Warner Bros Pictures is returning to world of 300 with the 2014 action film 300: Rise of an Empire. Heading to theaters next March, this 300 finds Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) back as the Spartan Queen, Gorgo; David Wenham returning to play Dilios, and Rodrigo Santoro reprising his role as Xerxes.
Newcomers to the 300 world include Sullivan Stapleton as Themistokles and Eva Green as Artemisia. 300: Rise of an Empire is directed by Noam Murro from a screenplay by 300 helmer Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad.
The Plot:
Based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel Xerxes, and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster 300, this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield—on the sea—as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war.
300: Rise of an Empire pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Steve Harvey’s daytime television series will be airing on NBC owned television stations at least through 2016 as just announced by NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution. The series has attracted a huge audience and during the May 2013 sweeps, Steve Harvey was the #1 new first-run show with Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 nationally.
The show earned Harvey an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Talk Show Host category and has grown in popularity year-over-year, increasing its audiences by 42% compared to 2012 numbers.
“Steve is one of the best entertainers in the country and his first season has been a tremendous success because of the personal connection he makes with the daytime audience,” said Ted Harbert, Chairman, NBC Broadcasting. “It’s so great to see Steve’s very funny and substantive show being rewarded with long-term commitments from our station partners.”
“Steve Harvey’s engaging, funny and warm style has been a hit with our audiences, and we couldn’t be happier to continue our partnership with Steve and his great team,” said Valari Staab, President, NBC Owned Television Stations. “Steve Harvey has strengthened our daytime lineups and proven to be a strong lead in to Ellen and, in turn, our local newscasts.”
“The sale of the show through 2016 is a testimony to its popularity, the immense talent of Steve Harvey and his ability to resonate with a broad and diverse daytime audience,” said David Goldberg, Chairman and CEO, Endemol North America. “I am grateful to Steve, his dedicated and creative producers as well as NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution and our station partners around the country,” he continued.
In addition to hosting the show, Harvey is also an executive producer on the series along with Alex Duda and Rushion McDonald.
Steve Harvey Series Details:
Each weekday, Steve Harvey, who was chosen by the 2013 People’s Choice Awards as Favorite New Daytime Show Host, weaves universal relationship themes into his show, bringing a blend of common sense advice and insightful humor to a vast range of relatable topics such as marriage, romance, parenting, friendship, and workplace.
In this interview video courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures, Henry Cavill talks about playing Clark Kent and Superman as well as wearing the new Superman suit in Man of Steel. Cavill also discusses Diane Lane and Kevin Costner’s interpretations of Martha and Jonathan Kent, working with Amy Adams who plays Lois Lane, and being directed by Zack Snyder.
Man of Steel opens in theaters on June 14, 2013.
The Plot:
From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, under the direction of Zack Snyder. A young boy 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.
“It’s Emma,” yells James Franco (as himself). “You guys are alive! Oh, thank God,” replies Emma Watson (also playing herself) who’s just busted into Franco’s house during the apocalypse in the R-rated comedy film This Is The End.
Jay Baruchel (as himself) has returned to L.A. to spend some time with his best friend Seth Rogen (as himself) who he’s been feeling has been drifting away from him ever since his success in Hollywood has led him to making new LA friends. At first, it’s like old times, drinking, eating fast food, and playing video games, but when Seth wants to go over to James Franco’s house-warming party Jay is reluctant.
While at the party, Jay feels uncomfortable and out of his element. Finally, after running out of smokes, Jay gets Seth to go with him to the nearest 7/11 to buy some more. Suddenly, the ground shakes violently and Jay witnesses some of the shoppers being surrounded in a blue and white light from the sky and getting teleported up into the sky and disappearing from view.
Terrified, Jay and Seth run back to Franco’s place. No one at the party felt the earthquake and they think Jay’s been seeing things when he tells them about the people disappearing in the blue and white light. But when the ground shakes even more violently, everyone at the party runs outside in a panic with Franco yelling to stay inside where it’s safer. Once outside, everyone sees the Hollywood hills up in a blaze and a giant sinkhole opening up and expanding in front of Franco’s home. Many celebrities fall into the hole screaming and plummeting towards a fiery bottom. Franco gets Seth, Jonah Hill (as himself), and Craig Robinson (as himself) back inside his home which he believes will be strong enough to protect them until whatever is happening is over.
Meanwhile, Jay who almost fell into the pit, has pulled himself out and seeing no better alternative joins Seth and the rest in the house. Together, the guys pool their resources including water, alcohol, cereal, pot, a camera, a gun from a movie set shoot of Franco’s, and a Milky Way candy bar which quickly leads to the guys all arguing about who gets to eat the candy bar. That’s only the first of many crises the group will have to face together if they hope to survive the apocalypse.
This Is The End is a rude, crude, raunchy, and at times extremely vulgar comedy which also happens to be the funniest, laugh-out-loud and most original comedy film this year. The movie’s cast has great chemistry, with Baruchel being the geeky moral center of the group and Franco being the way-in-over-his-head leader of the misfits. Craig Robinson is responsible for some of the biggest laughs with his reactions to all the chaos, fire and brimstone happening around and outside the house. Danny McBride is his usual crass, crude and obnoxious self with perhaps a little extra thrown in due to the cabin fever.
There are lots of hilarious scenes, including a spoof from the classic horror film The Exorcist, a chase from a very large, angry and frightening demon, and of course Emma Watson’s cameo as the apocalypse party crasher.
The script is fresh and original with some very funny twists and turns and some surprising casting cameos. And the special effects in the film look great, capturing wonderfully what the Hollywood hills engulfed in flames would look like, and the bit-by-bit destruction of Franco’s new house is extremely well done.
Perhaps the only drawback in the film is some of the jokes and scenes that not only fall flat but go too far and are sure to upset and offend some audience members. And that’s really what it comes down to as far as your decision to see This is The End goes. If you’re a fan of some of the casts earlier films, such as Pineapple Express and Superbad, then you’re sure to have a laugh-out-loud great time with Franco, Rogen, Baruchel and the rest of the gang. If you’re NOT a fan, then you might want to steer clear of this apocalyptic laugh fest.
GRADE: B
This Is The End opens in theaters on June 12, 2013 and is rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use, and some violence.
So far Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures have released photos of Optimus Prime, a C7 Corvette Stingray, a Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse, the Hound, a 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe, and the new Bumblebee: a 1967 Camaro. Now Transformers 4 is showing off a new photo of the Ultimate Sonic RS described as “just pure fun.”
Paramount’s releasing Transformers 4 in theaters on June 27, 2014 with Mark Wahlberg taking over the human lead role now that Shia LaBeouf is no longer involved.
The Plot: Transformers: Age of Extinction begins after an epic battle left a great city torn, but with the world saved. As humanity picks up the pieces, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history… while an ancient powerful new nemesis sets Earth in its crosshairs.
Can Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet?
“An icon adored by millions…the most famous woman in the world who became the People’s Princess. The legend is never the whole story.”
Naomi Watts tackles the role of the beloved Princess Diana in Diana, a dramatic film from director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall). eOne Films has just released a first teaser trailer for the film along with a few official photos of Watts as the Princess of Wales. And while the trailer contains no dialogue, it does convey the tone of the movie and shows off Watts in character as Princess Di.
The Plot:
Diana takes audiences into the private realm of one the world’s most iconic and inescapably public women — the Princess of Wales, Diana (Watts) — in the last two years of her meteoric life. On the occasion of the 16th anniversary of her sudden death, acclaimed director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) explores Diana’s final rite of passage: a secret love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews), the human complications of which reveal the Princess’s climactic days in a compelling new light.
Hirschbiegel directs from a screenplay by award-winning playwright Stephen Jeffreys, inspired by the book Diana: Her Last Love by Kate Snell, which was in turn drawn from extensive interviews with close friends and confidantes. The result is a window into the tumultuous, change-filled period from 1995-1997, in the wake of Diana’s shattering divorce from Prince Charles, and at the moment when she stood on the cusp of adifferent life, evolving into a global humanitarian, a master of maneuvering fame and becoming her own woman.
eOne Films is planning a fall 2013 theatrical release.
Naomi Watts as Princess Diana in ‘Diana’ (Photo Courtesy of eOne Films)
Candy Olsen, Courtney Wagner, Big Steve Valenti, Mike Braiotta, Joe “Joe P” Pauletich and John Luke star in A&E’s “Storage Wars: NY” (Photo by A&E Copyright 2012)
Apparently viewers can’t get enough of colorful personalities bidding on abandoned storage units. A&E says Storage Wars: New York was the network’s number one new nonfiction series when it debuted in January, and now they’re bringing out a new season packed with more bidding drama. Season one earned an average viewership of 2.9 million and proved to be popular with the adults 25-54 crowd.
Storage Wars: New York returns on July 9, 2013 with back-to-back episodes airing at 9pm and 9:30pm.
The Details on Season Two:
Storage Wars: New York follows a group of urban explorers in a modern-day treasure hunt for forgotten gems. In the nation’s most populated city, with its notoriously small apartments and storage dilemmas, there’s no telling what amazing valuables might exist within the storage units of New York and its surrounding areas. Joe P (“The Legend”), Mike (“The Hustler”), Candy and Courtney (“The Flame and The Firecracker”), Chris and Tad (“The Loud Mouth and “The Conscience”) and auctioneer John Luke are back, along with larger than life newcomer Big Steve. It is a constant battle to find and own the lost and precious items of the city, and when New Yorkers are bidding, a whole different attitude comes to the auction!
In the season premiere episode at 9PM, the buyers head to Trenton, New Jersey and Chris and Tad find a crate of fireworks that makes them wonder if they’ve found the best bang for their buck. Joe P finds out whether an antique hearing aid whispers the sweet sound of success or leaves him empty-handed.
At 9:30PM, the bidders venture out to Harlem, New York and Mike explores his feminine side with the purchase of a woman’s locker.
ABC Family has signed up Alfonso Ribeiro to host the new one-hour game show Spell-Mageddon. Filming is expected to begin on June 17, 2013 in Studio City and the series will air episode one on July 24th at 9pm immediately after Baby Daddy.
Ribeiro is best known for starring opposite Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ribeiro played Carlton Banks on the show which ran 1990 through 1996 on NBC, and recently reunited with Smith to sing the Fresh Prince theme song while Smith was out on the talk show circuit promoting After Earth.
Spell-Mageddon is executive produced by Adam Reed, Adam Freeman, and Leslie Greif. The show “puts a fresh spin on the spelling bee, where contestants take on hilarious distractions while spelling increasingly challenging words.”
Carrie Brownstein & Fred Armisen - Photo Credit: Chris Hornbecker/IFCPortlandia has been renewed for seasons four and five. IFC announced the renewal of the comedy show, with the new seasons to feature 10 half-hour episodes in airing in 2014 and 2015.
Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein created the show, write the episodes, and star in the series. Guest stars who’ve shown up to visit include Kyle MacLachlan, Chloe Sevigny, Rose Byrne, Jeff Goldblum, Roseanne Barr, George Wendt, and Martina Navratilova. The original comedy has won WGA and Peabody awards and is one of the network’s most popular shows.
“Portlandia has celebrated sustainable local agriculture, underemployment, avian crafting, gender politics, intense bicycle messengers and so much more,” said Jennifer Caserta, president and general manager of IFC.“We can now celebrate two more seasons.”
The Plot:
The first three seasons of Portlandia expanded the boundaries of gentle satire and social commentary. From the feminist shopkeepers Toni and Candace to the overly eco-conscious couple Peter and Nance, Armisen and Brownstein transform into a collection of charmingly earnest characters who make up Portlandia, the quirky, free-range world created as an affectionate love letter to Portland, OR.
Striking first in theaters this year with the premise of a group of friends struggling to survive the apocalypse, This is the End is Seth Rogen and writing/directing partner Evan Goldberg’s take on how it would go down for their Hollywood celebrity circle.
As is customary for the weed-centric cinema most ascribe to Rogen, the jokes are gleefully immature, and the cast is made up of his famous friends; including Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, and Craig Robinson. Key cameos come in the form of Emma Watson and Michael Cera (an actor I normally lambaste but found absolutely hilarious here). All of them are playing exaggerated versions of themselves, with obvious nods to how they’re publicly perceived.
What’s nice is that it’s obvious they had a great deal of fun making the movie and that energy is transferred to the screen. First and foremost, this is an entertaining film. It balances the comedic aspects with some very violent and, at times, scary moments. Putting aside my wussiness for a second, it wasn’t just me jumping now and again. Rogen and Goldberg inserted a number of sudden bursts of loud noise and demonic activity to good effect. The CGI won’t win any awards, but the cut-scene video game stylization of it fits with the tone of the movie.
The movie gets a little long in the middle, but it was satisfying to see so many “actors” I’m not usually fond of get killed in various ways, even if it was a semi-alternative version of themselves. I’m still looking forward with even greater expectations to the other apocalypse movie this year, The World’s End – which is the finale of the Cornetto trilogy (consisting so far of Shaun of the Dead and ) from director Edgar Wright and the pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. However, where I had initially assumed this might fall flat and only make that wait tougher, I exited the theater wishing it were a double feature.
It’s a shame the 2007 short film this is an expanded take on Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse, was never actually released. I’d be interested to see what changes happened in bringing it to feature length. The good news though, is that audiences actually have something fun to go see. It does have a few scares and certainly earns its R-rating between the language and amount of male nudity (much of it CGI) that’s going on. But if you were bringing your small child to this in the first place (like some screening audience members did), I doubt a rational warning means much to you.
I’m sure this and The World’s End will approach things quite differently, and despite their ridiculously identical themes, this is one time I’m not annoyed about it. Trying to describe this in a nutshell, I immediately thought of comparing this to Zombieland; this isn’t as clever as it relies on much cruder humor but that should give you some idea of what to expect. This Is The End should be a big hit with audiences and delivers on the laughs, scares, and fun. Even with a bias against some of the cast, watching many of them meet their demise might just be worth it for you. It was for me.
GRADE: B+
This Is The End opens in theaters on June 12, 2013 and is rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence.
