Honda’s ad already sparked mass conversation thanks to last Thursday’s teaser. The commercial, directed by Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover, Due Date, etc.), features Matthew Broderick playing himself in a grown-up version of his celebrated role as Ferris Bueller alongside the all-new 2012 CR-V. Using themes from the original film to bring Honda’s “Leap List” campaign to life, the spot is meant to reinforce how the CR-V helps consumers conquer their aspirations before life’s next big phase.
Think you’re a true fan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? There are over two dozen hidden references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find. #dayoff
Magnolia Pictures has bought North American rights to Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York, the company announced Saturday. The film, a follow up to Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris, stars Delpy, Chris Rock and Delpy’s father Albert Delpy. Christophe Mazodier produced. A family comedy set in the art world, 2 Days in New York will be released via Magnolia’s Ultra VOD program later this year, with what the company says will be a “robust” theatrical release in major markets.
The pickup comes hours after Magnolia announced acquisitions of two other Sundance films, the dramas Nobody Walks and Compliance. The company previously bought the horror flick V/H/S and the documentary The Queen of Versailles, making it the most active buyer so far at this year’s festival.
“2 Days in New York manages to be even funnier than its predecessor,” said Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles in a statement. “Julie Delpy has proven once again to have impeccable comic timing, and Chris Rock is a pleasure to watch—we are confident that audiences everywhere will love the film as much as we do.”
CINELAN and Vimeo announced today the global day-and-date premiere of the first five three-minute films in the FOCUS FORWARD – Short Films, Big Ideas initiative, which will be presented at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The films will make their world premiere on Tuesday, January 24, at 12pm EST on vimeo.com/focusforwardfilms and at a special screening beginning 6pm MST at the Holiday Village 1 in Park City. The FOCUS FORWARD films will also be paired with features in the U.S. Documentary Competition and World Cinema Documentary Competition sections at Sundance. FOCUS FORWARD – Short Films, Big Ideas is a series of 3-minute nonfiction films about the incredible human power of ideas and invention.
It looks like TV Networks are up for grabs, first Ryan Seacreast and Mark Cuban, now introducing Huffington Post Streaming Network (HPSN)… maybe.
Forbes is reporting that the the media company is gearing up to launch a live, online video channel to rival your typical 24-hour cable news network.
Here’s how it’s supposed to work:
The idea, according to sources, is to harness the considerable editorial talent of the 320-person Huffpo newsroom while at the same time fulfilling rising advertiser demand for premium video content. Huffpo editors and reporters will appear on the stream live throughout the day, analyzing breaking news events in real-time. On-camera editorial meetings will let viewers in on the newsgathering process, and their social media feedback will be incorporated into the broadcast. Later, video editors will recut footage from the live stream into clips to distribute across the site’s many verticals, where it can more easily find sponsorship..
There hasn’t been any official announcement and a Huffington Post spokesperson declined to comment for the Forbes article. However, a new video initiative is supposed to be unveiled on February 2 in New York.
Ryan Seacrest is getting his own TV network after all. The multi-hyphenate, along with partners AEG and talent agency CAA, have struck a deal with billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban to rebrand Cuban’s HDNet as AXS TV (pronounced Access) beginning this summer.
The channel’s programming will rely heavily on live lifestyle and live entertainment fare, leveraging the music assets of AEG, a top venue owner and and tour promoter, and the A-list connections and production capabilities of Seacrest. As part of the rebrand, the network will cater to pop culture and entertainment enthusiasts rather than the younger, heavily male demographic that HDNet historically has targeted. Cuban will continue to lead the channel on behalf of the venture, with Denver-based Philip Garvin still involved as GM of network operations.
The network announced Sunday morning at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that it will launch a late-night 90-minute animation block on Saturdays, starting in Jan. 2013.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on for a while,” Fox president of entertainment Kevin Reilly said at the start of his executive session. “We have real estate on our schedule in Saturday night late night that we’ve not been programming in quite a few seasons.”
Reilly pointed to the high bar set by The Simpsons and Family Guy and the quality of projects they’ve been forced to turn down as prime motivation in launching the new block.
Tim Burton’s interest in tackling a live-action version of Pinocchio is heating up. And Burton’s choice to topline the movie is Robert Downey Jr. as Geppetto, the woodcarver who creates the puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy.
In the version being developed at Warner Bros., Geppetto embarks on a quest to reunite with his missing marionette. The well-regarded script is by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Dan Jinks (American Beauty) is producing.
Neither Burton nor Downey has a deal with Warners, but sources say Burton is keen to direct the film and has begun talks with the studio, so it’s just a question of whether Pinocchio will be his next movie. The Alice in Wonderland director also is eyeing an adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children at Fox, among other projects. Warners wants to move quickly with Pinocchio, so if Burton chooses to make another movie first, the studio might move on to other directors.
In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.
An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the film combines combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Act of Valor takes audiences deep into the secretive world of elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home. Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the deadly terror plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight with an outcome that has potentially unimaginable consequences for the future of America.
