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"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" underway for April 2014 release

Written by Barbara Vancheri on .

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Principal photography on Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has started in Los Angeles with shooting also scheduled in Cleveland and Washington, D.C. It is scheduled to be released into theaters April 4, 2014.

Chris Evans will return as Steve Rogers/Captain America and the cast will include Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Robert Redford, about to be seen in “The Company You Keep,” is joining the franchise as Agent Alexander Pierce, a senior leader within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization.

Anthony and Joe Russo (“Welcome to Collinwood”) are directing a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The story will rejoin Steve Rogers as he struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day D.C.

Supporting cast will include Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Georges St.-Pierre along with Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp and Maximiliano Hernandez. 

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'Evil Dead' makes lively debut

Written by Barbara Vancheri on .

 
 
 
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“Evil Dead” had a lively opening weekend, ending up as the No. 1 movie with an estimated $26 million.
 
Hollywood.com reports the audience was 56 percent male and 56 percent were 25 or older. Overseas, the movie played in 21 markets and picked up another $4.5 million. 
 
Here are the early numbers, with final figures due on Monday:
 
1. “Evil Dead” — $26,000,000.
2 (tie). “The Croods” — $21,100,000, bringing its total to $125,800,202. 
“G.I. Joe” — $21,100,000, for $86,663,000 to date. 
4. “Jurassic Park” re-release, in 3-D in many theaters — $18,247,035. 
5. “Olympus Has Fallen” — $10,042,000, for $71,115,501 so far. 
6. “Tyler Perry’s Temptation” — $10,000,000, for $38,383,341 to date. 
7. “Oz the Great and Powerful” — $8,171,000, for $212,767,000 in North America and $454.1 million worldwide. 
8. “The Host” — $5,239,000, bringing its two-week total to $19,664,713. 
9. “The Call” — $3,500,000, bumping its bottom line to $45,481,000. 
10. “Admission” — $2,054,466, for $15,373,330 to date. 

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Roger Ebert, resilient, brilliant critic, dies of cancer at 70

Written by Barbara Vancheri on .

ebertVery sad news. 
 
The shrinking fraternity of film critics has lost one of its most influential — maybe its most influential and certainly its most resilient — members. Roger Ebert has died of cancer at age 70.
 
Once a regular on television alongside the late Gene Siskel, he lost his actual voice to cancer and surgery but found it again through his blog and his continued flow of reviews in print and online.
 
He had just announced that he was stepping back slightly due to a recurrence of cancer but there was no indication he was so gravely ill.
 
Generations of critics and readers looked to his reviews for authority, a sense of movie history and well-reasoned critiques. I was secretly thrilled to see that he, too, had picked “Argo” as his No. 1 movie of 2012. (This was before the Academy Awards, of course.)
 
I remember seeing Siskel pose on a Los Angeles sidewalk with his famous thumb in the air and spotted Ebert in the pressroom of the Academy Awards several times. At the Oscars, he was like the rest of us, on deadline, trying to watch the show, listen to the winners back stage and write all at the same time. 
 
He also attended the Toronto film festival with the rest of the working press. I recall at the “Precious” press conference in Toronto, he had an assistant stand up to ask a good question, a variation of which I wanted to pose. 
 
In these days of bloggers and Twitter and instant feedback, he had kept himself relevant. He talked just this week about expanding his volumes about great movies, a couple of which sit on my desk. A documentary about his life is being made by some heavy hitters who will, no doubt, do justice to him. 
 
No one can tell his story better than his newspaper. Here is a link: 
 
 
May he rest in peace.
 
This statement just arrived from the Toronto International Film Festival: 

“We are terribly saddened by the news of the passing of our friend Roger Ebert. More than a friend, Roger was family. He knew us from our humble beginnings, stuck by us, and helped us grow, as only family can do.


“It is no exaggeration to say that Roger, through his championing, had a large hand in making us who we are today on the world stage. He was a pioneer, a true lover of film. His passing is a huge loss for cinema. He inspired us and will continue to inspire generations. We are taking this opportunity to remember and celebrate our beloved friend, Roger Ebert.

“Our hearts go out to Chaz and to their family and friends.”

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When will Ryan Gosling movie open in Pittsburgh?

Written by Barbara Vancheri on .

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So, when will “The Place Beyond the Pines” open in Pittsburgh?

As of tonight, the Ryan Gosling movie is scheduled for Friday, April 12, at AMC-Loews at the Waterfront, Manor in Squirrel Hill and Cinemark in Robinson.

From the director of “Blue Valentine,” the drama explores the bond between fathers and sons. Gosling plays a high-wire motorcycle stunt performer who travels with the carnival from town to town. While passing through Schenectady, N.Y., he tries to reconnect with a former lover, Romina (Eva Mendes), only to learn she gave birth to their son, Jason, in his absence.

When he tries to provide for his newfound family as a car mechanic his employer proposes they partner in bank robberies which puts him on the radar of an ambitious rookie cop (Bradley Cooper). The cast also includes Ray Liotta as a menacing and corrupt detective.

This will make for a particularly busy week with “42,” “The Sapphires,” “Trance,” “Scary Movie 5,” “Ginger & Rosa,” “Upstream Color” and “My Brother the Devil” also arriving. Plus JFilm launches on April 11.

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Hunger Games: Catching Fire teaser trailer to be on MTV Movie Awards

Written by Barbara Vancheri on .

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Liam Hemsworth will introduce 2-1/2 minutes of footage from "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" during the 2013 MTV Movie Awards show Sunday, April 14, at 9 p.m.

It will be the teaser trailer for the second of four movies and will debut online at Thehungergamesexplorer.com after the show. The sequel will arrive in theaters Nov. 22, 2013.

The movie begins as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has returned home safe after winning the 74th annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a Victor’s Tour of the districts.

Along the way, Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell), a competition that could change Panem forever. 

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