Harry Potter 5 Movie Set For Big Premier in Tokyo
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The much awaited fifth installment of the boy wizzard’s saga, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix will premiere in Japan on June 28, way ahead of its July 13 international playdate and its London showing on July 3.
A Warner Bros. spokeswoman in Tokyo said British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry, would come to Tokyo for the event. No word yet if other castmates will join him.
There is “no special reason” why the film is making its premiere in Japan, the spokeswoman said.
But clearly, the Tokyo premiere last month of another highly anticipated sequel, “Spider-Man 3,” was seen as a shrewd push into the faster-growing international market that could help boost box-office revenues.
The seventh and final book in the “Harry Potter” series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” will go on sale on July 21, but it is not clear when the film version will be made.
Tags: Harry Potter 5, Harry Potter Movies, Harry Potter Books
The Terminator Will Be Back, But Minus Arnold
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The popular movie franchise, Terminator, will be back for another trilogy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a nascent film company has acquired the franchise rights to the popular movie series from producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna. The deal is said to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
The Halcyon Co., a privately financed firm, is planning to begin immediate preproduction on “Terminator 4,” with a target release in the first half of 2009. The script, by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, was part of the transaction.
No actor is yet aboard the project. And Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance in the new trilogy is also bleak.
Halcyon is headed by advertising veteran Derek Anderson and “Cook-Off!” producer Victor Kubicek. The two pursued the “Terminator ” rights aggressively for several months, knowing that the series is one of the few recognizable properties out there not in the hands of a major studio. Halcyon also is concentrating on a merchandising and licensing push for the property.
The rights to “Terminator ” have changed hands several times.
Kassar acted as an executive producer for 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment day,” and he and Vajna acquired interests from Gale Anne Hurd — who produced the first one in 1984 and executive produced the second — when the duo made 2003’s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.”
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator, Terminator DVD
Spider-Man 3 A Hit in Asia
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“Spider-Man 3” smashed box office records across eight Asian markets on Tuesday, as the superhero sequel got a head start on the rest of the world, the film’s distributor said.
“It was bigger than ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘Spider-Man 2′ everywhere,” said Sony Pictures vice chairman Jeff Blake.
Leading the way was Japan, where its opening-day sales of 415 million yen ($3.5 million) ranked as the biggest for a Tuesday. Films in Japan normally open on a Saturday, which is a bigger moviegoing day.
The Sony Corp .-owned studio launched the world premiere on home territory, in Tokyo, last week. The film, which the studio said cost $258 million to make, reunites stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst with director Sam Raimi.
In South Korea and Hong Kong, the picture set new marks for the biggest opening day, taking in 3.2 billion won ($3.4 million) and $HK7.5 million ($960,000), respectively.
Sales in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand were the highest for any single day, opening or otherwise. Taiwan sales were the biggest for any weekday.
Tags: SpiderMan 3, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst
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