Museum Takes Box Office – May 22-25, 2009

Tops at the box office this weekend was "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." I wasn’t that crazy about the movie (read my review here), but it’s the only new family flick out right now, which is why I think it scored high. It wasn’t bad; just wasn’t as good as the first movie. Take a peek at the numbers from Box Office Mojo:

• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $70M
• Terminator Salvation, $53.82M
• Star Trek, $29.40M
• Angels & Demons, $27.70M
• Dance Flick, $13.10M
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine, $10.10M
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, $4.83M
• Obsessed, $2.50M
• Monsters vs. Aliens, $1.90M
• 17 Again, $1.28M

Images: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Terminator, Night at the Museum in Theaters – May 22, 2009

I saw “Terminator Salvation” yesterday and loved it. Tomorrow, it’s “Night at the Museum,” and I’ll report back with a review. Here’s what’s new in theaters this weekend:

Terminator Salvation (PG-13). Christian Bale takes on the role of John Connor, leading a group of resistance fighters against the non-stop Terminators. [Film Gecko Review] Trailer] [53 Images] [Official Site]

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (PG). When the Museum of Natural History is closed for renovations, the pieces are moved into federal storage at the Smithsonian, causing security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) to go on a rescue mission for Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan). Also being shown in IMAX theaters. [Preview and Shawn Levy Interview] [Official Site]

Dance Flick (PG-13). It’s a “Scary Movie”-type flick, only parodying dance movies like “Step Up,” “You Got Served,” and “Flashdance,” with the Damon Wayans, Jr. treatment. [Official Site]

Opening in limited release: The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story, Burma VJ, The Brothers Bloom (expands), Easy Virtue, The Girlfriend Experience

Image: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Terminator Salvation Review – Explosive Mix of Old and New

Movie: Terminator Salvation * Trailer * 53 Images * Official Site	In Theaters: May 21, 2009
Runtime: 130 minutes	Directed by: McG
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language.	Gecko Rating:

I love sequels that bring in lots of references from the preceding movies. “Terminator Salvation” does that, especially from the very first movie, “The Terminator.” 

You remember the story: Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor meets Kyle Reese, who was sent back from the future to keep her safe from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big, bad Terminator. In the process, Sarah and Kyle grow close, and she gets pregnant with John Connor, who later becomes the leader of the resistance movement against the machines and Skynet. John is also the one who sent Kyle back to protect Sarah – so that he could be born.

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Terminator Salvation Videos: Moon Bloodgood, Christian Bale, and Animatronics

“Terminator Salvation” hits theaters Thursday, May 21, 2009 (today!). And it’s definitely one of the most anticipated movies of 2009. HitFix.com has a bunch of cool videos of interviews and behind-the-scenes stuff. I’ve included a few below. I always expect Christian Bale to haul off and hit someone. That’s bad typecasting on my part, but you’ve gotta admit, he does seem pretty intense. Are you super-psyched for this movie?

Christian Bale:

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Christian Bale, Sam Worthington at the L.A. Premiere of Terminator Salvation

"Terminator Salvation" hits theaters next Friday, May 21, 2009, but the stars came out in full force at the red carpet premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday. Hollyscoop.com caught up with Christian Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dan Lin, Sam Worthington, and Tyrese Gibson.

Also check out these Film Gecko links: Interview with Michael Papajohn, 53 images, 4-minute trailer, 3rd official trailer.

Exclusive: Interview with Michael Papajohn of Terminator Salvation and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Michael Papajohn is one of the hardest working guys in Hollywood, but his road to Tinseltown actually started on the college sports fields. When a stunt job landed in his path, it changed his life forever.

Read on to learn more about Papajohn’s pivotal role in helping Peter Parker become Spider-Man, what it’s like to duke it out with Bruce Willis, and his roles in some of the hottest movies this year, including “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Land of the Lost,” “G-Force,” and “Old Dogs.” Oh, and why he just might have to kill me!

Jane: You were drafted by the Texas Rangers in 1985, but chose instead to attend Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship, playing starting center-fielder on the first LSU team to go to the College World Series in 1986 and 1987. What was it like going from the world of sports to the world of film and TV, doing stunts and acting? “Long strange trip” keeps popping into my head, but you’ve really had an awesome, interesting career.

Michael: I remember when I would make a great defensive play or have a great at bat in baseball, I would get a high. Then when I had an opportunity to do stunts, I got that same high on the set. When I had my first acting class, I was in a scene and the situation my character was in felt so real to me, and I got the same high. Right then, I knew I wanted to be an actor.

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53 Images from Terminator Salvation

“Terminator Salvation” hits theaters Thursday, May 21, 2009, and Warner Bros. has released a bunch of cool images from the movie, which continues the saga of John Connor’s (Christian Bale) war against the robots. Go here for a 4-minute extended trailer and synopsis. Looking forward to this one!

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New 4-minute trailer for Terminator Salvation

“Terminator Salvation” opens May 21, 2009, and Warner Bros. is ramping up the promotional stuff big-time. They’ve just released this 4-minute trailer, and it looks pretty awesome. Maybe having Christian Bale force a rewrite of the script wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Watch the trailer (thanks to FilmDrunk), and after the jump, read the official synopsis from Warner Bros.

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Christian Bale forced rewrite of Terminator Salvation

Well, geez, talk about being too big for your britches. Apparently, when director McG (a.k.a. Joseph McGinty Nichol) went to England to convince Christian Bale to play Marcus Wright in "Terminator Salvation," the actor said he wanted to play John Connor instead.

While Connor was the main character in the first three "Terminator" movies, he was only supposed to have a small part in the fourth "Terminator" film, due in theaters May 21, 2009 (watch the trailer here). Instead, Connor became a central character. McG says the script became a "moving target," and he worked extensively with Bale to work the character into the movie.

"A lot of the work was integrating (Connor) into scenes … and having that feel integral and sensible, as opposed to grafted on just because there was a star in the part," says screenwriter John Brancato.

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Dwayne Johnson cast in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Tough guy with a heart-of-gold Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is continuing his association with Disney by being the first actor cast in the reboot of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Directed by McG and produced by Sam Raimi, it’s set for a 2010 release.

Hmmm, interesting because I read earlier this year that Will Smith was in contention for the movie. Seeing as there are two main leads – Captain Nemo and Ned Land – there’s still room for Smith in there. We don’t know which role Johnson has, but it seems like maybe he’d be Land and, if cast, Smith would be Nemo…? Any predictions there?

The plot, as unveiled by Disney: "A fugitive whaler teams up with a naturalist, a mysterious woman, and a captain of a futuristic submarine, to search for a lost underwater civilization that holds libraries of vast knowledge and a weapon with the power to destroy mankind."

And way to go, McG! From "Terminator Salvation" to "20,000 Leagues" … I’m sure he can use a little lighter fare after the intensity of "Terminator."

Image: PR Photos