CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
The Hunger Games
Blu-ray News: ‘The Hunger Games’ Comes to Stores on Aug. 18, 2012
Submitted by BrianTT on May 23, 2012 - 12:54pmCHICAGO – Lionsgate announced 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD editions of their massive hit “The Hunger Games” to be released on August 18, 2012 complete with three hours of extensive bonus features. The highlight of the bonus material is an eight-part documentary called “The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games.”
Film News: ‘Battleship’ Sinks as ‘The Avengers’ Continues to Dominate Box Office
Submitted by BrianTT on May 20, 2012 - 1:53pmCHICAGO – “Marvel’s The Avengers” continued to completely dominate at the box office this weekend, grossing another $55.1 million domestically for a total of $457.1 million, good enough for 6th place all time after only 17 days in release. The massive hit has already grossed $1.2 BILLION worldwide, ranking 4th place all time.
Film News: ‘The Avengers’ Posts Best Second Weekend Ever, ‘Dark Shadows’ Disappoints
Submitted by BrianTT on May 13, 2012 - 5:42pmCHICAGO – “The Avengers” showed no sign of second weekend fatigue, beating the smash second frames of “The Dark Knight” and “Avatar” by collecting another $103.1 million. Dropping just over 50%, “The Avengers” has made $373 million domestically and over $1 billion internationally. This thing could challenge “Avatar” and “Titanic” for all-time grosses.
Film News: ‘The Avengers’ Shatters Records with Biggest Opening Ever
Submitted by BrianTT on May 6, 2012 - 1:28pmCHICAGO – “The Avengers” was expected to dominate at the U.S. box office on its opening weekend but no one predicted that it would break $200 million, shattering the record for the biggest opening weekend of all time. The Summer season got off with a bang as Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and the rest of the gang made cash registers ring around the world.
Film News: ‘Think Like a Man’ Tops Box Office For Second Weekend
Submitted by BrianTT on May 1, 2012 - 8:53amCHICAGO – “Think Like a Man” – starring Kevin Hart and Gabrielle Union – held its own, securing the top spot for a second week in a row with a weekend gross of $17.6 million ($60.4 million total). “The Five-Year Engagement” written by and starring Jason Segel was expected to top the box office this past weekend but came in at a disappointing fifth place with a weekend gross of $10.6 million. The second and third spots were held respectively by new release family animated movie “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” ($11.1 million total) and “The Hunger Games” ($372 million total).
Film News: Steve Harvey Packs Houses with Adaptation of ‘Think Like a Man’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 23, 2012 - 4:30pmCHICAGO – The female heroine driven film “The Hunger Games” had held the top spot for the past four weeks but has been knocked out by “Think Like a Man” based on Steve Harvey’s best-selling book. The movie is directed by Tim Story and written by Keith Merryman & David A. Newman starring Michael Ealy (“Barbershop”), Jerry Ferrara (“Entourage”), Meagan Good (“The Steve Harvey Show”), Regina Hall (“Death at a Funeral”), Kevin Hart (“The Five-Year Engagement”), Taraji P. Henson (“The Family that Preys”), Terrence J (“Sparkle”), Jenifer Lewis (“Meet the Browns”), Romany Malco (“Baby Mama”), Gary Owen (“Daddy Day Care”), and Gabrielle Union (“Bad Boys 2”). The weekend gross was $34 million almost tripling the reported production budget of $12 million.
Film News: Francis Lawrence to Direct ‘The Hunger Games’ Sequel ‘Catching Fire’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 20, 2012 - 7:27pmCHICAGO – “The Hunger Games” fans’ ravenous appetite for more will soon be satisfied as Lionsgate is moving forward with the sequel “Catching Fire.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has chosen Francis Lawrence to direct the anticipated sequel after Gary Ross chose not to return to the franchise. Lawrence’s most recent work includes “I Am Legend” and “Water for Elephants.” Stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are expected to return.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 150 Pairs of Chicago Passes to ‘Detention’ With ‘The Hunger Games’ Star Josh Hutcherson
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 3, 2012 - 10:04amUpdate (4/6/12 at 1:47 p.m.): Studio approval to increase from 75 to 150 admit-twos!
CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 150 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the new horror/comedy “Detention” with “The Hunger Games” star Josh Hutcherson and Dane Cook!
Blu-ray Review: Amazing ‘Battle Royale: The Complete Collection’ Timed with ‘The Hunger Games’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 27, 2012 - 9:58amCHICAGO – A quick search of the web will reveal hundreds of articles and blog posts and message board rants about how the smash hit “The Hunger Games,” both the Suzanne Collins book and Gary Ross movie, wouldn’t exist without Kinji Fukasaku’s amazing 2000 film “Battle Royale” (itself based on a 1999 Japanese book).
Book Review: Unofficial Cookbooks For ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ For Hardcore Fans
Submitted by BrianTT on March 26, 2012 - 2:26pmCHICAGO – You can tell when a property has reached beyond mere fad to true phenomenon based on the amount of related merchandising, official and otherwise. There have been a growing number of products related to the hit HBO show (and beloved George R.R. Martin books) “Game of Thrones,” including shirts, mugs, and even an upcoming video game.