Director of ‘Chipmunks’ Sequel in Talks for ‘Desperados’

Betty Thomas is in talks to direct Desperados, the Universal comedy that is acting as a starring vehicle for Isla Fisher.

Wayne McClammy, the director behind the Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel viral videos “I’m F—ing Matt Damon” and “I’m F—ing Ben Affleck,” was previously on board but left due to creative differences, according to sources.

Written by Ellen Rapoport, Desperados is described as a female-oriented Hangover.

The story is about a woman who sends an indignant email to her new beau, who has gone silent after they have sex, only to discover he’s comatose in a Mexican hospital. Panicking, she races south of the border with her friends in tow to intercept the email before he recovers.

Mark Gordon, Jason Blum and Jennifer Todd are producing. Universal executive vp production Tracy Falco and director of development Maradith Frenkel will oversee the project. Shara Senderoff and Allyson Seeger are supervising for the Mark Gordon Co.

An actress-turned-director Thomas, repped by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham, last directed Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Other credits include I Spy, Dr. Doolittle, Private Parts and The Brady Bunch Movie.

DreamWorks Animation Sets Release Calendar Through 2014

DreamWorks Animation has announced its release calendar through 2014, setting dates for seven toons, including How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

The big question is whether Paramount and DreamWorks Animation will renew their output deal, which expires in 2012. For now, Paramount is listed as the distributor on all of the titles.

“At DreamWorks Animation, our creative ambition has never been greater and the release schedule we’re unveiling today is designed to give our movies the time and resources they need to realize their full potential so each one can become a true event for our audiences,” company CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said.

DreamWorks Animation’s 2012 slate kicks off on June 8 with Madagascar 3. The threequel returns Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinckett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen in the title voice roles.

Based on the forthcoming books by William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians will open in theaters Nov. 21, 2012. Voice cast includes Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law.

– Read the full article (nothing further on Isla/Rise of The Guardians) at The Hollywood Reporter

“Rango” Tops Weekend US Box Office

The Johnny Depp animated comedy “Rango” opened as the No. 1 film in U.S. and Canadian theaters this weekend, generating $38 million in ticket sales for Viacom Inc. (VIA/B)’s Paramount and Nickelodeon divisions.

“The Adjustment Bureau,” starring Matt Damon, opened in second place with $20.9 million for Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s Universal Pictures, researcher Hollywood.com Box Office said today in a statement.

“Rango,” featuring Depp as a chameleon who tries to clean up the Wild West town of Dirt, is the third Paramount film to occupy the top weekend spot this year, following “No Strings Attached” and the remake of “True Grit” with Jeff Bridges. Paramount is No. 1 in U.S. box-office sales this year, with $285 million in revenue as of Feb. 27, according to Box Office Mojo.

“Rango” was expected to take in about $36 million, the forecast of Gitesh Pandya, editor of the Box Office Guru website. The film was directed by Gore Verbinski, who also oversaw Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s successful “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.

The picture cost $135 million to make, according to Sherman Oaks, California-based Box Office Mojo, and also features the voices of Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty and Alfred Molina.

In “The Adjustment Bureau,” Damon plays a politician, David Norris, who gets a glimpse of his future and decides to take another course, instead pursuing his love interest played by Emily Blunt. John Slattery, from TV’s “Mad Men,” is part of the team trying to put Norris’s life back on its intended course. The film is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick.

CBS Corp. (CBS)’s “Beastly,” a retelling of the “Beauty and the Beast” tale, took in $10.1 million in third place. Alex Pettyfer, who is also in theaters in the movie “I Am Number Four,” plays a New York teen who is turned into a monster and must find true love to reverse the curse. Vanessa Hudgens, known for her success in Disney’s “High School Musical,” co-stars as Pettyfer’s love interest and Mary-Kate Olsen is the witch who casts a spell on him.

Is Rango So Good …? (and 25 Other Questions)

This article isn’t specifically about Isla but I thought it was pretty interesting, funny and accurate, so worth a read…

Is Rango So Good a Grown Man Would Make Love to It? (and 25 Other Questions)

Just when you’d given up on 2011, along comes Rango, an animated feature by the guy who directed the Pirates of the Caribbean series (Gore Verbinski), featuring the voice of the guy who starred in them (Johnny Depp). Is this the shining beacon we’ve been waiting for? As a service, we answer every question you could possibly have about Rango.

Q: Is Rango the movie about the colorful birds?

A: No, that’s Rio.

Q: How many minutes into Rango did it take you to realize it wasn’t Rio?

A: About 15 minutes, at which point I whispered to my girlfriend, “When do the birds show up?”

Q: Is Rango one of the best movies to be released in 2011.

A: By far.

Q: You’re kidding, right? We’re only two months in.

A: The year is young, but Rango is that good—and it didn’t really have to be!

Q: Who is Rango?

A: Rango [Johnny Depp] is a pet lizard who fancies himself a thespian. We first meet Rango acting out a scene in his aquarium when a bump in the road propels him out of the backseat of a moving car and onto the Nevada highway.

Continue reading Is Rango So Good …? (and 25 Other Questions)

Friday Box Office: ‘Rango’ Opens Soft, Damon’s ‘Bureau’ Works It

Saturday-morning numbers for Paramount’s “Rango” were softer than even Friday’s disappointing preliminary estimates.

According to one rival studio, Paramount’s first CG-animated family film grossed just $9.5 million Friday and is on pace for a weekend gross of about $33 million.

Overall, Depp couldn’t match, well, Depp, with the domestic market down about 38 percent from the same weekend last year — a frame that was led by the the $116 million opening of “Alice in Wonderland.”

Here’s how the top 10 shaped up Friday. TheWrap’s Friday-night report continues below chart:

“Rango” ($9.5m)
“Adjustment Bureau” ($6.7m)
“Beastly” ($3.5m)
“Hall Pass” ($2.7m)
“Just Go With It” ($1.9m)
“Unknown” ($1.7m)
“I Am Number Four” ($1.6m)
“The King’s Speech” ($1.6m)
“Gnomeo & Juliet” ($1.6m)
“Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” ($1.2m)

TheWrap.com

Q&A with Rango Director Gore Verbinski

Explain to me this concept of “emotion capture” that you used.

We didn’t now what else to call it because it’s not motion capture, which is when your actors’ physical performance is driving the computer. We were just recording their sound only, so we jokingly called it emotion capture because we had all the actors in this one space at one time wearing flip flops and hats and side arms, jumping off apple boxes. It gave it a theater of the absurd feeling. We were just trying to get a really lively soundtrack, get any sort of anomalies we could hold onto and cherish.

Everything that we were trying to do was to make it feel like there actually is a lizard talking to a tortoise. We’re trying to fabricate this sense that it happened. It wasn’t manufactured. The term “emotion capture” was just a poke at motion capture to say, “Look, we’re doing something different.” The actors were all saying this isn’t how you do animation. A lot of them worked on animated films and they never wore hats and jumped around and shot guns and running around while doing them.

What’s an example of something you were able to change because all the actors were together in the same room?

I would say when Rango and Beans (Isla Fisher) are together, when she freezes for the first time, and he’s got her arm around her, and he’s doing, “What are you doing?” “I was not,” that sort of thing. If you had one person in the room and then a few months later another person in the room, and you were cutting the different audio together you would never get that sort of awkwardness.

– Read the full Q&A with Gore Verbinski at VanityFair.com