“AND SO IT GOES” for Woman of Substance Diane Keaton

Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton plays a beautiful singer who changes the life of her obnoxious next-door- neighbor (Michael Douglas), in Castle Rock Entertainment's new romantic comedy, “And So It Goes.” The film will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Sept. 24.

In the film, there are a million reasons not to like realtor Oren Little (Douglas), and that's just the way he likes it. Willfully obnoxious to anyone who might cross his path, he wants nothing more than to sell one last house and retire in peace and quiet -- until his estranged son suddenly drops off a granddaughter he never knew existed and turns his life upside-down.

Clueless about how to care for a sweet, abandoned nine-year-old, he pawns her off on his determined and lovable neighbor Leah (Keaton) and tries to resume his life uninterrupted. But little by little, Oren stubbornly learns to open his heart - to his family, to Leah, and to life itself.

"I've known Diane over the years and have always been a huge fan, but I'd never worked with her," director Rob Reiner says. In the film, Leah is a singer, so though various names had been tossed around to play the character, Keaton's beautiful singing voice made her the perfect choice for the part.

"Plus, I've always thought of her as an incredibly gifted comedian," Reiner adds. "And she's also really sexy. And for a film like this, you have to find two people who are in that age range that also have a romantic quality - that you believe that there's a romantic, sexual part to them."

Keaton was drawn to the project from the beginning. "Everything was appealing to me with this project. I got to play opposite Michael Douglas, the script, the chance to sing. When I was young, I had a fantasy that I wanted to be singer, and I thought that I was going to try to be in musical comedies, but to have this given to me - the opportunity to sing four songs in the movie - is just a dream come true. But to be sixty-eight years old and to be in a romantic comedy where I get to kiss the guy? To me, that's beautiful. And the subject matter: love, life, second chances, opening up, letting go, discovering something you never expected."

Not only was the opportunity of working with Douglas and Reiner a major selling point, but Keaton also felt a connection to her character. "Leah is somebody that I aspire to be: kind, caring, maternal. But she's also strong, and she has strong values, and she stands up for them. She's also insecure and sensitive, and she cries a lot. But she's open to people."

Douglas and Keaton had a mutual admiration for one another before they ever started working together, which turned into a friendly affection as the shoot wore on. "Michael Douglas is a pro, and I'm a complete slob, so it was really a nice mix. I really like playing around with him; I like teasing him a lot. It really made the set fun for me. And he can take a joke, and he can also dish it out, too. It was a great warring effort." She adds, "The movie's funny. The main thing you can say about the movie, the number one thing, is comedy. It's a comedy, and Michael Douglas was born to play this part."

"Diane was the exciting unknown for me, because we had never worked together before," Douglas states. "She's so quirky and unpredictable - you never know exactly what's gonna come out of her mouth. She might vary a line if she finds something's better, which was always great." The veteran actor also found Keaton's work style fascinating. He adds, "She listens to music through a pair of earphones right up until the moment they say, 'Roll - action.' Then she just takes them off. . . and she goes."

“THE MAZE RUNNER” RACED TO FIRST PLACE AT THE PHILS. BOX-OFFICE WITH P 62.4 MILLION

 “The Maze Runner” landed top spot at the Phils. Box-Office with an outstanding P62.4 million on its first five days of release (opened Sept. 17) outrunning all other films that simultaneously opened that week.  The movie clinched its place as the 3^rd Biggest Opening Weekend for a Fox film this year (“X-Men: Days of Future Past” being the 1^st) and is now the 4^th Biggest Opening Weekend for a Fox film all-time (again succeeding “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) so far. 

                “The Maze Runner” has exceeded expectations and is also currently tracking higher than previously released YA (young adult) blockbusters such “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent.”

                Rated PG by the local censors board, “The Maze Runner” opened in more than 170 screens nationwide and has thus far reached a wider demographics outside the books’ fan base.  Within the Philippines, it’s Ayala Malls Cinemas’ Trinoma that ranked top with P2.47million of the movie’s opening weekend gross. Next is SM Mall of Asia with P2.46million, coming in 3^rd is SM Megamall with P2.11million, SM North Edsa/The Block recorded 4^th with P1.92 million and Greenbelt3 at 5^th with P1.68million.

                Nationwide, the other top grossing cinemas included in “The Maze Runner” dash are: Glorietta4 (P1.58M); Ayala Cebu (P1.56M); Alabang Town Center (P1.54M); Powerplant (P1.42M); SM Cebu (P1.41M); Greenhills TheatreMall (P1.28M); Bonifacio High Street (P1.26M); Gaisano Davao (P1.19M); Gateway Cineplex/Ali Mall (P935, 436); EastWood (P934, 350); Market!Market! (P902,572); Robinson’s Ermita (P894, 810); Shang Cineplex (P882, 519); SM Aura (P862, 056) and Newport (P862, 056).

  

Directed by Wes Ball from the bestselling book of the same title by James Dashner, “The Maze Runner’s” remarkable feat at the box-office was compounded with the film’s high-adrenaline tempo that lived up to the book’s spirit, making it a film  worth-watching with groups of friends and families.  For most film critics who have had enough of the YA genre of recent years expecting the same of “The Maze Runner,” they were all pleasantly surprised at how the filmmakers upped the ante in the genre, thereby eliciting rave reviews of the movie’s unique premise and stunning visual effects.  

Mikael Francisco of www.gmaonline.com  enthuses, “The Maze Runner manages to navigate through the dangers of retreading repeatedly explored storytelling paths in order to deliver a solid, albeit at times predictable, two hours of suspense and adventure.   The visual effects are nothing to scoff at, either. The ever-changing Maze evokes a sense of dread and horror.”   While Kai Magsanoc (Yahoo Phils.) lists down six reasons to watch the movie: “Based on the Best-selling adult novel, Read or not (the book) – you will enjoy the movie, the casting is stellar, the pacing is perfect, the costume design en pointe and the production design deserves props.”

               

“The Maze Runner” finds Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) along with other boys and an only girl, in a mysterious prison field known as the Glade who learns that each resident has a role to play, from gardening to construction to being one of the elite runners who map the walls of the Maze that keep them captive and change configurations every night. Maze Runners race the clock to cover as much ground as possible before the end of the day when the Maze locks down and the deadly biomechanical Grievers roam the corridors of the concrete structure.

                “The Maze Runner” is currently showing in cinemas nationwide from 20^th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.

The Feisty Women of “RUROUNI KENSHIN: THE LEGEND ENDS”

A young, fencing mistress devoted to a reformed assassin. A beautiful healer making amends for her past. And a former courtesan madly in love with a psychopath. Meet Kaoru, Megumi and Yumi, the strong women characters who make their mark in Warner Bros.' “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends,” the final chapter to director Keishi Otomo's blockbuster “Rurouni Kenshin” trilogy.

Popular Japanese actress Emi Takei plays Kaoru Kamiya. As the young fencing mistress of the Kamiya Dojo, which she inherited from her father, she teaches the sword as ‘a way of life, rather than of death’. She is strong-willed but also capable of great consideration for others. She refuses to ask about hero Kenshin Himura’s past; ‘Everyone has things they don’t want to talk about,’ she says, but she is terrified that Kenshin will return to his old ways, and wants him to keep his vow.

“Director Keishi Otomo asked me this time to play a Kaoru who has matured a little,” explains Takei. “And this time, Kaoru fights, too! Not with a wooden sword, but with a halberd. They let me do some real stunts, so it was a lot of fun. People love the character of Kaoru, so I’ve tried to play her as someone who deserves that. On these shoots, you have to be living in the world of the film, and the director gives hints, but he never tells me exactly what the answer to any questions that arise might be. You have to find it in yourself and express that. I’m really honored to be in a film like that.”

Multi-awarded actress Ya Aoi portrays Megumi Takani. A brave, determined, and also beautiful physician, the descendant of a long line of doctors whose family was wiped out in the wars accompanying the end of the Shogunate. She began making opium to keep herself alive, but reformed after Kenshin Himura saved her life, and now dedicates herself to the service of those in need. She is enraged when the new government puts pressure on Kenshin to help them by threatening to reopen her past in the opium trade. Her habitual sarcasm masks a warm heart, and she encourages Kaoru to follow Kenshin to Kyoto by suggesting that she will regret not going. When Sanosuke is setting out as well, she gives him a healing salve, the secret of which is known only to her family.

Filipino-Japanese star Maryjun Takahashi appears as Yumi Komagata. A bewitchingly beautiful woman, deeply in love with Shishio, and always by his side. Originally a courtesan in Edo’s Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, she took great pride in her work there, but when the new government, under Western influence, declared the sale of women to be barbaric, she was forced to leave. Declaring the new government to be comprised of sub-human animals, she joined Shishio in his hatred of it. As one of his inner circle she benefits greatly from his care, but in her heart she regrets that she cannot be of more use to him in his battle.

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the “Rurouni Kenshin” sequels follow the story of Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), a legendary swordsman in the wars accompanying the turbulent fall of Japan's Shogunate in the 19th century. Once feared as 'Battosai the Killer', he has adopted a peaceful life since the arrival of the 'new age'.

But Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), the 'Shadow Killer' and successor to Kenshin's position as the deadly assassin, has since then been scheming in the Kyoto underworld, raising an army of disaffected former samurais with the aim of overthrowing the new regime.

“Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” stars Takeru Sato (Kenshin Himura), Emi Takei (Kaoru Kamiya), Munetaka Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara), Kaito Oyagi (Yahiko Myojin), Yu Aoi (Megumi Takani), Yosuke Eguchi (Hajime Saito), Min Tanaka (Nenji Kashiwazaki), Tao Tsuchiya (Misao Makimachi), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Soujiro Seta), Maryjun Takahashi (Yumi Komagata) and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Shishio).

Opening across the Philippines on Sept. 24, 2014, “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Producer Tells of Strange Events That Happened on Set of “ANNABELLE”

Peter Safran, producer of the last year's blockbuster horror-thriller “The Conjuring,” recently sat down with a panel of journalists to discuss “Annabelle,” the spinoff movie that traces the origins of the infamous doll. Learn how they developed the new supernatural thriller and the spooky happenings that marked the production.

Question: When did the idea to make “Annabelle” first emerge?

Peter Safran: When people started to see “The Conjuring,” they were so fascinated by the Annabelle subplot. I was constantly asked about the origin story of Annabelle: ‘What’s real? What’s not real?’ It just seemed like people gravitated towards it so much that it made sense to give Annabelle her own film.

Q: How did this project begin to come together with John Leonetti as the director?

Safran: We were working on a sequel script for “The Conjuring” and when it became clear that director James Wan’s schedule was not going to allow him to be available to direct the sequel in the immediate future, we decided we all wanted to wait for him. But we also wanted to tell other stories that take place in the world of “The Conjuring.” At that time, the execs over at New Line had been toying with the idea of making some modestly budgeted genre films, and everybody felt that “Annabelle” would be the perfect project to kick off that program, not only because the doll was such an important part of “The Conjuring” but also because it’s a great story in and of itself.

So, we sat down with [screenwriter] Gary Dauberman and beat out an original concept for how this doll might have come to be possessed, and Gary wrote the screenplay in just 12 days. Even his initial draft of the screenplay was so good, and it was so clearly a movie, so we continued to develop it. And when we started talking about directors, just looking out there at the universe of genre filmmakers and filmmakers in general, we came back to the idea of bringing as much of “The Conjuring” as possible to “Annabelle.”

While still in production on “The Conjuring,” John Leonetti and I talked about how he should get back into directing. He and James Wan worked so closely together on the set. They’ve made five movies together and you could see in the way they communicated that they had a real mind-meld going on. John was really the only director we approached for this.

We talked about it with John and he had such a clear vision for it. As a cinematographer, we knew he could use visuals to create a certain tone, and what he was thinking about was a kind of “Rosemary’s Baby”-type feel. But he also had a real passion for the story, just from a character perspective in terms of Mia and her journey.

James is very sensitive to what scares us. Out of every meeting with him, you get an enhanced view of the scares that are available, and he’s been involved with our development process from the beginning.

Q: Does “Annabelle” continue in the tradition of “The Conjuring”?

Safran: Absolutely. I think one of the reasons “The Conjuring” worked so well not just with audiences but with critics as well was how much time we spent developing the characters. That was James Wan. He wanted to spend a lot of time with this family so that you get to know them and like them before he put them through what he put them through. And that philosophy is very much continuing with “Annabelle” as well.

You have a young couple, Mia and John Form. And we establish the wonderful relationship they have. They obviously love each other. They share a sense of humor. And Mia’s pregnant. And at the beginning of the film, we meet their neighbors—who are very much like a mother and a father figure to them—and then Mia and John watch as they’re murdered. Mia is stabbed by one of the maniacs and almost loses the baby, and you see how that incident really preys on her and John. I think building those characters and not just throwing out jump-scares are a trademark of James’s brand, and now we’re hoping to continue that with “Annabelle.”

Q: Did anything strange happen while you were shooting Annabelle, as it tended to during production of “The Conjuring?”

Safran: You know, freaky things will happen. People would say, "It must be the demon.’ But the strangest thing to happen was actually disturbing. It was on the very first time that Joe Bishara, who is our composer and also plays the demon, was in full makeup, head to toe regalia as the demon. We were shooting a scene where Mia is running up the stairs and she hears this bumping under her. She looks back and sees the demon on the steps. That was the sequence we were about to shoot.

So, we bring Joe up to the sixth floor where we’re shooting. He walks out of the elevator and takes a left into the corridor where our holding area is. And as he takes a left, he’s walking under a huge glass light fixture that’s in the building we used for Mia and John’s apartment. Right behind him is another actor—Christopher Shaw, who plays Fuller—and as the demon passes by the light fixture and Chris is walking directly behind him, the entire glass fixture falls into the corridor, directly onto his head, and shatters.

He was not cut, but because it was so loud, it was really shocking and jarring to everybody involved. I was getting to the top of the stairs and turned around and saw this happening, and after making sure Chris was okay, my first thought was that in the original script, the demon kills the character Fuller in the hallway at that moment. We had taken that scene out. But it was really freaky. That’s one of the most unusual things that has happened on set.

New Line Cinema's new horror-thriller “Annabelle” stars Annabelle Wallis (“X-Men: First Class”) and Ward Horton (“The Wolf of Wall Street”) and Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard (“12 Years a Slave”).

The film reunites the filmmakers behind 2013’s hugely successful supernatural thriller “The Conjuring.” James Wan, director of the global hit, is producing “Annabelle” with Peter Safran. John R. Leonetti, who served as cinematographer on “The Conjuring,” is directing.

Opening across the Philippines on October 01, 2014, “Annabelle” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

“THE EQUALIZER” To Be Shown in PH IMAX Theaters Starting Oct 1

IMAX Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that “The Equalizer,” the highly anticipated reteaming of Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington and acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® format and released in IMAX® theatres worldwide, including the Philippines.

Fuqua directed Washington in the critically lauded 2001 box office hit “Training Day,” for which Washington won the Academy Award® for Best Actor.

In “The Equalizer,” Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

Based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, “The Equalizer” also stars Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, with Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo. Film is written by Richard Wenk.

"Antoine Fuqua is one of the most provocative filmmakers working today, and Denzel Washington is nothing short of being one of the greatest American movie stars," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "We're excited to be working with our long time partners at Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring this exciting film to IMAX moviegoers worldwide."

Rory Bruer, President, Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures, said, "The Equalizer is a visceral action-thriller, and Denzel's character – a man driven by a relentless pursuit of justice – is one that is compelling for everyone. It's the kind of picture that is perfectly suited for The IMAX Experience®."

The IMAX release of The Equalizer will offer consumers the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with its proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Opening across the Philippines in October 01, 2014, “The Equalizer” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Main Poster of Warner's "The Judge" Revealed

Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures have revealed last August 28, 2014 the main poster art of “The Judge,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall and Vera Farmiga.

Directed by David Dobkin (“Wedding Crashers”), “The Judge” stars Downey as big city lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

Starring alongside Downey, Duvall and Farmiga are Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shephard, and Oscar® winner Billy Bob Thornton. The film also stars Oscar® winner Melissa Leo, Leighton Meester, Ken Howard, Emma Tremblay, Balthazar Getty, David Krumholtz, Sarah Lancaster, Grace Zabriskie and Denis O’Hare.

Opening across the Philippines on Oct. 22, 2014, “The Judge” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Korean Teen Actor KI HONG LEE Stars as Elite Runner in "THE MAZE RUNNER"

Korean actor Ki Hong Lee has obviously set a firm pace to stardom starring opposite Dylan O'Brien in the upcoming book adaptation of "The Maze Runner."  By the looks of it, the recently concluded Greenies Screening in the Phils. had the girls giggling after the movie, charmed by his notable presence and performance in the movie.

                Thomas (O'Brien) wakes up in a lift, moving slowly upward. As the box grinds to a halt and the doors open, he finds himself among a colony of boys who welcome him to the Glade – a large open expanse surrounded by enormous concrete walls. Thomas’ mind is blank. He has no knowledge of where he is, doesn’t know where he came from, and he can’t remember his parents, his past, or even his own name.

               

                 Thomas and his fellow “Gladers” don’t know how or why they got to the Glade.  Thomas learns that each resident of the Glade has a role to play, from gardening to construction to being one of the elite runners who map the walls of the Maze that keep them captive and change configurations every night. Maze Runners race the clock to cover as much ground as possible before the end of the day when theMaze locks down and the deadly biomechanical Grievers roam the corridors of the concrete structure.

                The elite among the Gladers are called Runners, whose athleticism propels them through the Maze each day, which helps them compile a map of the foreboding structure and, maybe, figure out a way to escape.  Their captain is Minho, played by Ki Hong Lee.  The young actor grew to understand his position of leadership among the Gladers in a very individual way.  “I looked at the Marines and the Army and, and I consider Minho like a general of the Gladers,” Lee explains, “It’s his job to rally the troops.”

JASON PATRIC Faces Off with BRUCE WILLIS in "THE PRINCE"

In the vein of high-adrenaline action-packed films such as "Narc," "Catch .44" and "Frozen Ground," prolific producer Randall Emmett pits Jason Patric againts Bruce Willis in  the upcoming movie "The Prince."

                “Bruce really fell for the material, as well as Jason, and then John (Cusack) came on board and I felt that actors of this caliber would bring something really special to the characters and to the story of a man having to face his old demons when his daughter disappears in the same crime universe that he used to live in.” says Emmett.

                Jason Patric stars as Paul Brennan, a widowed family man who goes to New Orleans to track down his missing daughter. The truth of her disappearance is hard for him to take and forces him to confront his own criminal past.  Living under the radar for 20 years, Paul operates as a mechanic whose daughter, Beth (Gia Mantegna), attends college all the way across the country.  But when he soon learns that Beth's tuition has not been paid, he flies immediately to Lousiana to check on her despite his worst fears.  As Paul finds her way to Beth, he found her best friend Angela (Jessica Lowndes) and takes her where she's last seen Beth.

                Unknown to Paul, tracking down Beth means going through the path where he will eventually catch up with his past once again.  As they go through and past bullets looking for Beth, Paul finally comes face to face with an old enemy, Omar (Willis) - the city's most powerful man whose family he mistakenly killed 20 years back. It is then revealed that Paul is a former mob enforcer two decades ago.  “I play a single father who all of a sudden finds out that his daughter has disappeared, and in searching for her discovers she has a secret life,” explains Patric. “As the story unfolds, you find out Paul also had a secret life. I think we all have our pasts, parts of ourselves that we hide, for our betterment we believe. With every character I always find those parts of myself that I understand or that I have lived. In this case there is a darkness that this man has buried because he wants to have something better.”

 

                "Paul is the ultimate father, a tough guy but also a teddy bear deep down inside," explains Gia Mantegna who plays Beth, Paul's wayward daughter who runs with the wrong crowd when she leaves home for college. "Beth is the driving force for Paul’s return to New Orleans where he is forced back to his old territory and faces his enemies."

                "The Prince is an incredible action thriller, but at the same time there is a heart in there," concludes director Brian Miller. "There is the revenge that Omar has been seeking over the last twenty years and has built up through to the big finale at the end. And there's the very realistic father daughter relationship that I think people are going to relate to. Like a lot of people, Paul and his daughter had a very disconnected relationship. When he goes on this journey, it brings them closer together. It’s also a wakeup for all the characters who go through their own personal arcs. When people walk away at the end of this movie they are going to be blown away."

                "The Prince" opens in theaters nationwide on September 10 from Axinite Digicinema.