A movie title is not everything, but it sure does go a long way in determining whether audiences will line up to see a movie. A bad film title could even completely derail a film that is destined for pop culture legend!
Watch Pretty Woman online, and would you have seen the film if it was called what it was originally supposed to be titled, 3000?
There is no way that the Richard Gere and Julia Roberts rom-com, that has become iconic, would have even gotten a flicker of notice with that numeric title.
Those Pulp Fiction quotes, well, Quentin Tarantino wisely chose to call his film something that paid tribute to an entire genre of publications instead of one specific magazine. Thank goodness!
And in a move that was just as smart as Kevin Spacey taking a non-credited role so as not to spoil the ending, we’re thrilled that when you watch Se7en online it was not called something that would have also revealed too much!
What other of our favorite films of the last several decades changed their moniker?
Click through and discover 17 movie titles that were wisely altered when it came to something that seems so simple, but is anything but -- its name!
One of the more famous movie title changes came from George Lucas and his Star Wars series. While putting the sequel to The Empire Strikes Back together, for the longest time, Return of the Jedi was known as Revenge of the Jedi. But, Lucas famously decided that Jedis don’t seek revenge. It's beneath them. We actually agree with Lucas on this one. Plus, then he couldn't have used the word in Revenge of the Sith. Now Sith, those guys will seek revenge.
When audiences headed into David Fincher’s Seven, they probably had some idea what the movie was about… a serial killer is loose and Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are trying to stop him. But, if it had gone out under its original title, some of that power might have been lessened. The Seven Deadly Sins tells us right away what is motivating this killer. Where Se7en (with its nifty inserting of a number instead of a “vâ€) at least had us somewhat ignorant as to what we were in for when heading into the theater.
Star Beast sounds like a B-movie title about some crudely designed alien killing people. It was so not worthy of the supremely awesomely designed Alien that would take the movie’s moniker.
We get what they were going for with The Last First Kiss. Your last first kiss is the person you spend the rest of your life with! But, Hitch is so much better because it’s all about the Will Smith character and that was the movie’s big sell.
Coma Guy does not even sound like a terrible Lifetime movie, much less a romantic comedy blockbuster starring Sandra Bullock. While You Were Sleeping -- now that’s a title that will sell lots and lots of tickets.
When Quentin Tarantino sat down to pen Pulp Fiction, he was paying tribute to the pulpy crime magazines he enjoyed growing up, specifically Black Mask. Thus, that was the first title of the film that would launch him into the cinematic stratosphere. He instead changed it to Pulp Fiction to simply pay tribute to the entire genre itself.
How the West Was Won was a popular movie and eventual television series and we could see how Stanley Kubrick would “steal†from it to describe his science fiction epic. But, 2001: A Space Odyssey is so much more fitting. It’s beyond perfect.
Although fans of The Goonies might agree with the sentiment behind the film’s original title, The Greatest Movie Ever Made, The Goonies is much more apt and less likely to land on deaf ears!
We have no idea why Head Cheese was ever considered. Our monster does not have a head made of cheese. It’s made of people’s skin! Maybe it’s a joke? Either way, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre truly just cuts right through it. Get it, see what we did there?!
Saturday Night Fever became a pop culture phenomenon when it landed in 1977 and produced one of the highest selling soundtracks in history. We get what they were going for with The Tribal Rights of the New Saturday Night. But, come on… Saturday Night Fever has hit movie written all over it.
Field of Dreams has become one of the most beloved baseball movies, father son movies and Kevin Costner movies ever. Shoeless Joe fits the subject of the film, but it's truly about so much more.
Sure, it was A Long Night at Camp Blood (well, that isn’t exactly what the camp was called, but bear with us), but Friday the 13th, now that is a title that would become a legendary moment in motion picture terror.
Replicants are machines, so the original title of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic starring Harrison Ford kind of fits. But, we just like Blade Runner so much more than Mechanismo.
The gang in American Pie went to East Great Falls High, so it seemed like a good choice to have that teen sex romp named after their school. When it changed its name to American Pie, it truly told us what this movie was all about: A sexually frustrated teenager having sex with a pie.
One of the most famous movie title changes in recent history came at us with the Tom Cruise-starring blockbuster of the summer of 2014. The book it was based on is called All You Need Is Kill, but the studio decided at the last minute to switch out the title for Edge of Tomorrow. Apparently not satisfied with that title, when the film was released on home video, the box read, “Live. Die. Repeat.†Whatever its moniker, it’s Cruise’s best film in years.
With one simple statement, the Guardians of the Galaxy director dashed the hopes and dreams of hundreds of thousands who are planning on attending Comic-Con in San Diego this July.
Gunn was participating in a surprise Q&A on his Facebook page when he received a question from Stephania Besco. She asked, “Will you be at San Diego Comic Con this year?”
Gunn then dashed not only her hopes, but so many others too. “I’m not sure. Marvel isn’t going so I’m not sure I will either.”
But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense why Marvel Studios would sit this one out.
They have Avengers: Age of Ultron opening May 1 and with Ant-Man premiering July 17, days after Comic-Con gets started, there really is no point.
Normally studios push movies that are at least several months to years in the future.
The bigger reason they are skipping it might be that Marvel’s parent company, Disney, is holding their every-other-year fan fest D23 in August, and why not showcase your future projects that way, and on your own terms?
Chris Hemsworth was the host of Saturday Night Live and the Australian had to be thrilled with the honor that is hosting the pop culture institution.
One could also argue that Thor and The Avengers as a whole were due for a parody, and boy, did we get that.
Hemsworth donned his Thor costume (and blond wig) and was the “featured guest” on a local news “report” that supposedly took place in the moments after The Avengers emerged victorious from defeating Ultron.
Judging by that Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, we think in the movie our heroes will be way too wiped out to do the kind of celebrating that Thor is doing on SNL!
The Tomorrowland Super Bowl trailer merely touched the surface that is the mind-blowing film from Disney that lands this summer. Now that the full length Tomorrowland trailer has arrived, the Brad Bird (The Incredibles) directed sci-fi family adventure has joined some serious flicks in the most anticipated department for summer 2015.
Bird is not just a wizard at bringing animation to life like he did with The Incredibles, but his work on Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is largely credited with why the Tom Cruise film is the highest grossing of the series.
Tomorrowland imagines a world outside of our world where the best and brightest have gone to try their best to change (and save) the future. George Clooney stars as a former child prodigy who has become disillusioned with the state of the world. That is until Britt Robertson shows up in possession of a magical pin that when held gives glimpse into that Tomorrowland world.
The two are fated to join forces and together, maybe, just maybe, they can save mankind from the most perilous of fates.
Tomorrowland is from Lost writer and co-creator Damon Lindelof and Bird and also stars Hugh Laurie (who we finally get to see in the above trailer!), Judy Greer (who will also be in another highly anticipated summer movie, Jurassic World) and Kathryn Hahn.
Look for the latest Disney live action magic on May 22.
When Cinderella star Lily James was young, she was a fan of all things Disney princesses. She surely never dreamt that she would grow up to play one of the most iconic of the group.
“I really loved the princesses growing up. I was definitely one of those girls. But then I had two brothers that kept knocking me off my pedestal a bit. Thank God,” she told Movie Fanatic recently.
The Downton Abbey standout didn’t even plan on being the title character when she auditioned for director Kenneth Branagh. “I didn’t still want to be a princess because I originally auditioned for one of the stepsisters. Once I started reading Ella and being her, I was totally desperate to play her.”
As you can tell from that first Cinderella trailer, this is not your parents’ Cinderella. She would be fine if no prince came knocking on her door. That was one of many big appealing aspects of joining the Disney live action version of their 1950 animated classic.
“They rescue each other. They meet as equals. They don’t know who each other are,” James said of the relationship portrayed in the 2015 Cinderella.
“The opening scene of the animated movie is A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes. And the sentiment of that I love, that dreaming can take you away from your life and you can escape. But the idea of, oh, I want to marry that prince! That’s bullshit,” James admitted.
“At the end, even when she knows he’s a prince and he finds her, she says, ‘This is who I am. I have no parents. I am this girl. Take me or leave me. I love you if you can love me like that.’ I think that’s so important too. So I hope that is what’s received from it.”
Something that is so clear in James’ performance is that the physical magic that the animated film painted of Cinderella, she impeccably captures in live action. This is a character that is incredibly poised. “That was one of the main things I wanted to take from the animation was that grace and that ease and that movement. But I still wanted it to feel real. I didn’t want it to seem like she was this ballet dancer bouncing about. I loved the physicality in the film,” James said.
“There’s a moment where she cries by the well and her back undulates. Without seeing her face, you can feel her grief. In the film I tried to like basically exactly mimic that moment -- which was the only time I mimicked.”
Another joy (among so many) for James making Cinderella was the company she would keep. Cate Blanchett stars as her wicked stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter could not be a better choice to be her fairy godmother.
“It was an unbelievable, very surreal experience. And I’m so grateful. Cate, I think she’s one of the great, great actresses of all time. So to do scenes with her was in a way easy because she gives you so much,” James said.
“For her stepmother, there was this whole life and history and world that went on inside her and in her eyes. So it was just so exciting and felt so layered and multi-dimensional. I loved doing the scenes with her so much.”
She was shocked to learn that both legendary UK actresses shared a trait that she did not expect. “Helena is one of the coolest, kindest women I’ve ever met. We had so much fun and her spirit -- she has the best sense of humor! If I’ve learned anything from Cate and Helena, their sense of humors are wicked, and I think that’s how you succeed,” James said.
“Great actors and actresses are like that. Helena would mix it up. She does it different every time. It came at a point when in night shoots, I was exhausted. I was trippy. We had to shoot through the night. It was freezing cold. We were outside. And the point in the story where Ella even says, ‘I don’t believe anymore,’ like she’s almost given up hope -- then Helena came. It was like this bright light over the horizon.”
Then, there’s the education and honor that is being directed by one of the most highly trained and revered actor-directors today, Branagh (see his recent work and watch Thor online).
“I’ve never had it quite like it before because I trusted him completely, which is the most scary feeling because you sort of go, okay, I’m giving over to this director and I believe in you. But it’s also the most freeing experience because I felt like I could do anything and he was guiding through. He directs with such heart and such warmth,” James said.
“He’s very clear and specific and right from my first audition, how he spoke about Ella and how he wanted her to be. He always talked about, where does her goodness come from? It can’t just be abstract. Why is she this girl and does it cost her? How does she maintain this goodness? He’s such a remarkable director. And I think it’s because he’s a remarkable actor. So he knows. He brings both to the day and to the set.”
To truly bring Cinderella into a new century, James reported that she also went back and watched all the Disney princesses -- so that it would still feel like an evolution. "It’s amazing how they changed and they have become more modern right up until Frozen. I felt like I wanted a lot of Belle and of Ariel. I’m such a geek now with princesses,” she said and laughed.
“They desire more in life. They want to explore. They want to daydream. I feel like that spirit of princesses, that they’re great role models. They’re great inspirations for kids. They don’t settle. Whereas I think Cinderella, the criticism of this girl just waiting for a prince to save her, we wanted to like chuck that out and not have that dominate in our film. I tried to take flavors from all of the princesses but keep the overriding sensation of Ella which is that she is a kind, good person that is able to be happy in a cruel environment because of it -- and that it is a super power.”
Chappie topped the box office this weekend and it largely had to do with how the adorable robot captured audiences’ hearts. Evidence of that can be seen in this collection of our favorite and most heartwarming Chappie quotes.
But any hero has to have a villain worth its salt to make us pull for him, her or a robotic one.
That is the case with Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie as there is not only one baddie, but two bad asses in the form of the characters played by Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver.
We should not be so surprised that there are so many fantastic lines of dialogue in Chappie, just look at Blomkamp’s Oscar-nominated work with these District 9 quotes or watch Elysium online for insight into his wizardry with words.
Check out all of our Chappie quotes, and then click through our slideshow below and discover our 11 favorite Chappie quotes!
We all know that Paul Feig is set to start shooting his all-female Ghostbusters with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon quite soon. That flick is due July 22, 2016. Now, we know that it looks like there will be another one coming too… with Channing Tatum!
During the ordeal that was the Sony hack, one of the emails that got out involved Tatum’s desire to do a Ghostbusters that could combine his 21 Jump Street character (with Jonah Hill) and the world created with the first Ghostbusters, directed by Ivan Reitman.
We’re hearing from Deadline that although that hybrid of Sony properties will not happen, that in fact a Tatum-starring Ghostbusters is in the works and that it will operate within the universe started by Feig.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo just signed a deal with Sony and according to the outlet, they would be tapped to direct the Tatum-starring Ghostbusters movie that the actor has been hammering out with original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd.
“We want to expand the Ghostbusters universe in ways that will include different films, TV shows, merchandise, all things that are part of modern filmed entertainment. This is a branded entertainment, a scary supernatural premise mixed with comedy. Paul Feig’s film will be the first version of that, shooting in June to come out in July, 2016. He’s got four of the funniest women in the world, and there will be other surprises to come,” Reitman told Deadline.
“The second film has a wonderful idea that builds on that. Drew will start writing and the hope is to be ready for the Russo brothers’ next window next summer to shoot, with the movie coming out the following hear. It’s just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies.”
Although we do not have much in terms of details on this, stay tuned as we are seriously intrigued.
In a classic Murray line, he utilizes his skills of explaining the obvious!
Dana Barrett: You know, you don't act like a scientist. Dr. Peter Venkman: They're usually pretty stiff. Dana Barrett: You're more like a game show host.
Dr. Egon Spengler: I have a radical idea. The door swings both ways, we could reverse the polarity flow through the gate. Dr. Peter Venkman: How? Dr. Egon Spengler: [hesitates] We'll cross the streams. Dr. Peter Venkman: 'Scuse me Egon? You said crossing the streams was bad! Dr Ray Stantz: Cross the streams... Dr. Peter Venkman: You're gonna endanger us, you're gonna endanger our client - the nice lady, *who paid us in advance*, before she became a dog... Dr. Egon Spengler: Not necessarily. There's definitely a *very slim* chance we'll survive. [pause while they consider this] Dr. Peter Venkman: [slaps Ray] I love this plan! I'm excited it could work! LET'S DO IT!
Dr. Peter Venkman: I'll take Miss Barret back to her apartment and check her out. [Dana Barret looks up confused] Dr. Peter Venkman: I'll go check out Miss Barret's apartment. OK?
Dr. Peter Venkman: Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head. Remember that? Dr. Egon Spengler: That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me.
Egon, ever brilliant, may have had one lapse of judgment.
Dr. Egon Spengler: I'm worried, Ray. All my readings point to something big on the horizon. Winston Zeddemore: What do you mean, big? Dr. Egon Spengler: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds. Winston Zeddemore: That's a big Twinkie.
Sigourney's turned into something that could be on Wild Kingdom.
Dr. Egon Spengler: There's something very important I forgot to tell you. Dr. Peter Venkman: What? Dr. Egon Spengler: Don't cross the streams. Dr. Peter Venkman: Why? Dr. Egon Spengler: It would be bad. Dr. Peter Venkman: I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"? Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light. Dr Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal. Dr. Peter Venkman: Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.
Hot on the heels of that first San Andreas poster, the Dwayne Johnson disaster flick has given us a second trailer that is bigger, badder and more jaw-dropping than the first.
We love how the teaser opens with a shot of Johnson’s co-star Carla Gugino (who plays The Rock’s ex-wife) as she awakes from being knocked out after the first earthquake hits.
She is disoriented. Her head is ringing and she is not sure where she is. Then, the camera pulls back and we realize that she is on the top of a Los Angeles skyscraper that is about to tumble.
Enter Johnson’s search and rescue helicopter pilot who swoops in and saves the day before the building crumbles. That, ladies and gentlemen, is just the beginning.
Other notables from this over two-minute teaser for San Andreas, that lands May 29, is that the Paul Giamatti voice-over (from a talk his character gives) literally paints a picture that is downright horrifying. Especially for those of us who live out here in La-La land!
Johnson and Gugino must get from LA to San Francisco to rescue their daughter (Alexandra Daddario) before the entire state falls into the Pacific Ocean.
Oh, and nice touch, Warner Bros., using the song California Dreamin’ as your score.
The news fans of those Zoolander quotes have been waiting for arrived and from the most appropriate of places.
Paris Fashion Week is in high gear and two of the best male models ever to grace a runway returned to their glory and with that, we now know Zoolander 2 is coming soon.
Derek (Ben Stiller) took to the Valentino stage wearing a custom Night Butterflies brocade suit that was accompanied with a hand-embroidered overcoat and black Creeper shoes. Meanwhile, his partner in crime Hansel (Owen Wilson), sported a silk continent print Pajama suit, along with a double cashmere overcoat and of course, open sneakers.
Zoolander 2 made the announcement at the famed fashion week fete and let the world know that the sequel to Zoolander will be hitting theaters February 12, 2016.
To show how important this news is, the boys also released a shot with fashion icon Anna Wintour!
Check it out in the slideshow below and get ready for the big sequel and watch Zoolander online.
It looks like Pixar has another instant classic on their hands with the release of the latest trailer from Inside Out.
This new Inside Out trailer truly captures the soul of the film and shows why Pixar films truly transcend animation and have gone down as some of the most powerful, hilarious and heartwarming movies to come our way in the last several decades.
We meet Riley as the young girl has just moved to San Francisco with her parents and is not so sold on the idea that she’s going to like it. In a stroke of storytelling genius, we go inside her thoughts and learn that each of our emotions is a clearly drawn character.
There’s our emotional leader, Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Anger (Lewis Black). They help her get through the pitfalls of every day life.
But when Joy and Sadness get lost in the inner workings of her mind, Riley’s world is seriously challenged.
Now we know the crux of the Pixar story and it not only explores the nature of childhood growing into adolescence, but it is a road trip tale of Joy and Sadness finding their way back to Riley’s headquarters, aka her brain!
It’s a wild concept and in the hands of Pixar animators and storytellers, we could not be more excited for the arrival of the famed studio’s latest on June 19.
Inside Out is from the director of two of our Pixar faves, Monsters Inc. and Up. Watch Up online and prepare for more magic.
The news that a male-centric Ghostbusters with Channing Tatum was moving forward was somewhat of a shock. Some felt that the all-female Ghostbusters, directed by Paul Feig, was being undermined.
But, according to the first film’s director, Ivan Reitman, Ghostbusters is breaking far and wide with TV shows and the potential for four films coming your way.
So, who should join Tatum in the all-male Ghostbusters film that is coming at audiences?
We name 15 comic actors that would be impeccable choices to join Tatum in wielding those proton packs! Like who?
Watch The Hangover online and we think there could be two people in that film that could fill the Ghostbusters void.
Those choices are merely the beginning!
Click through and discover our 15 actors who would be great Ghostbusters! And while in a Ghostbusting mood, watch Ghostbusters online and see how it all got started.
Bill Hader would be a fantastic choice to join the cast of the all-new Ghostbusters. His ability to be comedically brilliant in the face of insanity (see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) is fantastic. Plus, he can do serious (The Skeleton Twins). They would be hard-pressed to find a better Ghostbuster.
Word is Channing Tatum and Dan Aykroyd already have a role for Pratt. But, given how he’s busy with Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, having two franchises already might just be too much. Plus, he’s rumored to be the next Indiana Jones. Seriously though, Pratt WOULD be a classic choice.
Jay Pharoah is more than amazing impressions of Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Jay-Z. The man can act and the man can be all-out funny, as anyone who has watched SNL can tell you.
Dave Franco was the best (and most hilarious) part of Unfinished Business. Franco has also stolen scenes in 21 Jump Street and its sequel, as well as Now You See Me. He may be a little young to play a seasoned professor, but we think he could pull it off.
Will Ferrell may suffer from being perceived as the obvious choice to join Ghostbusters. Yet, there is something in the comic actor that says why not go with the obvious choice. Plus, we think he needs to be part of a comic ensemble again, like Old School. Think about how fantastic he would be opposite Channing Tatum and a few other actors.
Patton Oswalt has the sci-fi geekdom vote, for sure! His knowledge of all things Ghostbusters would bring a fan perspective to a role and we think he could pull off the scientist aspect equally as well.
Bradley Cooper's name gets mentioned every time a franchise is getting redone, rebooted or what have you. And there's a reason. He’s a fantastic actor and it's time for Cooper to return to comedy, like The Hangover. Plus, he’d look damn good in that Ghostbusters uniform.
Channing Tatum is already championing this version of the Ghostbusters, so why not include his pal Jonah Hill? Although Tatum originally pitched the idea as a hybrid of 21 Jump Street (thus including Hill) and Ghostbusters and that got buried, we still think filmmakers should look at Hill for a part. Like Franco, he might be too young. But, there is no denying the comic chemistry he has with Tatum.
Did you see Dr. Horrible? Neil Patrick Harris would bring that scientific comedy element to a Ghostbusters reboot that we think would be a match made in heaven.
Anthony Anderson is one seriously underrated comic actor. We could not be more thrilled with the success he has found on TV with Blackish. Now, it’s time for him to return to the silver screen and be a part of Ghostbusters. That’s just our humble opinion.
Damon Wayans Jr. is a chip off the comedic block that is his father. If Ghostbusters had been made during his pop's heyday, Damon Wayans Sr. would have absolutely been in it. So, now the time is right for Damon Wayans Jr. to take a stab!
Fans of Divergent have to be beside themselves, the release of Insurgent is just over a week away.
To celebrate, Summit Entertainment has released the most artful of IMAX posters to also let fans know they can see Tris Prior’s journey continue on the largest screens in the world.
Insurgent finds Divergent director Neil Burger stepping aside and Robert Schwentke (RED, The Time Traveler’s Wife) taking over the helming duties. And given Schwentke’s past efforts with the action packed RED, now that the action is ramped up in the sequel to Divergent, producers could not have made a better choice.
Shailene Woodley is back as Tris, and she is joined by returning cast members Theo James, Miles Teller and Kate Winslet. Two Oscar caliber actresses have joined the series in uber-important roles, Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer.
Watch Divergent online and see how this all got started and get ready for Insurgent (on IMAX!) on March 20.
Last week Marvel announced that it would be presenting the Ultimate Marvel Marathon where 11 of its movies would play back-to-back, leading up to the premiere of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
AMC has released a trio of stunning limited edition posters, that we have in the slideshow below, to celebrate the big day of April 29. Everyone who attends the Marvel movie marathon will get one of these amazing prints.
The trifecta of poster awesomeness is simply gorgeous and -- of course -- is all Ultron specific.
We especially like the one that features Ultron’s robotic fingers crushing the Avengers logo. It is just brilliant.
As that last Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer teased, this is clearly going to be a darker film than The Avengers. Many have compared it to The Empire Strikes Back from the Star Wars trilogy. And given as that is our favorite Star Wars movie, anticipation could not be higher for this Movie Fanatic.
Click through and marvel at the awesomeness that is the limited edition Avengers: Age of Ultron posters and then be sure to keep going and discover our entire photo gallery of stills from the highly anticipated sequel to the movie you can see when you watch The Avengers online.
One of the most profound movies centered on teens is getting an upgrade three decades in the making. The Breakfast Club 30th Anniversary Blu-Ray, DVD and digital download has landed and for fans and those who are new to the John Hughes classic, it is a must own if there ever was one. It is digitally remastered and fully restored, and that is simply the beginning.
Hughes’ story of a group of varied high school students that are brought to Saturday detention for numerous reasons has resonated with audiences of all ages since its debut in 1985. What works so well in The Breakfast Club is that most people can see themselves in one, or all, of the characters iconically played by Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy.
The Breakfast Club is also timeless, and that might be the most astounding thing about the movie. The issues facing our fab five are still quite similar to the ones that ensnarl the youth today.
Perhaps it’s because Hughes kept away from matters of the day and got to the heart of what it means to grow up: How are we expected to act like adults, yet we are not quite old enough to even mentally grasp what that concept means? And at the same time, the pressures of teen-dom are immense and navigating that mine field is a thankless and often painful exercise. It is all impeccably captured in Hughes' greatest work.
All of the characters also were not stereotypes. Yes, they embodied elements of the brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal, but these were fully flushed-out characters with unique motivations, back stories and visions of the future that were laid out beautifully by Hughes. And that hasn’t changed over the years. Teens still feel and experience what the Breakfast Club did and that is why it will easily go down as one of the, if not the, best high school movies of all time.
You may be a master of The Breakfast Club quotes, but what about trivia centered on the 1980s classic?
When it comes to bonus features on the 30th anniversary edition of The Breakfast Club, Accepting the Facts: The Breakfast Club Trivia Track could be seen as the most fun (and challenging). Watching the classic film has never been so fun as the Trivia Track challenges the viewer with questions throughout (many could be helped by our little known facts about the film slideshow below!).
But that fun element is just the tip of the iceberg of The Breakfast Club awesomeness on this very special Blu-Ray, DVD and digital download product.
We marveled at the Sincerely Yours: A 12-Part Documentary. It delves deeper into any '80s film than we’ve ever seen. There are bonus featurettes and then there’s this one on The Breakfast Club new home video release. And whereas the Trivia Track is quite, well, trivial, this 12-part featurette covers all corners of The Breakfast Club world. Form the early days of the process of making the Hughes legendary flick to casting, location scouting and interviews with the cast, for any The Breakfast Club fan (old or new), this is a documentary short series to utterly treasure.
Also fascinating is the bonus feature The Most Convenient Definitions: The Origins of The Brat Pack. Sure, the cast was called The Brat Pack by members of the press.
But, as explored in this featurette, that was just another name given to a group of youthful talents exploring their world. We love how this bonus feature touches on the stereotype-busting modus operandi of the film itself and how the press responded by trying to label the stars into one (somewhat derogatory) moniker. It’s a fascinating look to say the least.
Feature commentaries can be an interesting look at the making of a movie from the people who made the movie, normally the director. What is so special about the commentary track on The Breakfast Club 30th anniversary edition is that it is provided by two of the stars, Hall and Nelson. Hearing them reminisce and share stories about the making of this film, while we watch their three-decade-old work is nothing short of sensational.
Watch The Breakfast Club online and something becomes immediately clear as well: That theme song, Don’t You Forget About Me, could not have been more apt by Simple Minds. Don’t worry, we could never forget The Breakfast Club.
Emilio Estevez was supposed to be Bender. But Hughes couldn’t find someone who was perfect to be Andrew, so Estevez became Andrew and Judd Nelson was hired as Bender.
Hughes went to Glenbrook High School and that real school was used in many of the exterior shots, including the final one of Judd Nelson walking through the football field.
Speaking of Carl, he was originally supposed to be played by Rick Moranis. But, when he insisted on playing the part as an over the top Russian, he was fired and replaced by John Kapelos.
It’s Disney animation turned live action movie craziness and we could not be happier. After the amazing work they did when you watch Maleficent online, one could see why Disney next tackled the animated classic Cinderella. We’ve seen the Kenneth Branagh-directed flick and it is astounding (our review comes on release day, March 13).
Audiences will also get a look at the live action Beauty and the Beast coming soon, with Emma Watson set to play Belle and Dan Stevens cast to portray the Beast. And now, how about a little Dumbo live action?
We have news that Tim Burton has been tapped to bring a live action Dumbo to the big screen for Disney. While we wait for that Beetlejuice sequel to take more of a shape, we’re thrilled to hear that Burton will be the cinematic circus master to tell the story of the elephant pup with the larger-than-life ears who learns to fly and teaches us all a valuable lesson or two along the way.
The screenplay will be provided by Transformers scribe Ehren Kruger and according to The Hollywood Reporter, it will be a combo of live-action with CGI. After all, as we all know, elephants cannot really fly!
The original Disney animated classic was released in 1941. We have no word on a release date for Burton’s Dumbo, but we will keep you posted on all the information.
Here are a few other ideas for Disney to bring to live action!
One of Disney's most underrated movies, The Black Cauldron would bring a magical world of swords and sorcery to life, and with today's special effects, it could be astounding.
Of all of Disney's animated movies, we think that The Little Mermaid could be the easiest to bring to a live action format. The biggest question though is: Who could possibly step into the tail of the iconic Ariel?!
Walt Disney's release of Studio Ghibli's The Secret World of Arrietty was so magical it transcended animation. That is why we think a live action version -- with that Disney magic behind it -- could be just brilliant.
There is something about this story that keeps us coming back over and over. A live action version has been in the works for years, but never seems to take shape. Let's make this happen now!
The story of Aladdin has been told on the big screen, we give you that. But, the Disney version with its larger-than-life genie and love story at its heart... now that's the live action Aladdin movie we want to see.
There is something so beautiful about the musical rendition of the classic story by Disney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame that it would be a brilliant live action adaptation.
Those lush snowy landscapes! That riveting sisterly story! Imagine a live action retelling (give it like 20 years though) with two fantastic actresses who can also sing, and you've got one fantastic live action Frozen.
The Princess and the Frog has essentially been the inspiration for a slew of other live action romance films, why not put a live action version out there and claim the title of classic romance tale all for its own? With the animated film as the blueprint, you couldn't miss!
Well, as luck would have it, a live action Cinderella is already being filmed and we could not be more thrilled. With director Kenneth Branaugh at the helm, this is one of our most anticipated movies that is coming soon.
No, not Snow White and the Huntsman! We want a live action version, note for note, that takes the 1937 classic and brings it to life with modern moviemaking techniques. Think of it... it could be mesmerizing!
We first caught up with Frozen directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck months before the Disney animated film became a phenomenon. Since then, Frozen has taken over the world, won Academy Awards (Best Song for Let it Go and Best Animated Feature for Lee, Buck and producer Peter Del Vecho) and with success comes expectations for more.
With the arrival of Cinderella in theaters March 13, fans of Frozen will get a treat -- an all new Frozen short film called Frozen Fever.
We caught up with Lee and Buck for an exclusive chat about how thoughts of a sequel dominated headlines after Frozen became the highest grossing animated movie of all time and how the short film came to be. They also dish what it was like to get the entire Frozen gang back together for Frozen Fever, including Idina Menzel as Elsa and Josh Gad as Olaf. They even share a fantastic story about the pregnant good luck charm that seems to be Kristen Bell as Anna!
Buck and Lee also answer our question about whether this short quiets the talk about Frozen 2 and frankly, if we will even see a Frozen 2!
Movie Fanatic: We first talked way early in the process of getting Frozen to the screen. I thought immediately that you had something special. Did you have any idea it would become what it became?
Jennifer Lee: No, we had previewed it with some audiences and were shocked because the response had far exceeded our expectations. But then, we always said, “You never know if people will come.” You just don’t know. Are we in a too cynical world now? What a delight.
Chris Buck: We wondered if marketing was reaching everyone, and they did. Then the movie took on a life of its own with word of mouth and people wanting to go back.
Jennifer Lee: That was a big surprise. The biggest surprise was, we both went to the theater, different theaters, the same day. I was in New York and Chris was here to see it with an audience. And they were speaking the words and singing it. That meant they were back for a second time. I called him immediately.
Chris Buck: We were shocked. I saw the same thing. People were reciting the lines and singing the songs.
Movie Fanatic: That must have given way to the sing-a-long version?
Jennifer Lee: We were talking about it and then John Lassiter said, “We should do a sing-a-long” and we were going to do it in like three cities. We mentioned it to the theater owners, and we ended up in 2,000.
Movie Fanatic: And when it comes to movie sing-a-longs, you’re talking The Sound of Music and Grease. That’s some pretty heady company. Now, I know you guys were super busy getting Frozen out, and then promoting it and then the whole awards season where you conclude by winning Best Animated Feature. When did the talk about what was next come along?
Chris Buck: It was in the spring, right after the Oscars. We had just opened up in Japan. There was the talk, “Can we do something for the fans? Is there a thank you we can do?” That’s where the idea for the short sprung up. But, we didn’t start working on it until June.
Jennifer Lee: We had our wonderful team with story artists and creatively, Chris and I started throwing noodles at the wall and saw what stuck. I think we knew, because people laughed, somebody said, “What if Elsa has a cold and this is how it manifests?” That was Mark Smith, who has a story credit on this. He said it and we went, “Oh, how fun!” We loved the idea of Elsa. It’s something different with Elsa. We talked a lot about an Olaf-centric thing. But, she’s the character that we don’t know what’s next because all we know was that she was the tragic character in Frozen. How fun that we can now look at it because she’s free. Everyone responded to that.
Chris Buck: It was a little bit of having fun with Elsa… can we?
Movie Fanatic: Does she have fun?
Chris Buck: [Laughs] Does she?!
Jennifer Lee: Then we went a little crazy with it [laughs].
Chris Buck: But, then we started to do some drawings and we went, “OK.” The first ones were scary ones because she would sneeze big spikes of ice and freezing people every time she sneezed. We thought, “No, that’s not really that fun.” Scary! It kept evolving and it evolved into her sneezing and creating all different size Olafs.
Idina Menzel had auditioned to be Rapunzel in Tangled. That role went to Mandy Moore. Thank goodness. Can you imagine how Frozen would have been different without her?
Frozen was a long and arduous process to bring to the big screen. In fact, in the credits, there's a moment where all the babies of Disney animators that were born during the film are listed. There were 35 babies born during the making of Frozen!
Rarely do voice-over actors for animated films appear in the same room. But, producers felt they needed that sisterly power that would emit from Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel being together. So, those two recorded their lines together!
You thought the hair on Rapunzel was a big deal! Elsa's hair was aided by the help of a celebrity stylist (Danilo), a program (Tonic) was invented to make it and it features over 420,000 strands of CG hair!
When the Lopezes turned in their song Let It Go, filmmakers realized it was a game-changer. They drastically altered the movie so that they could "earn" the power that that song emitted. I'd say it worked.
We love Oaken and his out of the way shop. But, did you know he was voiced by Chris Williams, the director of Big Hero 6? Big Hero 6 followed Frozen's lead and actually won the Best Animated Feature Oscar at THIS year's Academy Awards!
Jennifer Lee: That’s right, even huge ones and little ones. It was complicated and we kept having to remind ourselves that a short has to have one simple idea. If you go too far with it, people are lost and it loses its magic. We kept stripping it down and ended up with these little guys, Snowgies.
Movie Fanatic: When you have the kind of success you had with Frozen, obviously people are going to go, “Sequel! Sequel! Sequel!” Was it nice to have a short film be what’s next?
Chris Buck: Absolutely. We love the characters too, the entire world of Frozen, just like everyone else. But, it was very daunting. We have seven minutes. Let’s have fun.
Jennifer Lee: We were creatively kind of tired and I think for all of us it was clunky to get started and we had to be broad and relax and play. It is a lot to creatively, after coming off of the energy of a film, go right into another one. Bobby and Kristen (Lopez, songwriters) and us were just sitting around going, “Whoa, Ok.” Then you get in a groove and you stop worrying. Then you start with the, “What if? What if?” It was about the end of July that we found our energy. We went right into production in September [laughs], so we had to solve it fast!
Chris Buck: We weren’t even all together at the beginning because we were taking some breaks and having some vacations. We were doing some tag team work.
Jennifer Lee: It was hard to get started, but you find that sweet place and it’s like, “Ah, here we are again.”
Movie Fanatic: What was it like to get everyone back together, from Idina Menzel to Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and the entire Frozen voice and musical team?
Jennifer Lee: There was lots of hugging.
Chris Buck: We hadn’t seen them since the premiere, really. We’d been texting and emailing, especially when the movie started to take off. There was that shared excitement.
Jennifer Lee: We had a funny thing with Kristen Bell because she was pregnant for the first film and her voice had changed when she was pregnant. We wondered if she would sound different for the short. But, she was conveniently pregnant for the short [laughs]. It was so nice of her!
Movie Fanatic: Given that you only have seven minutes and it is a short, was there ever any thought to not use a song?
Chris Buck: It always had to have a song. Frozen is so music-centric. Frozen without music would be strange.
Anna: Can I say something crazy? Hans: I love crazy.
Anna: I'm Anna. Olaf: And who's the funky looking donkey over there? Anna: That's Sven. Olaf: Uh-huh, and who's the reindeer? Anna: ...Sven. Olaf: Oh they're bo - oh! Okay. Makes things easier for me.
Jennifer Lee: I think the nice thing about it is tonally, if we had not done a song, it would have been sillier and not had the sweetness. The song is very sincere and it carries all the elements from the original story about the bond between these two girls. Then, we were able to do what animation does best, which is do visual storytelling in a very dynamic way. We were almost telling a second story with it. To me, that felt like the right combo with how we told Frozen in the first place. And the animators loved it because the humor had to come from them. They had a blast.
Chris Buck: We had a lot of animators on the credits but it was because a lot of them wanted to work on it. They’d say, “Just give me one scene!”
Movie Fanatic: Does this put off the sequel talk for a while for you guys and is that nice?
Jennifer Lee: Yes, please!
Chris Buck: I don’t know. We’ll see how the audience responds, if it feeds it or not. It’s us trying to get a little bit of time away from it. The one thing that it did for us, we were very concerned about even the idea of a sequel. Then we got to play with Elsa even more in this one, it took that fear away of, “What are we going to do with Elsa?” That was the big concern, if we ever did another one, “What were we going to do with Elsa?”
Jennifer Lee: I remember the first shot that came from animation and I was almost in tears because they were back. That feeling was so wonderful and overwhelming. I don’t think we could have anticipated that. But, we’re quite spent. You want creatively to do your best work and not run on fumes.
Chris Buck: And it has to be a great idea because we can’t come out with anything less.
When Tron: Legacy came and went in 2010, the thoughts of a sequel seemed to have came and went as well. But fans have quietly made the film quite the cult favorite, much as the first Tron did in the early 80s. Now word has arrived that Tron 3 is actually back on track and it appears to be set to start filming in Vancouver this fall.
The Vancouver based VanCity Buzz is claiming that parts of the city have already been scouted and that director Joseph Kosinski will in fact get a chance to follow-up his film that starred Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde and of course Jeff Bridges.
VanCity Buzz even has a specific date that filming will begin and that day is October 5 and that Hedlund will be back reprising his role as Sam Flynn. What we don’t know is if Olivia Wilde will return. We cannot see a Tron 3 without Wilde, given what happen with her character Quorra in the last film.
We’ll keep you posted as news emerges from this production.
Christopher Nolan always imagined his Batman series as a trilogy. But the key to being able to do that was having a sequel to Batman Begins that was truly worthy. Cast Heath Ledger in an Oscar-winning turn as The Joker and Nolan was on his way to crafting one of the great trilogies of our time.
Coming off the underwhelming thing that was the first Star Trek movie, fans of the series could not have been more thrilled with Kirk and his battle with Khan in the sequel. It has to go down as one of the best sci-fi sequels of all time. Period.
What a brilliant idea for a sci-fi sequel. Take the villain of the first film, that we would argue became iconic, and make him the good guy in the sequel. Bloody brilliant! That James Cameron... never bet against that guy!
Sci-fi sequels, if they have learned anything, up the villain ante in the follow-up. Superman II did that by bringing 3 super-powered baddies to Earth to battle Christopher Reeve and Superman. Bow before Zod indeed!
How do you top Ridley Scott and Alien? Well, why not multiply the number of Aliens trying to kill everybody and hire James Cameron. Yeah, that'll work!
Spider-Man was a solid story and film. But, there was something about Spider-Man 2 that just blew us out of the water. Alfred Molina's Dr. Otto might have had something to do with that.
Better known to fans as simply The Road Warrior, Mad Max 2 benefited from the arrival of VHS in people's homes as Mad Max became a cult hit, leading to the sequel that was Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Mel Gibson, frankly, has never been better.
Pitch Black was such a cult hit. It's always tricky to try to follow up one of those. But with The Chronicles of Riddick, Vin Diesel took his anti-hero to new heights... and they got Judi Dench!
X-Men 2 is a divisive choice, we admit. But, we adored the next chapter in our favorite mutants' saga. It truly set in motion that Magneto versus Professor X battle that is at the heart of the entire series.
With the earth shattering news that Zoolander 2 was coming at us in 2016, now arrives the crush of anticipation and expectation.
Those Zoolander quotes have become iconic in the comedy movie universe since the film arrived in 2001.
Ben Stiller’s parody of the fashion world has truly come full circle if you think about it with Zoolander and Hansel walking the Valentino stage as the most legendary of moments in the business, Paris Fashion Week.
Perhaps we could see even more of an involvement with cameos by some of the biggest names in fashion? That’s one idea.
Watch Zoolander online and there’s humor, danger, and more humor. Clearly all those elements need to be in Zoolander 2. But, what specifically do we have in mind? And has sequels are supposed to do, how do they up the ante?
We have seven suggestions for storylines for Zoolander 2! We believe that these story ideas would take a film that was a hit upon release, and has only become more beloved with the passage of time, and send it into the stratosphere with the sequel.
Click through and discover 7 things we’d like to see in Zoolander 2!
Derek Zoolander's now-iconic poses from the first film, the Blue Steel and Magnum, well, we suspect after a decade our favorite male model has something more up his sleeves to shock the fashion world with his simple glare. And his partner in crime, Hansel, well he probably has a few looks as well. Might we suggest that filmmakers have the pair release a bestselling photo book that details hundreds of pages of their follow-up looks that have taken the world by storm. Of course, as Will Ferrell's Mugatu will point out, these will basically all be the same pose! And yes, that's what makes it funny.
The first film had a blast lampooning the world of fashion. Look for the second film to become even more Meta and take it a step further. Given that there is no bigger moment in the fashion world than Paris Fashion Week and that they allowed Derek and Hansel to walk the runway in the most epic of movie announcements, we suspect that the biggest names in the biz will be all over Zoolander 2.
The first film got a Walk Off Challenge that even saw David Bowie as judge. As sequels do, the ante has to be upped. Perhaps they take over the Brooklyn Bridge for a Walk Off for the ages? We’re just spitballing here.
Although they finished the first film as friends, we’d like to see the two become rivals again, before finding a new common ground. But, as reflective of their intelligence levels and self aware keenness, let it also mirror the same thing the two went through in the first movie. The joke will be on them (again).
Mugatu was orchestrating an assassination in the first film, using Derek as we famously remember. Might we suggest Ferrell’s character (who will be back) also take it up a notch. Perhaps releasing a gas that all but rids the world of the Ozone? Then in the film’s final moments we can have Derek and Hansel become the most unlikely spokespeople for preventing climate change -- as they can only hilariously do.
One of our favorite parts of Zoolander was when Derek and Hansel tried to get inside the computer by breaking it apart because that’s how they thought you would get at the memory. With the tech advances in the world that have happened since the first Zoolander, let’s have a ball with that. Smart phones, Facebook and tablets… have it guys!
Let’s pay a visit to Zoolander’s charity, Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too, and hear some success stories! Of particular comic interest, that “Wanna learn to do other stuff good too.†Like what?
The first photos from Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials are here! The highly anticipated sequel to The Maze Runner is due in theaters in 3D, IMAX and 2D formats on September 18.
These Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials photos appeared in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly and producer Wyck Godfrey told the mag what fans of the book series brought to the big screen can expect.
“The first movie was the mystery of ‘Where are we and what is this place? And can we get out?’ But the second movie is about the repercussions of getting out and the discovery of what the world is actually like,” Godfrey said.
As you can tell from the photo slideshow below, Dylan O’Brien is back as Thomas, along with Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Patricia Clarkson (what will she be up to in this sequel?!) and Aidan Gillen. The James Dasher book series is a trilogy and if we have any inkling as to what this film will be like, think one word… “dark.”
When stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson signed on to star in Fifty Shades of Grey, they had to know that it was a virtual given that they’d be making the two follow-up novels from EL James into movies too. Then, Fifty Shades of Grey hit theaters and made $500 million.
Now it appears that the two stars, although they might or might not get along, do agree on something. They want raises. They want big raises.
Usually a performer signs on to a series, their salary is set in stone. But, even they probably didn’t expect that the first film would land in that half a billion territory, In order to return and film Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed -- it's going to cost more dough.
We already know that EL James wants to pen the screenplay for the follow-ups and that director Sam Taylor Johnson has exited. The last thing Universal wants is its two stars to take a hike as well. So, look for the duo to get what they want, but negotiations might not be so placid.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dornan and Johnson are seeking salaries in the millions. And there is a precedent here too. After Jennifer Lawrence banked $500,000 for The Hunger Games and that film became a huge success, she renegotiated her contract and scored $10 million for the sequels.
But, Fifty Shades of Grey is no The Hunger Games. Will that even matter?
We think not. There is no way that these Fifty Shades of Grey green lit sequels will not go forward. This series, although slammed by critics and generally panned by audiences, will move forward. It prints money and it’s hard to argue with that.
Johnson and Dornan received $250,000 for the first film and their contracts, supposedly, guarantee that amount for the next two films. The stars won’t go back into Christian Grey’s play room for that amount, there’s no way.
Although there are a few points that separates Fifty Shades of Grey from The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games was never a smaller budgeted movie. Fifty Shades of Grey, and its sequels for that matter, are budgeted at $40 million. One could see that producers could move on with different actors in order to keep the budgets lower for the two sequels.
Also, audiences liked Lawrence. We don’t get that same feeling about Johnson and Dornan.
We’ll keep you posted as negotiations heat up. The duo is supposedly set to report to a Fifty Shades Darker set in early 2016 for a release in 2017.
Christian Grey: What about you? I'd like to know more about you. Anastasia Steele: There's really not much to know about me. Look at me. Christian Grey: I am.
We know he's not a stalker, but quotes like this do make you wonder.
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Kate Kavanagh: You have to admit that he’s ridiculously hot. Anastasia Steele: If you’re attracted to that sort of human. Kate Kavanagh: The hot type of human?
Seriously, these two in elevators. Just get a room!
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Anastasia Steele: Why am I here, Christian? Christian Grey: You're here because I'm incapable of leaving you alone. Anastasia Steele: Then don't. Why'd you send me those books? Christian Grey: I thought I owed you an apology. Anastasia Steele: For what? Christian Grey: For letting you believe that I... Listen to me. I don't do romance. My tastes are very singular. You wouldn't understand. Anastasia Steele: Enlighten me, then.
We guess it's romantic, in a kind of not normal way.
Christian Grey: It's just behind this door. Anastasia Steele: What is? Christian Grey: My playroom. Anastasia Steele: Like your Xbox and stuff? Christian Grey: It's important that you know you can leave at anytime. Anastasia Steele: Why? What's in there? Christian Grey: I meant what I said. The helicopter is on standby to take you whenever you want to go. Anastasia Steele: Could you just open the door? Anastasia Steele: [walks into the room] Oh my God.
![[holds a big gun] Ohh, yeah.](http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_slideshow/v1407169938/rocket-raccoon-groot-guardians-of-the-galaxy.jpg)
![[to Anna, who put her feet on his sled] Whoa, whoa, whoa, put your feet down. This is fresh...](http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_slideshow/v1381968054/frozen-kristen-bell-jonathan-groff.jpg)
![[walks into the room] Oh my God.](http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_slideshow/v1406230954/fifty-shades-of-grey-photo.jpg)
