Last night, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan had their turn in the spotlight when they duked it out at the vice presidential debates. But let's face it: political events just aren't the same without Barack Obama's charismatic magnetism and what it is that brings people close enough to Mitt Romney to glimpse the outline of his Mormon underwear. Whatever you may think of the commander-in-chief's job performance, POTUS definitely has the makings of a star, from his supersonic ascent in the political world to his historic achievement as America's first black president to his incredibly photogenic family. In the last few years, Hollywood has been spinning its gears trying to explain and capitalize on Obama's star power. Here's what it has come up with so far:
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Banner: BVG Films, ASA Production and Enterprises
Producers: Vikram Bhatt
Director: Bhushan Patel
Cast: Aftab Shivdasani, Tia Bajpai, Vidya Malvade, Sharad Kelkar
Music: Chirantan Bhatt
Plot: Set in 1920, the film is about two lovers. They have been writing to each other and have fallen in love but have never met. Jaidev is a noted poet who lives in a mansion with his sister and housekeeping staff. He meets a girl who is unconscious near a lake and takes her home. Soon, bizarre things start to happen and someone who lives in a cemetery tells Jaidev it's the handiwork of an evil spirit who inhabited the girl's body.
The buzz on Summit's Sinister has been slowly building steam over the past couple of weeks, and on the eve of its release this Friday it has some wondering if there's any hope of climbing out of the shadow of this month's Paranormal Activity 4. It also has us looking back at recent sleeper hits from the horror genre, a classification that Sinister could still end up falling under if mainstream audiences are hooked this weekend.
How is the R-rated Sinister stacking up against recent horror fare so far? Let's see:
This past January's The Devil Inside broke out to a huge $33.7 million opening before falling off the end of the earth as social media-driven word of mouth killed its momentum after opening day.
From Kevin Smith to Bucky Larson to an Oscar winner, Hollywood has spent a fair amount of time showcasing and/or poking fun at itself in movies throughout recent history. As the highly-buzzed-about Argo prepares to debut in theaters this weekend following huge early acclaim and positioning as a major Oscar contender, we're taking a look back at the wide release movies from the past decade that have broken Hollywood's fourth wall and turned their business into the art itself. We may even get a sense of what kind of mainstream success Argo can find based on this history.
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As a young filmmaker, Tim Burton found great success both critically and commercially with Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and his 1989 version of Batman. Since leaving that franchise behind after 1992's Batman Returns, Burton has found steady footing by building his niche and cultivating his own sub-culture of fans.
Post-Batman, Burton moved onto Ed Wood in 1994. Despite its relative stature on his resume today, the film was a huge financial bust making $5.9 million against an $18 million total budget. From there, 1996's Mars Attacks! improved by essentially grossing its budget back, but still provided another financial stumble.
Liam Neeson is a busy man. He's starred in 16 movies over the last three years, or an average of more than 5 each year. All told, Neeson has approximately 50 films on his box office resume entering this week and up until 2012 he had never appeared in a live action franchise for more than a single film.
His first starring role in a major series, of course, was Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace back in 1999, then moving on to headline Batman Begins as that film's lead villain. Excluding his very minor cameos in Attack of the Clones (voice-only) and voice contributions throughout The Chronicles of Narnia series, he had largely avoided reprising his past roles.
Argo, the new directorial effort from Ben Affleck, is about a period of time when America's relationship with Iran was in bad shape. The Warner Bros. release focuses on an unconventional effort to free American hostages who were held captive in Iran from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981—a total of 444 days.
America's relationship with Iran is once again in bad shape. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues to make headlines with statements that irritate the international community. Meanwhile, President Obama has made it clear that he does not want Iran to have nuclear capabilities. Pundits on the right and the left acknowledge that war with Iran is becoming more of a possibility.
