While the kids-friendly sequel ruled the weekend, “Just Go With It” became the 12th Adam Sandler movie to gross more than $100 million.
By Ryan J. Downey

Grayson Russell in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules”
Photo: FOX

In the weekend battle of the flashy, hyper-stylized action flick versus the kid-movie-franchise sequel, it turned out that Rodrick did, in fact, rule. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” bested “Sucker Punch” at the box office to become the #1 movie in the United States with a $22.4 million debut.

Based on the second installment of the kid-friendly book series, “Wimpy Kid” bested the debut of its predecessor, which took in $21.8 million when it was released around this same time last year. All figures are according to studio estimates.

The $19 million opening of “Sucker Punch,” meanwhile, was less than the debuts of director Zack Snyder’s previous movies “300,” “Watchmen” or “Dawn of the Dead.” While the latter three films were based on preexisting sources, “Sucker Punch,” a loud music-driven action fantasy about a group of girls in a mental institution who lead dream-world lives as action heroines, was Snyder’s first wholly original concept. A mere 22 percent of critics reviewed it positively, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

News that the 45-year-old director has cast Amy Adams as Lois Lane in his forthcoming superhero reboot “Superman: Man of Steel” overshadowed talk of “Sucker Punch” across Twitter and film blogs on Sunday.

Last week’s #1 movie, “Limitless,” brought in another $15.2 million, for a domestic total of $41.3 million. With an estimated production budget of $27 million, the movie’s numbers are great news for Bradley Cooper, who chose the flick as his first real starring vehicle since finding fame.

The modest success of “The Lincoln Lawyer” is great news of a different kind for Matthew McConaughey. It’s his best-reviewed film in years. Telling the story of a conflicted lawyer working cases from his car, the movie has reminded critics that the sometimes-ridiculed leading man does have real talent. “The Lincoln Lawyer” brought in $11 million to land at #4, with a $29 million total.

Johnny Depp’s animated “Rango” was one of two movies to cross the $100 million mark over the weekend. The movie landed in fifth place with a $9.8 million take, for a $106.4 million total. Meanwhile, “Just Go With It” became the 12th Adam Sandler movie to gross more than $100 million domestically. Although the romantic comedy is no longer in the top 10 at the box office, it has earned a total of $100.3 million.

Sci-fi action flick “Battle: Los Angeles” was #6 with $7.6 million, for a $72.6 million total. The loving sci-fi homage “Paul” dropped roughly 45 percent in its second weekend of release, earning $7.5 million to land at #7 while upping its total earnings to $24.6 million. The Nick Frost/ Simon Pegg comedy cost about $40 million to make. “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke’s “Red Riding Hood” was #8 with $4.3 million, for a $32.5 million total. Matt Damon’s “The Adjustment Bureau” was #9 with $4.2 million, for a $54.9 million total.

International tickets, after-market sales and a built-in diehard fanbase will probably save “Paul” from being remembered as a failure, but the weekend’s #10 movie, which shares an alien theme, likely won’t escape that fate. The animated “Mars Needs Moms” made $2.2 million, bringing its total take to $19.2 million against an estimated $150 million production budget.

Next weekend’s new releases include “Moon” director Duncan Jones’ “Source Code,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga; the Easter-themed kid’s movie “Hop,” featuring the voice of Russell Brand; the haunted-house flick “Insidious”; and the action/comedy “Super,” with Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” “Sucker Punch” and “Limitless.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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• MTV Rough Cut: ‘Sucker Punch’
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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660751/diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-box-office.jhtml

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Before you check out Zack Snyder’s action-packed flick, learn how it came to be.
By Kara Warner

Emily Browning in “Sucker Punch”
Photo: Warner Bros./ Legendary Pictures

Way back in October 2008, amid the buzz surrounding Zack Snyder’s big-screen adaptation of “Watchmen,” news broke about plans for his next project, an original screenplay penned by Snyder and Steve Shibuya called “Sucker Punch,” billed simply as “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns.” For Snyder’s devoted fanbase, that descriptor was enough to set minds speculating and Internets buzzing for well over two years.

Naturally, MTV News has been following the project from conception to opening day Friday (March 25). Here’s everything you need to know about “Sucker Punch”:

First, in addition to the “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns” tease, the initial logline announced that the plot revolved around “a young girl institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the facility.”

In March 2009, an all-female cast was announced, with several of Hollywood’s most in-demand ingénues attached. Not too long after that, Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone and Evan Rachel Wood bowed out and Emily Browning, Jamie Chung and Jena Malone stepped in.

From then on, the principal cast was set, with just a few additions to come (including Carla Gugino and Jon Hamm), and the film production was on its way.

There wasn’t much news to report until early 2010 when, amid the post-”Avatar” 3-D craze, Warner Bros. announced that “Sucker Punch” would be converted to 3-D, which excited star Vanessa Hudgens at the time, until a few months later, Snyder spoke out about his reservations on the subject. It seems Snyder’s concerns were heard, because the studio changed its mind.

Cut to San Diego Comic-Con 2010, when Snyder dazzled fans with a teaser trailer (which later debuted online, with tons of intense analysis) during the film’s panel. Shortly thereafter, the lovely leading ladies stopped by the MTV News shooting suite to discuss their intense training for the film.

After the Comic-Con chaos, fans had to wait a few months to see more teasers, in the form of a second trailer (which MTV Movies Blog named one of the year’s best) that dropped in November 2010 and a collection of character posters.

MTV Movies Blog kicked off the New Year with a preview piece in which we named “Sucker Punch” one of the most anticipated films of the year, and shortly after that, the promotional machine kicked into high gear.

Throughout the film’s opening month, March 2011, we received news of an online animated movie intended as an offshoot or short companion piece to the film, called “The Trenches.” Also over on Movies Blog, we rolled out “patient files” on all the lead characters: Amber, Rocket, Sweet Pea and Blondie.

MTV News also reconnected with everyone to discuss the cast’s thoughts on their character’s most outrageous moments and Snyder’s explanation about where the idea for the movie came from.

Finally, our coverage capped off at the film’s big premiere in Hollywood on Wednesday, where we learned what “Sucker Punch” really means.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Sucker Punch.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Videos

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660646/sucker-punch.jhtml

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Courteney Cox and her Cougar Town costar Josh Hopkins are on a romantic carribean island today, and she’s prancing around on a secluded private beach in a bikini, but to hear them tell it this is the kind of thing all co-workers do. People says…
“The relationship is strictly platonic and they are away [...]

Source: http://www.wwtdd.com/2011/03/courteney-cox-says-this-is-platonic/

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When I Look At You

• Artist: Miley Cyrus
• Label: Hollywood Records, Universal Music Spain, Vale Music
• Director: Marc Roussel

Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=2408193&vid=511560

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Party In The U.S.A.

• Artist: Miley Cyrus
• Label: Hollywood Records
• Director: Chris Applebaum
• Album: The Time of Our Lives

Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=2408193&vid=439428

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3

• Artist: Britney Spears
• Label: Jive, Jive Label Group
• Director: Diane Martel

Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=501686&vid=452061

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Britney Spears Brings Down The House In Las Vegas

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1660731

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MTV Buzzworthy Blog: Zombie Pop Stars

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‘The awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions,’ writes Steve Stoute in full page ad.
By Shawn Adler

Steve Stoute
Photo: Theo Wargo/WireImage

Ad man, brand manager and occasional consigliere to many of hip-hop’s most powerful stars, marketing mogul Steve Stoute took out a full page ad in Sunday’s New York Times Style Section blasting the Grammy Awards, its parent organizational, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), and its president, Neil Portnow, for what he feels is both increasing irrelevance and possible malfeasance.

“Over the course of my 20-year history as an executive in the music business and as the owner of a firm that specializes in in-culture advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the Grammy Awards have clearly lost touch with contemporary popular culture,” he wrote in the ad, which took the form of an open letter. “The awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions, leaving me to question why any contemporary popular artist would even participate.”

In particular, Stoute focused on the relatively recent snubs of Eminem, Kayne West, and Justin Bieber, all musicians he believes have been unfairly beaten for awards by inferior artistic and commercial acts.

“We must acknowledge the massive cultural impact of Eminem and Kanye West and how their music is shaping, influencing and defining the voice of a generation,” Stoute wrote of the two hip-hop superstars, adding of Bieber, “How is it that Justin Bieber, an artist that defines what it means to be a modern artist, did not win Best New Artist?”

While acknowledging in his letter that the most popular acts aren’t always deserving of awards simply on the basis of their commercial success, of particular focus for Stoute is the seeming dichotomy between musicians the award ceremony chooses to honor and musicians the ceremony asks to perform.

“While these very artists that the public acknowledges as being worthy of their money and fandom are snubbed year after year at the Grammys, the awards show has absolutely no qualms in inviting these same artists to perform,” he wrote. “Interesting that the Grammys understands cultural relevance when it comes to using Eminem’s, Kayne West’s or Justin Bieber’s name in the billing [but not when handing out trophies].”

Not content to simply attribute these gaps to the general irrelevance or ignorance of the NARAS voters, Stoute goes on to suggest that performances are scheduled much more cynically and crassly, citing this year’s Best Album winner Arcade Fire as an example of an act too serendipitous to be coincidental.

“What truly inspired the writing of this letter was that this most recent show fed my suspicions. As the show was coming to a close and just prior to presenting the award for Album of the Year, Arcade Fire performed ‘Month of May’ only to, surprise, win the category and, in a moment of sheer coincidence, happened to be prepared to perform ‘Ready to Start’,” he wrote. “Does the Grammys intentionally use artists for their celebrity, popularity and cultural appeal when they already know the winners and then program a show against this expectation?”

According to the official website of the Grammys, it would be impossible for anyone to know the winners of the various awards before the show, as they are delivered in sealed envelopes to the presenters by Deloitte Accounting.

The winners themselves are determined by several rounds of submission and voting, starting with a screening process where 150 “experts” ensure “that each entry is placed in its proper category.”

From there, nomination ballots are sent out. Voters are encouraged to vote only in their area of expertise in addition to the four general categories, incidentally the same categories Stoute has the most problems with: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist.

The top five vote getters from this process are listed as the official nominees. Finally, ballots are sent out with the new, limited choices to determine a winner.

Not good enough, Stoute says, believing this system is possibly ripe for being corrupted.

“The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hides behind the ‘peer’ voting system to escape culpability for not even rethinking this approach,” he writes. “You are being called to task at this very moment, NARAS.”

Representatives from NARAS have not responded to MTV’s request for comment by press time.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658385/steve-stoute-grammys-new-york-times.jhtml

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‘If time allows, there will definitely be new music,’ Robert DeLeo adds of STP’s future.
By Chris Harris

Stone Temple Pilots’ Robert DeLeo and Scott Weiland
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images

There are a number of reasons why Stone Temple Pilots decided to reunite after nearly five years apart — some are obvious, and others, not so much.

Of course, the financial windfall of reviving the grunge stalwarts for an extensive U.S. tour was too good to pass up, and bassist Robert DeLeo readily admits as much. And then there are the fans, the ones who had been with STP since the very beginning as well as those who discovered the band only after it first split back in 2003 and who, woefully, have yet to catch the Pilots live.

On a more personal level, though, Stone Temple Pilots’ resurrection was purely selfish, and very much an anticipatory (not to mention optimistic) move on the band’s part: If, after the months and months of rumors and denials, there ever is a full-on Led Zeppelin reunion tour, STP wanted to be ready to offer their services as an opening act.

“Believe me, that was one of the reasons,” laughed DeLeo. “We thought, ‘We should get together now, in case Zeppelin does tour.’ I’m serious, man. That would be one hell of a bill: STP and Led Zeppelin. I mean, we could play a doghouse, out in the middle of the ocean, and if I got to play with Zeppelin, that would be a highlight of my life.”

Yes, DeLeo — and the rest of the band — had several reservations about raising STP from the dead — a feat DeLeo jokingly referred to as “Mission Impossible.” For the band’s members, the idea of regrouping was terrifying at first, but with time, the boys settled their differences and tried to think positive.

“For me, it was about putting down some of the things that I was used to getting bitten by,” explained the bassist — who, with guitar-playing brother Dean DeLeo, has been collaborating with Peter Frampton on material for his next LP. “After you get bitten, it’s hard to go back. I wanted to go into this with an open frame of mind and a positive attitude and just have fun with it. We should have fun with it, which God knows we didn’t always have with our career when we were younger. If that’s all I can say, and that’s what I can get out of this reunion, great.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say there’s a lot of unfinished business that we didn’t get around to the first go,” he continued. “Enough time has gone by, and it feels really good to be back. I don’t really want to put too much thought into how it feels — I’m just kind of going with it and keeping a good positive attitude about it. I just needed to get over the things that we all needed to get over, and that’s been working so far. If everyone shows up and does this thing, I think it’s going to be really amazing.”

DeLeo claims that during recent rehearsals, STP were “sounding as good as ever,” and he credits sobriety as part of the reason the band’s in tip-top shape.

“My brother’s going on four years of sobriety,” he said. “We have a lot more clarity in the band now, and I think with clarity comes appreciation. I saw that the other night, when we played [a secret gig in Los Angeles]. I saw it in my eyes, and in the eyes of the rest of the band. There’s a lot more rock in this band now.”

As for an STP record, DeLeo is not 100 percent sure that’s going to happen. The goal for STP over the next few weeks, he said, is to reacquaint themselves with their songbook and prepare for their return to the road. Once the band is back in that mindset, the bassist said new STP material is very possible.

“I’ve always got stuff written, and there’s always a long list of songs that are always there — it’s a matter of timing,” DeLeo said. “If time allows, there will definitely be new music. I think it would be silly not to release new music. I’d like to believe we still have a writing relationship, but the first step is getting reacquainted with what we know.”

While STP were on hiatus, frontman Scott Weiland teamed up with Velvet Revolver, and the DeLeo brothers joined forces with Filter’s Richard Patrick for Army of Anyone — who are now on hiatus after releasing a poorly received self-titled LP. Does DeLeo foresee an AOA reunion somewhere down the line?

“You never know,” he said. “It’s just like STP — I didn’t know if I was going to return. Whether we get back together and do anything, I think we made a great record, bottom line. That’s all that matters to me. If we make another one, I want to make sure it’s great, and that applies to STP and anything I do. But I was pretty heartbroken over [the feeble response to AOA's album].”

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1586020/stone-temple-pilots-reunited-tour-with-zeppelin.jhtml

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