For those who are without HBO, but have been hearing non-stop about the greatness of Game of Thrones, now is your chance to own it legally! It leads the pack of new releases, which include such fall winners as Jack and Jill, The Immortals, and Footloose, and catalog greats from Eddie Murphy, Ron Howard, Alfred Hitchcock, and Monty Python. Check out the best of this week’s new releases:
Two big remakes hit theaters on Friday, Paramount’s Footloose and Universal’s The Thing, but neither managed to outsell Real Steel. Still, it was a slow weekend at the box office. Hugh Jackman‘s robot boxing movie brought in $16.3 million, Footloose followed with $16.1 million, and The Thing came in third with $8.7 million. With numbers like this, the big question is, will movie moguls ever understand that audiences want new, original movies, and not old 80s remakes? Check out the numbers below.
It would have been great if The Big Year, which stars Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson was also a remake of a 1980′s movie just so it’d be a trifecta, right? I guess you could make the case that Steve Martin peaked as a film actor in the 80′s, so we could pretend every big release this weekend was recycling. Regardless, it will be The Thing - a prequel to a 1982 film – versus Footloose - a remake of the 1984 film – battling for the top spot come Sunday, unless Real Steal surges.
The 2011 version of Footloose is a remake intended for a new generation who have no interest in a thirty year old film starring that guy from X-Men and that guy from that sitcom about aliens with the kid who was awesome in Inception. With Craig Brewer‘s slick directing that new generation is in for a good ride – even if the central conceit was a bit dusty in 1984. Brewer finds the truth in overprotective parents enough to make this an entertaining, and faithful (almost too faithful) adaptation of the original.
The Cast of Footloose were never trying to reinvent the wheel, but they knew the challenge of adapting a well liked teen film for a new generation. For stars Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough, they came in as dancer who may not be known for their dramatic chops. For relative newcomers Ziah Colon and Miles Teller it was a chance to step into the mainstream. Whereas for Andie McDowell it was a chance to play a meaty mother role. Our interview with cast follows after the jump.
Craig Brewer is – from all accounts – one of the biggest fans of Footloose in the world. So in that way he seems like safe hands for the remake of the Kevin Bacon teen favorite from 1984. But for those who’ve seen his previous films (Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan) you might think he’d take it to darker places. And what’s surprising about his take is that it’s very faithful and PG in its approach. We talked to Brewer about the film. his film, and Kevin Bacon. Check it out.
Even if the original movie inspires fond memories, it’s hard to get upset at the remake of Footloose. I mean the premise of the 1984 original was thin then, but the music videos, and the then-prominence of MTV (which played the film’s hit songs repeatedly) embedded the film into the public consciousness. Then again, it only takes one listen to get that Kenny Loggins song stuck in your head. The new version by Craig Brewer has got the dancing, and a cast in Kenny Wormland, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Ray McKinnon, and Andie MacDowell. Check out the new trailer.
Craig Brewer took on the assignment of remaking Footloose, and the challenges were legion. The premise is still the same – a concerned father/local reverend (Dennis Quaid here) gets his community to stop dancing. An outsider (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) comes to town, and doesn’t think the rules should apply anymore, while he also romances the reverend’s daughter (Julianne Hough). Will the town ever dance again? The trailer suggests yes. Check it out…
Have you been waiting to see what Taylor Lautner will look like in his upcoming movie Abduction? Are you interested in seeing another outlandish image from the comedy The Hangover Part II? How about a telling photo from the long awaited horror sequel Scream 4? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you’re in luck! We’ve got exactly what you’re looking for below. Take a look…
