Did 'I Love You Phillip Morris' get delayed again?

It seems to have, according to Cinematical:

Jim Carrey's had a rough go of it lately, movie-wise, and I Love You Phillip Morris is a prime example. Morris, which costars Ewan McGregor, was initially planned to hit theaters in spring 2009 -- check out a promo image of it from 2008 here -- and premiered at that year's Sundance Festival. Based on the true crime novel by Steve Mcvicker about Steven Russell (Carrey), a married man who ends up in jail and falls in love with his cellmate, Philip Morris (McGregor); in real life, Russell broke out of jail several times, but his ultimate desire was to help Morris escape as well. In the movie, Russell is released from jail but desperate to spring his lover as well, which requires him to pull off a number of capers in order to free Morris and get enough money so they can live a life of luxury on the run.

Unfortunately, it's been delayed for several years for a variety of reasons, and the latest is a legal snafu between its US distributor, Consolidated, and EuropaCorp, the financial backing company started by Luc Besson. The ongoing legal shuffle about finances and they said/we said court tussles is summed up over at Reuters; basically, EuropaCorp says that Consolidated owes them $3 million, Consolidated says EuropaCorp didn't live up to its end of the bargain, and EuropaCorp struck back with a lawsuit "alleging breach of contract and copyright infringement." In April, Deadline reported that EuropaCorp was actually working out a deal with Newmarket to distribute the movie.


Still with me? The latest is that a California judge has sided with EuropaCorp, issuing a preliminary injunction stopping the release of Morris for the time being; the case is headed for arbitration.

Consolidated is apparently aiming for an October release, but if we've learned anything, it's that it will probably be a long time until we get to see what sounds like a cool crime film with a romantic twist, and another chance for Carrey to show off his ability to pull off a more serious movie.

-Hopefully this gets resolved soon...thoughts?

Looking forward to seeing 'Anchorman 2' soon?

Well, those hopes have been ruined, according to Cinematical:

Only a couple days ago we were hearing some promising things about Anchorman 2, like how everyone involved was willing to take pay cuts in order to get it made, and that production could begin as early as February 2011. People were excited; I may have even high-fived someone. Not lookin' so good anymore, unfortunately. Adam Mckay just revealed on Twitter that Paramount "basically passed" on Anchorman 2, even after they brought the budget down. Obviously he's pissed off about the whole thing -- he's firing back through Twitter (and, subsequently, through blogs like ours), and maybe he feels a little publicity might get this thing turned around.

Is there really enough love out there for an Anchorman 2, though? The first film is great, and probably the best thing to come out of the Will Ferrell/Adam McKay partnership, but is there enough of a want from general moviegoers for these characters to return? Is Anchorman more of a cult comedy, or is it one that's beloved by all? I don't know the answer to that. I know I'd love to watch an Anchorman 2 because the first one cracked me up somethin' silly, but I can't say for sure that audiences will flock to theaters for it. Then again, how cheap can McKay go with it? The first one grossed in the neighborhood of $88 million at the box office; if the sequel came at a good price, I'd tackle it. What do you think? Would you see an Anchorman 2?

-I liked the first one more than I should have, and I'd have seen the sequel, but I'm not shedding any tears over this...thoughts?

Could 'Friday the 13th: Part 2' be dead?

Well, according to this in Collider (and go here for the full story), it seems to be:

Platinum Dunes Producer Brad Fuller revealed on his Twitter feed [via Bloody-Disgusting] that Friday the 13th: Part 2 is dead. That comes as a shock for several reasons. First, almost every moderately successful movie gets a sequel these days. Secondly, the first Friday the 13th grossed $90 million worldwide off a $20 million budget. Yes, sequels have to be bigger than the original, but no one expects or is asking for an expensive Friday the 13th movie.

Fuller tried to explain on his Twitter that, “its not my call- i would drop everything and make it today if they wanted it,” and the reason is it’s off is “is a long story-.” It’s a long story that I’m sure Fuller will be asked about when he does press for Platinum Dunes’ remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, which opens on April 30th.

-Thoughts?

The next Bond movie gets delayed indefinitely...

...according to this in The Hollywood Reporter:

It looks like it's going to be a quantum of silence for Bond fans.

Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions Ltd., producer of the long-running James Bond franchise, said Monday that development work on the next 007 film had been suspended. EON blamed financial difficulties at the film's distributor, MGM.

"Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on 'Bond 23' indefinitely," the duo said. "We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release."

The announcement will surprise no one who has followed the tortured recent efforts to bolster finances at MGM.

Solicitations of offers to buy the studio resulted in a couple rounds of underwhelming bidding by studio companies such as Lionsgate and corporate parents of Warner Bros. and Fox. More recently, Fox parent News Corp. and others have been drawn into discussions of possible limited investments in the studio, which has been strapped for cash and burdened by a big debt load.

Nobody doubts there will be a next Bond film, but current circumstances hardly allowed for a tidy development of the project. Some have suggested MGM might sell off rights to co-produce Bond pics to raise needed capital.

Peter Morgan ("The Queen") was working on a screenplay for the 23rd Bond film with regular 007 scripters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. No director has been hired, though Sam Mendes was in negotiations at one point this year.

After sharing "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" with Sony, MGM recently regained full control of the Bond franchise. Those last two installments together rung up $1.18 billion worldwide b.o.

Wilson and Broccoli took over producing reins in 1995 of a franchise launched in 1962.

-Well, this to me just means we're now more likely to see a 3D Bond movie the next time around, sadly...thoughts?