Movie Trailer: Alex Proyas’ Knowing
IGN has the first trailer for Alex Proyas’ Knowing. My first impression is that the film looks rather generic and boring, which is sad considering how much I am rooting for Proyas. The director gained critical acclaim for his 1998 sci-fi thriller Dark City, but his follow-up efforts (I, Robot and Garage Days) have been pretty uninspired. The concept of Knowing sounds interesting, but this trailer is less than exciting, especially compared to DJ Caruso’s Eagle Eye. Tell me what you think in the comments below.
Watch the trailer in High Definition on IGN. Knowing is set to hit theaters on March 20th 2009.
Official Plot Synopsis: In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.
Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young CALEB MYLES. But it is Caleb’s father, professor TED MYLES (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document’s secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events-the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son. When Ted’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.
This gripping supernatural thriller charts one man’s faltering steps towards belief in the ultimate order of the universe even as he finds himself surrounded by mounting chaos. With the reluctant help of DIANA WHELAN (Rose Byrne) and ABBY, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies, Ted’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster-and the ultimate sacrifice.
Will Smith Is Box Office GOLD
Hancock is set for release on July 2, and is set to make an estimated $150 MILLION over the five-day Fourth of July weekend! This will make his EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE $100 MILLION grossing movie! Something no other actor has been able to accomplish.
Here are some interesting numbers:
MOST $100 MILLION MOVIES IN A CAREER (List includes animated films and excludes cameos)
1. Tom Hanks — 15
2. Tom Cruise — 14
3. Eddie Murphy — 13
4. Will Smith — 12 (including Hancock)
4. Harrison Ford — 12
6. Jim Carrey — 11
6. Robin Williams — 11
8. Mel Gibson — 10
9. Matt Damon — 9
10. Bruce Willis — 8
10. Jack Nicholson — 8
Will’s streak started with Men in Black II, and continued with Bad Boys II, I, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, and I Am Legend, and will continue with Hancock, which is estimated to make upwards of $280 million domestically.
Damn! Wish we had Will’s golden touch!
This will put him in front of Hollywood legends Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise for the most consecutive $100 million grossers! His next movie, Seven Pounds (helmed by Pursuit director, Gabriele Muccino), is set for release in December and could make his ninth!
So Why Did Jonah Hill Turn Down Transformers 2?
One day at the end of April we heard news that Superbad actor Jonah Hill was in talks to appear in Transformers 2. However, a few days later it was reported that he was no longer in talks. I was happy about this because I wasn’t too keen on him being in Transformers 2, and it turns out he wasn’t either.
IESB got some interesting info about why he turned the role down:
“Apparently, Jonah was more or less offered the part in the room, but then had to go into Bay’s office to read the script - because it’s so super top secret and the plot is so extra-specially complex, you know.”
“Jonah sits down, opens the script. The character of the chubby sidekick is named “Jonah.” How perfect. Jonah reads 20 pages of the script, puts it down, and silently walks out of the room. Wants no part of it. Next thing you know, his reps call Bay, he’s off the project.”
Turning down a huge movie like Transformers 2 is a bold move, however I can see why he did it. He probably doesn’t want to be typecast as the chubby funny sidekick for the rest of his life. He played a chubby sidekick called Jonah in Knocked Up and he had been offered to play a chubby sidekick called Jonah in Transformers 2.
There was a time when Shia LaBeouf himself played the comic relief side kick, in movies like I,Robot, Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and Constantine. Thankfully, he’s kissed Steven Spielberg’s ass enough so he no longer has to play them roles now, instead he’s getting comic relief sidekicks of his own.
Could we be seeing Jonah Hill leading a sci-fi action franchise sometime in the future? Time will tell…
Bruce Greenwood is Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek
James T. Kirk is not the Captain of JJ Abrams’ Enterprise, and rumored cast member Josh Lucas has signed to Edgar Allen Poe inspired psychological thriller Tell-Tale. So who will play Captain Christopher Pike in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot/prequel?
51 year-old Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood.
You might not recognize Greenwood by name, but he has appeared in over 40 films over the last 30 years, including roles in The Core, Hollywood Homicide, I Robot, Racing Stripes, Capote, Eight Below, Deja Vu, Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There, and the upcoming National Treasure sequel, Book of Secrets. He is also well known for his television appearances as Mitch Yost in John from Cincinnati, Roger Bingham in The Larry Sanders Show, and Thomas Veil in Nowhere Man.
Pike, played first by Jeffrey Hunter, was a Captain in the original Star Trek pilot, which was rejected. The character appeared in a later episode titled “The Menagerie” (played then by Sean Kenney). Pike is the first Captain of the Enterprise recognized in Star Trek canon (to go into the non-canon background would be boring). The character was severely injured while rescuing several cadets from a baffle plate rupture onboard a J-class training vessel, and appeared in “The Menagerie” confined to a wheelchair. The delta ray radiation made him mute and badly scarred, so the wheelchair is operated by brainwaves. Pike communicated through a light on the chair: one flash meaning “yes” and two flashes indicating “no”.
Production on JJ Abrams’ Star Trek began yesterday.
source: THR