Only Two of the Top 30 Grossing Films of This Decade Are Original

Wikipedia has a list of the highest grossing films of this decade so far, and kottke noticed that of the top 20 films at the box office, only one movie was not based on a past film or tv show (remake/sequel), or an adaptation of an established property (be it a comic, book, play, toy...etc). Which is the only original feature film to make it into the the top 20 grossing films of this decade (so far)? Answer after the jump. Finding Nemo, which lands at #15 with $864.6 million. If you take a look at the top 30 films from this decade, there is only one other original film property among the bunch, that being... DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda, #30 spot with $631.7 million. In fact, out of the top 50 grossing films of this decade, there are only 9 movies based on original properties. And five of those nine films were created ...

How to Train Your Dragon Movie Trailer

Dreamworks Animation has released the first movie trailer for Chris Sander's How to Train Your Dragon. For those of you who don't reccognize the name, Sanders directed Lilo & Stitch, and the unfinished American Dog (which was the initial development for what became Bolt). Sanders is now making a home for himself over at Dreamworks Animation, and you can certainly see the Dreamworks influence. The voice acting seems a bit out of place, as with most of DreamWorks Animated films, it seems like they are casting names to be the characters, rather than an actor who can play the character. I love Jay Baruchel, but for some reason I don't completely buy him in this film, with this character design and animation -- for me it just doesn't match up. Watch the trailer embedded after the jump. As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below. From the studio that brought you Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda ...

How to Train Your Dragon Trailer

After a couple minor leaks, DreamWorks Animation has finally gotten around to releasing the official trailer for How to Train Your Dragon, which fortunately shows footage we have yet to see.

How to Train Your Dragon Trailer
From the studio that brought you Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda comes How To Train Your Dragon -- an adventure comedy set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, based on the book by Cressida Cowell. The story centers around a Viking teenager, who lives on the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. Initiation is coming, and this is his one chance to prove his worthiness to his tribe and father. But when he encounters, and ultimately befriends, an injured dragon, his world is turned upside down.

Robin Hood Writers Talk About Robin Hood

Cinefools interviewed writing partners Ethan Reiff and Cy Voris about some of their past projects includinng Kung-Fu Panda, Bulletproof Monk and Robin Hood//Nottingham/Sherwood Forest/Whatever The Hell It's Called.They talk about how the version they wrote isn't the version we're going to see on screen. Determining whether or not this is actually news, since we'll never know what they wrote, is up to you.The jump from Kung Fu Panda to Robin Hood, or Nottingham as it was originally titled, is a bit of an unlikely one how did the idea come about and what sort of tone did you both write for Nottingham?One thing about Cy and myself is that we have written a wide variety of material. Everything from the very family-friendly Kung Fu Panda to the at least somewhat disturbing terrorist drama Sleeper Cell, with various other material such as Bulletproof Monk and Nottingham somewhere in between. For Cy and me personally, Kung Fu Panda was about our love of and respect for martial arts movies and Chinese culture. Nottingham was about us both wanting to see a new and different version of a classic old story retold. The truth is the movie Ridley Scott made doesn't have all that much to do with the script we sold to Universal, in the midst of a bidding war with various other Hollywood studios, about 3 years ago. Our script was told from the Sheriff of Nottingham's POV (thereby the title), and Russell Crowe signed on to play the part of the Sheriff, who was the hero of our screenplay. There are a few things remaining in the movie which had their origin in our script, like including Eleanor of Aquitaine (mother of Richard the Lionhearted and Prince, later King, John) as a key character in a Robin Hood movie for the first time (at least that I know of), plus the movie would never have been made to being with if Russell Crowe hadn't signed on to play the Sheriff in our original script. I guess for us, without having seen the movie, it's a mix of triumph and frustration. Triumph because we got the ball rolling that led to a massive Medieval period piece being made with an excellent cast by arguably one of the greatest directors in movie history, but also frustration in that the world will never see the original movie we wrote. But we did get paid, so I'm not complaining. Once they bought it, Universal had the right to do whatever they wanted with our script.Click HERE to read more.I know the version of Bulletproof Monk I'd like to see. The one that never existed.Source: Cinefools

New How To Train Your Dragon Teaser Poster

The new teaser poster for How to Train Your Dragon is out. I think I might be a little late on this one, because I could have sworn I had already seen this teaser poster.From the studio that brought you "Shrek," "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" comes "How to Train Your Dragon" - a comedy adventure set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, based on the book by Cressida Cowell. The story centers around a Viking teenager named Hiccup, who lives on the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. The teen's smarts and offbeat sense of humor don't sit too well with his tribe or its chief... who just happens to be Hiccup's father. However, when Hiccup is included in Dragon Training with the other Viking teens, he sees his chance to prove he has what it takes to be a fighter. But when he encounters (and ultimately befriends) an injured dragon, his world is flipped upside down, and what started out as Hiccup's one shot to prove himself turns into an opportunity to set a new course for the future of the entire tribe. Again, this is the studio that brought you Shrek and Madagascar. It is NOT the studio that brought you Bee Movie and Over the Hedge.Check out the teaser poster below. MSN has a black version of the poster that you can check out by clicking HERE. Source:

Michelle Yeoh Heads Back To China For Kung Fu Romance

Just as John Woo is back focusing on films made in his homeland with Red Cliff, action star Michelle Yeoh is returning to her roots as well, going to China to work on the "romantic kung fu thriller" Jianyi Jinaghu, which basically translates to Rain of Swords in the Martial Arts World. Or, to use a sipler term, "awesome." THR writes the plot is a pretty familiar one about gangs and blood rivalries and love-- Yeoh plays an assassin who ...

Columbia Has an Eye on He-Man

Just what you wanted to hear: more Mattel movies! But wait, this is actually good news -- at least to me. It was just last month that Warner Bros. gave Masters of the Universe, the planned He-Man movie, the heave-ho. But now Columbia has taken notice and decided that good ol' Prince Adam and his allies Battle Cat, Man-at-Arms, and the Final-Fantasy-Black-Mage-like Orko, deserve better, which is why they're now in negotiations to pick up the film with plans for Escape Artists to produce. He-Man's move to the big screen began back in 2007, when Warners hired a few writers to adapt the popular 1980s cartoon show He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for the big screen. Despite going so far as to name John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) to direct earlier this year, Warners ultimately found that they couldn't agree with Mattel about what direction to go in, which prompted both companies to allow the deal to expire last month. According to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision Blog, Stevenson is now no longer attached to direct and the He-Man adaptation will start from scratch. But hey, considering that the other Mattel movie project in the works is Barbie, I'll take all of the loin-cloth-clad-swordfighting I can, when I can.   Source: Heat Vision Blog

Columbia Snags He-Man

Evidently, Columbia has the power.  Okay, that was lame, but, seriously, The Hollywood Reporter is claiming the feature film adaptation of ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ has found a home with Columbia.  Escape Artists is on board to produce the film, as well.  This news comes just a few weeks after it was reported Warner Brothers dropped the project due to differences on the direction of the film.

John Stevenson (’Kung Fu Panda’), who was set to direct the film when the property was at WB, is no longer on the project.  It wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn Columbia has even…

Columbia Pictures To Become The Masters of the Universe?

Earlier this month Warner Bros completely dropped the development of the live action He-Man adaptation Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe, despite Justin Marks' screenplay gaining big traction from internet buzz and Kung-Fu Panda director John Stevenson signing on to direct. Heatvision is now reporting that the project might not be completely dead after all. Apparently Columbia Pictures / Escape Artists are in negotiations to pick up rights to the Mattel property. Stevenson and Marks are both no longer involved with the project, which will be developed from the ground up. Marks script, which was described as "Lord of the Rings meets The Matrix meets Batman Begins", was enough to get us excited about the project - we even listed off five reasons the movie could actually be cool. And lets face it, "cool" is not even in the first 50 words that would normally come to mind when thinking about a ...

Kung Fu Kid Set Pictures - Will Smiths Son & Jackie Chan

New behind the scenes pics from the Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan movie Kung Fu Kid have surfaced online. Check ‘em out!

The internet wants you to believe this movie can do nothing but suck. Allow Movie-Moron to play devil’s advocate (no,…