Comment On Christina Ricci Joins Cast Of 'smurfs' Sequel (exclusive)

'Trek' does $70.6M but falls short of studio hopes Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 9:36 am, Sunday, May 19, 2013 The latest voyage of the starship Enterprise fell short of its predecessor, 2009's "Star Trek," which opened with $75.2 million. Since premiering Wednesday in huge-screen IMAX theaters and expanding Thursday to general cinemas, "Into Darkness" has pulled in $84.1 million, well below distributor Paramount's initial forecast of $100 million.

Budding actors and film-production hopefuls on Wednesday will get a shot at joining a production. Access Sacramento's 14th "A Place Called Sacramento" filmmaking program will pair screenwriters with actors and crew members to make 10-minute films that will be shown in October on the big screen of the Crest Theatre. Shane Miller

Last night’s Saturday Night Live season finale with host Ben Affleck and musical guest Kanye West drew a 4.7/12 in metered-market households and a 2.7/13 among adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters. That was flat in 18-49 vs. last year’s season finale with host/musical guest Mick Jagger and down 10% in total viewers (5.2/13). The show, which marked Bill Hader’s departure, also was in line with SNL‘s delivery this season with any host but Justin Timberlake, including Kristen Wiig (4.6, 2.7), Vince Vaughn (4.6, 2.8), Melissa McCarthy (4.8, 2.7) and Kevin Hart (4.8/12, 2.8/13). Timberlake’s fifth turn as host remains the season’s high mark with 5.9/15 and 3.7/18.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based Backup Media has teamed up with Memento Films International to finance Cold In July, an adaptation of the Joe Lansdale cult novel that will be director Jim Mickle‘s next film. Mickle’s We Are What We Are is playing in Directors’ Fortnight section here at Cannes. Shooting on Cold In July begins in late July with an early 2014 delivery. Adapted by Nick Damici and Mickle, the film is being produced by Belladonna Productions’ Rene Bastian, Adam Folk, and Linda Moran — frequent Mickle collaborators. The plot: Richard Dane shoots and kills an armed burglar in his living room. It’s a clear-cut case of self defense to everyone but the burglar’s father, who vows Old Testament-style eye-for-an-eye justice. Here, that means son for son. The cops, the feds, and the Dixie mafia all play a part in the ensuing mayhem. “It was important to us to find partners on the movie who would help us create an environment for Jim, where he would be protected and be able to excel as a filmmaker,” Linda Moran and Rene Bastian from Belladonna said. “We are very happy to have found the full support of the Backup/MFI team.”For Backup Media, this marks a growing determination to put equity into English-language films; in previous investments they provided debt. “We are very proud Cold In July is the first film for which Backup has provided one-stop film financing,” a Backup rep said. “We truly believe Belladonna/MFI/Mickle are the ideal team for us to extend our investment framework.” Mickle’s We Are What We Are premiered in Sundance in the Midnight Section, and prompted a late-night bidding battle won in a seven-figure deal by eOne. “We’re excited to continue our collaboration with Jim Mickle and Belladonna,” Emilie Georges said. “Cold In July represents a wonderful step for Jim as a filmmaker, and we are eager to introduce it to the world.” Memento Films International will handle foreign sales and team up with WME Global on the domestic end, as they did on that eOne deal on Mickle’s last film. WME Global, Memento and Backup arranged the financing.

Right after my Deadline Hollywood colleague Pete Hammond moderated a Weinstein Company panel this morning on Big Eyes, the film that Tim Burton will direct with Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams, I moderated another on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Destiny, a sequel to the 2000 film that won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and at the time became the biggest grossing foreign language film in America. I was joined onstage by producer David Thwaites, Harvey Weinstein, actor Donnie Yen, director and martial arts choreography legend Yuen Wo Ping (he handled action choreography of the Ang Lee-directed original Crouching Tiger). Also with us was exec producer Anthony Wong, who translated for the director. Michelle Yeoh was seen on a screen, after being set to reprise her role. Scripted by John Fusco, this film is derived from Iron Knight, Silver Vase, the fifth book in the Wang Dulu’s Crane Iron Pentalogy. Fusco borrowed from some of the other books, but made the final title his primary focus. Weinstein acknowledged he courted Yen very hard to make his first English language movie with TWC (this will be shot in both English and Mandarin), and wasted no time setting the stage for a followup. Noting that Martin Scorsese helped him get rights to Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, Weinstein enlisted both Yen and Yuen Wo Ping to at least have a conversation with him about it. There will always be cynicism when a ground breaking film like Crouching Tiger is sequelized without the original filmmaker. Crouching Tiger 2, they said, had the benefit of steep mythology from the books by the late author Wang Dulu, and many feel his last book was the best one. Having seen some of Donnie Yen’s films, and having marveled at the artistry that Master Yuen achieved in films from Kill Bill to The Matrix, it was a treat to at least try to prod them into revealing something. Weinstein, who honestly could have spoken on Asian and martial arts fare for five hours had I not interrupted, made it a point to note that in his mind, the pedigree of Lee’s original Crouching Tiger was honored by the return of Yeoh and by the participants, and because of the source material he acquired from the author’s family. He noted Ridley Scott’s Alien might have been slightly bettered by James Cameron’s sequel, and that others have flourished after the original director departed. It is always a challenge to interview someone aided by their translator (I did it once with Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon). You ask a question that lends itself to an anecdotal answer, you watch it get translated to someone like Master Yuen, watch a long thoughtful answer back, and then watch the translator look up and say, “He says yes.” Wong did his best to avoid that, telling how Master Yuen was drawn into the business by his stuntman father. What got me was just how soft-spoken and humble Master Yuen was, considering the explosion of action and mayhem his movies contain. Donnie Yen said he owed his career to Master Yuen, and I found myself wondering if their re-team after so many years might Yen achieve some of the stature in America he holds in Asia, where he’s a rock star. Yen said that wasn’t as important to him as making a good film that could travel, but I for one continue to wait for an Asian action star to rise in the U.S. the way that Bruce Lee did. While a handful of stars made successful transitions–Jackie Chan and Jet Li first and foremost–no one has yet approached what Lee accomplished in a brief period. Maybe this will be Yen’s chance. He has the matinee idol looks that Lee did.