share those same questions and insecurities when we are starting out in life.”

Cavill, who stars in the multi-faceted role, says, “Clark has always felt like an outsider. He was raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent to never react in an aggressive, violent manner and, most of all, never to reveal the things that he can do. But dealing with the very real growing pains of becoming a young man unlike any other, and being unable to share that with anyone else, has manifested a sense of isolation in him. That isolation is only amplified by the fact that he feels powerless to do anything about it, while actually having all the power in the world.”

“Henry really found a way to play the many contradictions in the character,” Snyder relates. “Clark is physically superior but can’t show it, he has X-ray vision but must learn to regulate it, and even though he’s misunderstood by the human race, he still finds the good in people; he still instinctively wants to help. Henry did an incredible job of conveying the conflict within him, while also projecting that sincerity that is inherent to the role.”

In taking on a part that was both physically and emotionally demanding, Cavill says he found an ally and invaluable guide in Snyder. “Zack was fantastic,” the actor states. “His energy was always up and, as much as the hours on set were long, he kept things interesting and moving, and it permeated throughout the cast and crew. We were making a Superman movie, after all, and Zack’s positive attitude reminded us of that every day.”

According to producer Charles Roven, playing Superman gave Cavill a boost in much the same way it’s given every child who ever donned a makeshift cape and imagined him or herself flying through the skies. “When he put on that suit, Henry’s whole demeanor changed. He really owned the character, on- and off-camera, and put an amazing amount of hard work and thought into every aspect of his performance. It was great fun to watch.”

Cavill began conducting his research into the part at the source: comic books. “I got into the comics and that gave me a great baseline to the character. He’s far more complex than I think most people know. He admittedly has a moral code, but he’s incredibly conflicted. In the story we’re telling, his origin story, he’s learning everything about himself right along with the audience. So, when he’s faced with having to fight for Earth or for Krypton, well…it’s not exactly an easy decision to make.”

 

            “Man of Steel”  is distributed worldwide in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

ACTION AND COMEDY SIZZLE IN “THE HEAT”

Director Paul Feig reinvigorates the buddy cop genre by pairing Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock and breakout star Melissa McCarthy as law enforcers with wildly different styles in “The Heat.”   Set in Boston, the movie follows Sarah Ashburn (Bullock), a rigid FBI agent forced to team up with Shannon Mullins (McCarthy), a brash undercover Boston street cop to track a ruthless drug lord. 

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Director Feig enthused on Bullock’s and McCarthy’s pairing, “I’m excited about doing a female buddy cop comedy because I can only think of a couple that have come along in the last 20 years and I don’t think they were particularly great. To me, though, I’m not looking at it as two women - it’s just two of the funniest people I know. Melissa, who I’ve worked with and is hilarious, and then Sandy who I’ve always been a fan of who is also hilarious. What I like is they have two different senses of humor and two different styles of comedy and the two complement each other.”

In a genre mostly dominated by men, Feig shares that the pairing is an ideal mix.  “Sometimes you come up with these combos in your head and then you put them together and they don’t work at all. But we had a little rehearsal down in Atlanta when Melissa was doing another movie, and the minute they started reading together, I thought, “Okay, this is funny.”Now they’re actuallythe best of friends and onscreen the chemistry between them is great because of this, and they both bring aspects of themselves to each of their characters – they balance each other out great. Sandy’s so funny at playing the uptight nerdy-but-officious person and then Melissa’s character is just all street smarts and brawn and force. I set them loose and then just get to sit behind the monitor and laugh – I’m amazed at what they’re discovering and coming up with,” Feig continues.

Directing the raucous comedy that is “The Heat” has its unwritten rules too according to Feig.  “My criteria for comedy is it has to have an emotional core, first and foremost.  It also has to have believable characters, even if they’re doing big crazy things or they’re big personalities. It’s not necessarily about jokes – it’s the behavioral aspect of it, and the way they’re reacting off each other. Jokes sometimes land like lead because they just sound very written, but a funny reaction to something makes it funnier. With the Internet and YouTube we’re seeing so much real live comedy just in these videos of people with their friends - that is funnier to us than a very overwritten story. So we have our great script, and although we don’t deviate from it too much, we try to do it in a way where the actorsmake it their own and they’re talking like people do to each other in real life,” shares Feig.

“The Heat” opens June 27 in cinemas nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros

Juana C The Movie

I rarely watch Tagalog films because I am selective to some detail like who's the director and quality. I was invited to watch Juana C. without any idea what was it about but I already saw the trailer. Little did I know that this movie was worth my time since I enjoyed the previous film of director Jade Castro of Zombadings.

Another factor to consider is that it is written by screenwriter and playwright Rody Vera. I know for fact that theater and movies are two different disciplines when it comes to telling a story. Adding to the mix of theater and movies are actors from these two disciplines in one production.

Comedy appeals to the massive Filipino movie goers and it was intended to use comedy to spread a message. Movies that makes its audience think doesn't appeal much to most Pinoys. The massive Pinoys only want to enjoy watching. Despite the comedy, there are certain serious issues cited in the movie. This movie can be both entertaining and making the message clear to the audience.

This C stands for Change which is why the title sound like Wanna C. or Wanna Change. Hopefully, the change will occur after leaving the cinema.

EPIC Review

No, there's nothing epic about my review. I am talking about the recent animated movie, Epic, from Twentieth Century Fox.

What I didn't like about the movie? It is similar to Ferngully. It has environmental theme. Nothing new.

What I like about the movie? The 3D. The Leafmen are like the samurai of feudal Japan and they kick butt. Also, the actors are popular.

Verdict. The only target audience are the kids so it is a family movie. If you ask me, I would rather wait for this to be in TV than spend it for cinema.

Grown Ups 2 Trailer and Poster Revealed

The Grown Ups Gang are back! Look at what they are up for in this trailer link.

Poster courtesy of Columbia Pictures

In the film, after having the greatest time of his life three summers ago, Lenny (Adam Sandler) decides he wants to move his family back to his hometown and have them grow up with his gang of childhood friends and their kids. They’ll face new challenges and meet new friends in the next chapter of the epic story of refusing to grow up.

            Columbia Pictures presents a Happy Madison production, a film by Dennis Dugan, “Grown Ups 2.” Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph, Maria Bello, and Nick Swardson. Directed by Dennis Dugan. Produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo. Written by Fred Wolf & Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy. Executive Producers are Barry Bernardi and Allen Covert. Director of Photography is Theo Van de Sande, ASC. Production Designer is Aaron Osborne. Editor is Tom Costain. Costume Designer is Ellen Lutter. Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams. Music Supervision by Michael Dilbeck, Brooks Arthur, and Kevin Grady. 

            The first “Grown Ups,” released in 2010, grossed $271 million worldwide, making it Sandler's most successful film to date. 

            Opening across the Philippines on July 24, “Grown Ups 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. Visit and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook for the latest movie reviews.