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'A Most Violent Year' Is A Gripping Take On The American Dream

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"A Most Violent Year" may be slow, but it's never dull. With his third feature, J.C. Chandor has crafted a beautiful, subtle film that functions both as an absorbing drama and a thoughtful examination of the adage "desperate times call for desperate measures."

The film is quite deliberately set in New York City, 1981, allegedly the most brutal year on record for violent crimes in the city. It follows Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac doing his best "Young Al Pacino" impression) and his wife Anna (Jessica Chastain, who is excellent but mostly relegated to the sideline here) through the toughest month of their lives.

Abel is a budding entrepreneur and the owner of a heating oil company, and the film opens with Abel striking a lucrative deal for a property that has the power to take his business to the next level. The deal, however, is contingent on Abel coming up with the $1.5 million in 30 days, which may not have been a problem at a different time but is a huge threat now considering Abel's drivers are getting robbed like clockwork and the city's DA is actively bringing charges against his business for corrupt practices. 

While Abel isn't exactly innocent, he's a truly honorable man doing the best the can. His wife is a gangster's daughter, and ever since Abel took over the company from her corrupt family, the DA can't seem to keep his nose out of their operation. Abel's philosophy, as he so deftly puts it, is that "the result is never in question, just the path you take to get there."

Abel believes there are always two paths that lead to the same result, and one of those paths is "most right." Despite his wife's insistence to continue cooking the books (she has an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality regarding organized crime), Abel is resolute in making it to the top of his industry through his own hard work and determination. Despite the constant hardships thrown his way, Abel consistently does all he can to excel and be successful.

a most violent year 2The film's brutally honest take on the American Dream is refreshing and thought-provoking. The audience is asked to mediate on what it takes to become a success and question how big a role corruption and compromise play in the matter. The film's grimly twisted finale is pure cinema at its finest — it's scary, exciting, and engaging but also intellectually stimulating. 

The performances in the film are all top-notch, and Oscar Isaac turns in his second Award-worthy performance in two years. He may have been royally snubbed at last year's Academy Awards, but his performance in the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" is about as good as it gets. His take on Abel in "A Most Violent Year" is the polar opposite of Llewyn — the man has some serious range.

What's so exciting about the role is how gradually his true character is revealed; we are never quite sure what Abel is capable of so each scene drips with dramatic tension. As the story progresses, we learn more about his values, and by the end of the picture, we have watched him blossom and become fully realized. When given a chance, Chastain is a scene stealer, but she simply doesn't have enough to do here. The legendary Albert Brooks (who was terrific in 2011's "Drive") shines in an almost unrecognizable turn as Abel's lawyer. 

Besides the stellar performances, the photography, editing, and meticulous pacing help make the film incredibly efficient. The period look and costume design mesh perfectly with the cinematography, and Chandor has proven yet again that he is a top-notch director and really makes every shot count.

a most violent year 1There are a couple of suspenseful action sequences thrown in the mix that should be totally jarring in context but are so masterfully handled that they work. There's an emotional depth attached to the action, as the audience is pulling for Abel and wants him to succeed, which makes the scenes that much more impactful.

While it definitely features some of the best performances of the year, the film itself feels too understated and not flashy enough (think "The Master" and "Inside Llewyn Davis") to garner any serious attention from the Academy. It will likely get the performance nominations, but not much else. That being said, "A Most Violent Year" is so rich and deeply layered that it will receive plenty of rave reviews and stand the test of time. 

Watch the trailer below.

SEE ALSO: Jake Gyllenhaal Goes Psycho In His Dark New Movie 'Nightcrawler'

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Michael Douglas Has Been Using The Same Stunt Double For 26 Years

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Michael Douglas finished filming Marvel's upcoming superhero movie "Ant-Man" over the weekend. 

To celebrate, the actor shared a few photos of himself with his long-time stunt double, Mike Runyard, from throughout their career together. According to Douglas, Runyard has been his stuntman for 26 years. 

In that time, the two have become close friends and even golfing partners.

Take a look at their similar side-by-side photos from throughout the years.

Here are Douglas and Runyard on the set of next summer's "Ant-Man."

michael douglas mike runyard ant man

Runyard and Douglas are face-to-face on set of Ridley Scott's 1989 movie, "Black Rain."

michael douglas stunt double

Finally, here are the two in 1997's "The Game."mike runyard michael douglas black rain

SEE ALSO: Marvel showed footage for "Ant-Man" and "The Avengers" sequel at New York Comic Con and fans loved it

AND: The most sought-after stunt doubles in Hollywood

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'Dumb And Dumber' Sequel Has Huge Opening Weekend

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carrey daniels dumb and dumber toPoor reviews didn't mean anything for the "Dumb and Dumber" sequel.

"Dumb and Dumber To," which reunited original stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels 20 years later after the 1994 hit, made an estimated $38 million worldwide.

The Universal movie's budget was a reported $35 million, according to Deadline.

The original film made over $247 million worldwide after its theatrical run.

Disney's "Big Hero 6" came close to taking the top spot at the box office again. The animated picture made $36 million in its second weekend. The film has now made over $148 million in theaters.

Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" rounded out the top three with $29 million in week two . The sci-fi thriller is a big hit overseas. "Interstellar" has already made $321 million worldwide.

SEE ALSO: Jim Carrey was paid 140 times more than Jeff Daniels for original "Dumb and Dumber"

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Read The Letter That Landed Donald Sutherland His Role In 'The Hunger Games'

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donald sutherland the hunger games

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part I" is in theaters this Friday.

Lionsgate's successful franchise based on the best-selling dystopian book series pits Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) against President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland).

However, we could have had very a different movie.

Ahead of the sequel's release, Sutherland told GQ he was never offered the role of the film's callous, collected president. 

Instead, he received the part after reading the series and writing an impassioned three-page letter to director Gary Ross about the character.

Via GQ:

Nobody asked me to do it. I wasn't offered it. I like to read scripts, and it captured my passion. I wrote them a letter. The role of the president had maybe a line in the script. Maybe two. Didn't make any difference. I thought it was an incredibly important film, and I wanted to be a part of it. I thought it could wake up an electorate that had been dormant since the '70s. I hadn't read the books. To be truthful, I was unaware of them. But they showed my letter to the director, Gary Ross, and he thought it'd be a good idea if I did it. He wrote those wonderfully poetic scenes in the rose garden, and they formed the mind and wit of Coriolanus Snow.

The letter, which was written in the form of an email, was made available for fans on the 2012 DVD release of "The Hunger Games" in a segment titled "Letters from the Rose Garden."

It included a discussion on power, Ted Bundy, and the elements of Snow that Sutherland saw as most vital to the film. 

Because the novel is written from Katniss' first-person view, there isn't an opportunity to see anything from the perspective of Snow or his home, the Capitol. Sutherland pointed out the film offered such an opportunity, and Ross agreed. 

donald sutherland hunger games

Ross' response to the letter inspired three scenes of Snow in his rose gardens during the games.

"That's the relationship you want from an actor and director, where it's a give and take," Ross said on the DVD. "It's collaborative, it's one person offering something to the other who then takes it, extrapolates it, runs with it, give it back to the actor who gives the scene back to me … that's the way filmmaking works best." 

Read Sutherland's letter to Ross in full below:  

Dear Gary Ross: 

Power. That's what this is about? Yes? Power and the forces that are manipulated by the powerful men and bureaucracies trying to maintain control and possession of that power? 

Power perpetrates war and oppression to maintain itself until it finally topples over with the bureaucratic weight of itself and sinks into the pages of history (except in Texas), leaving lessons that need to be learned unlearned.  

Power corrupts, and, in many cases, absolute power makes you really horny. Clinton, Chirac, Mao, Mitterrand. 

Not so, I think, with Coriolanus Snow. His obsession, his passion, is his rose garden. There's a rose named Sterling Silver that's lilac in colour with the most extraordinarily powerful fragrance — incredibly beautiful — I loved it in the seventies when it first appeared. They've made a lot of off shoots of it since then.  

I didn't want to write to you until I'd read the trilogy and now I have so: roses are of great importance. And Coriolanus's eyes. And his smile. Those three elements are vibrant and vital in Snow. Everything else is, by and large, perfectly still and ruthlessly contained. What delight she [Katniss] gives him. He knows her so perfectly. Nothing, absolutely nothing, surprises him. He sees and understands everything. He was, quite probably, a brilliant man who's succumbed to the siren song of power. 

How will you dramatize the interior narrative running in Katniss's head that describes and consistently updates her relationship with the President who is ubiquitous in her mind? With omniscient calm he knows her perfectly. She knows he does and she knows that he will go to any necessary end to maintain his power because she knows that he believes that she's a real threat to his fragile hold on his control of that power. She's more dangerous than Joan of Arc. 

Her interior dialogue/monologue defines Snow. It's that old theatrical turnip: you can't 'play' a king, you need everybody else on stage saying to each other, and therefore to the audience, stuff like "There goes the King, isn't he a piece of work, how evil, how lovely, how benevolent, how cruel, how brilliant he is!" The idea of him, the definition of him, the audience's perception of him, is primarily instilled by the observations of others and once that idea is set, the audience's view of the character is pretty much unyielding. And in Snow's case, that definition, of course, comes from Katniss. 

Evil looks like our understanding of the history of the men we're looking at. It's not what we see: it's what we've been led to believe. Simple as that. Look at the face of Ted Bundy before you knew what he did and after you knew.  

Snow doesn't look evil to the people in Panem's Capitol. Bundy didn't look evil to those girls. My wife and I were driving through Colorado when he escaped from jail there. The car radio's warning was constant. 'Don't pick up any young men. The escapee looks like the nicest young man imaginable'. Snow's evil shows up in the form of the complacently confident threat that's ever present in his eyes. His resolute stillness. Have you seen a film I did years ago? 'The Eye of the Needle'. That fellow had some of what I'm looking for.

The woman who lived up the street from us in Brentwood came over to ask my wife a question when my wife was dropping the kids off at school. This woman and her husband had seen that movie the night before and what she wanted to know was how my wife could live with anyone who could play such an evil man. It made for an amusing dinner or two but part of my wife's still wondering.

I'd love to speak with you whenever you have a chance so I can be on the same page with you.

They all end up the same way. Welcome to Florida, have a nice day!

SEE ALSO: Check Out A Trailer For "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" Sequel

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There's A Must-See End-Credits Scene After 'Big Hero 6' And No One Seems To Know

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Warning: If you haven't seen "Big Hero 6," there are spoilers ahead.

If you've seen Disney's latest animated picture "Big Hero 6," you most likely missed out on one of the best parts of the film without even knowing it.

There's an end-credits scene following the movie featuring a big cameo, but barely anyone seems to know to stick around for it. 

By now, Marvel fans know that any of Disney and Marvel's superhero movies have an end-creditsscene hinting at future sequels. But since this was an animated Marvel movie from Disney Animation, it wasn't clear whether or not there would be an additional scene afterward.

If you left the theater early, here's what you missed...

Last chance to head back before spoilers!

What Happens

fred big hero 6

Parents may have noticed early on in the film that when Fred (T.J. Miller) walks his friends through his home, he stops at a family portrait showing his parents. Staring us straight in the face is an animated Stan Lee!

That wasn't where the cameo ended. 

After the credits, we see Fred return to the portrait, wishing his parents were around more. As he leans on the picture, he reveals a secret passageway. Inside is what looks like a superhero lair filled with costumes and gadgets. 

Stan Lee then appears and tells Fred they have a lot to discuss.

What it means for a "Big Hero 6" sequel

The end-credits sequence plays out a lot like the scene from "Spider-Man 2" where Harry Osborn (James Franco) discovers his father (Willem Dafoe) is the Green Goblin.

In "Big Hero 6," it looks like Stan the Man and his son may combine forces to be a superhero team. We'll have to wait and see whether or not that actually happens.

During a panel discussion and screening of the film in Beverly Hills, the directors discussed how only a handful of people knew about the cameo.

Via InsidetheMagic.net:

“We kept that a secret from everyone involved in the production, except for a very small team sworn to secrecy,” said producer Ray Conli. 

Cinemablend has a bit more on how the scene came together from a discussion with co-director Don Hall: 

The writers, Dan Gerson and Rob Baird, came to us one day with a pitch about ‘Hey, what if Fred was rich? But nobody knew it.’ You know, he comes off as this kind of slacker dude and his underwear thing and all that. He's kind of this gross guy, but appealing. What if we found out he was super, super rich? We all thought that was a super funny idea. Then it felt like, ‘Oh, what if…’ and then we started from that. It's like, ‘What if his dad closely resembled Stan Lee?’ It felt like we could kind of weave that in there, and get a little humor, a little wink to Stan Lee out of that."

SEE ALSO: Read the letter that landed Donald Sutherland his role in "The Hunger Games"

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Composer Hans Zimmer Speaks Out Against 'Interstellar' Sound Critics

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interstellar matthew mcconaughey cooperSince the release of "Interstellar" in theaters, some viewers have expressed concerns over possible sound-mixing issues during showings of the movie.

/Film collected a number of critics and fans around the world who claimed their showings included muddled audio and overpowering music that drowned out dialogue at points in the film. 

In response to viewer complaints, a theater in upstate New York posted a sign on its door clarifying there were no issues with the theater’s sound equipment and that director Christopher Nolan “mixed the soundtrack with an emphasis on the music.”

christopher nolan hans zimmer

During Saturday's press day for "Interstellar," we asked the film's composer Hans Zimmer about his reaction to sound complaints. The film is the composer's fifth collaboration with Nolan after "The Dark Knight" trilogy and 2010's "Inception."

"We tried to push the boundaries," Zimmer told Business Insider. "[Nolan and I] were getting the same sort of comments on 'Inception'” says Zimmer. "'Inception' was really incomprehensible to a large amount of people and the size of 'Inception,' or the ideas and the underlying metaphors were really incomprehensible."

Zimmer recalled something he told Nolan while working on that soundtrack:

"Pretend the music is a river and the audience is on this boat and it’s going to go down this river and the river is going to go inevitably. There’s no stopping it. Sometimes it’s going to get a little bumpy and sometimes it’s going to get a little incomprehensible, but what I want to do is I want to take you on a journey. I want to take you on a journey that you haven’t been on. And, I want to take you on an adventure. And it’s not a science class. These days we’re being fed nothing but information, but emotionally, i think we get less and less experience in anything because … everything is so cleaned up and we’re losing the edge … the mystery of things." 

Similarly, Zimmer says both he and Nolan wanted to take audiences on a journey on the big screen with "Interstellar." 

"We want it to be bold. We were aiming for the best sound systems," said Zimmer. "And, yes, it was really important for me that people wouldn’t hear this music detached from the movie for the first time on their little computer speaker because that’s not what it was designed for."

"I want to go and write music that announces to you that you can feel something. I don’t want to tell you what to feel, but I just want you to have the possibility of feeling something."— Hans Zimmer, composer

"Of course, now, suddenly there is a story that some people couldn’t understand the words [of 'Interstellar']," added Zimmer. "When I go and see a great opera I usually can’t understand the words anyway but I’m still on this amazing emotional journey. What I’m interested in ultimately is quite simply this: I want to go and write music that announces to you that you can feel something. I don’t want to tell you what to feel, but I just want you to have the possibility of feeling something. What you feel is what you bring to it. I want you be a co-conspirator in the music, and in a funny way, a co-creator in it." 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan broke his silence on the film's sound saying it's "exactly as he intended." Nolan emphasized Zimmer's points about the marriage of the film’s picture and sound coming together to create a bold adventure.  

"Many of the filmmakers I’ve admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways," Nolan told THR. "I don’t agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue. Clarity of story, clarity of emotions — I try to achieve that in a very layered way using all the different things at my disposal — picture and sound."

"The idea is to experience the journey the character is going on," he said. "[For instance] the experience of being in the cockpit is you hear the creaking [of the spacecraft]; it’s a very scary sound. We wanted to be true to the experience of space travel. We wanted to emphasize those intimate elements."

"We mixed for months and months and we talked about everything," Nolan added. "We must have mixed this film over six months. It was a continuous, organic process and discussion."

More "Interstellar": The only way you should see the movie

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Interstellar"

AND: This extremely detailed graphic will explain everything you need to know about "Interstellar"

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If You Like 'Fast and Furious' Movies, Get Ready For 3 More

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Fast And Furious 7 Poster

Filming of the seventh installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise, Furious 7, recently wrapped up and its first trailer released, but already there’s talk of the franchise being expanded with even more movies.

Recently, rumors emerged that director Justin Lin, who worked on movies three through six, could end up returning to the franchise to film its final installments.

Now, a Universal Studios executive has confirmed that more Fast and the Furious movies might be filmed.

During a recent roundtable interview held by The Hollywood Reporter, Universal boss Donna Langley said at least three more movies were possible when asked about the future of the franchise without the late Paul Walker, who played the character Brian O'Conner.

“We think there's at least three more,” Langley said. “Paul is, and always will be, an integral part of the story but there are many other great characters, and it's also an opportunity to introduce new characters.”

Langley went on to reveal that she thought the franchise was still growing and that the potential for any future movies hinges on what happens with Furious 7. However, she also said that the studio is cautious of potential “fatigue” of the franchise.

While fans are likely to salivate at the thought of more movies, the comment about introducing new characters is somewhat worrisome; let’s just hope we don’t have another Tokyo Drift coming down the line.

Furious 7 opens in theaters April 3, 2015.

SEE ALSO: The First 5 Cars From 'Fast And Furious 7' Are Revealed

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'Mockingjay' Is The Darkest 'Hunger Games' Movie Yet

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jennifer lawrence hunger games mockingjayWarning: There are some minor spoilers ahead.

From the moment Jennifer Lawrence enters on screen as a screaming, trembling, and traumatized Katniss Everdeen, you know you're in for a different “Hunger Games” movie than the previous two installments. 

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part I” is the darkest and grittiest of the four part series from best-selling author Suzanne Collins. 

Gone are the games that pitted tributes from 12 districts against each other in a battle royale to the death in the first two films.  

Death and sacrifice are front and center in the third film as Katniss sets out to lead the people of Panem in a revolution against the country’s capitol and its leader, President Snow, played by the captivating Donald Sutherland.

Since the last movie, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been captured by the Capitol and is being used as a tool by Snow to unnerve Katniss.

the hunger games peeta mellark

There’s not much to be happy about in “Mockingjay,” which shouldn’t come as a surprise if you’ve read the book (it’s pretty depressing). 

Much of the film plays out in District 13, a secret underground bunker revealed in last year’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” that’s led by President Coin (Julianne Moore). 

Unlike the previous two films, “Mockingjay” doesn’t have a whole lot of action. Katniss fires off only one arrow throughout the film from her now iconic bow.  

katniss gale hunger games mockingjay

Readers of the book will anticipate this. Most of the time on screen is spent watching Katniss make propaganda videos as the symbol of the rebellion, The Mockingjay. 

katniss natalie dormer hunger games mockinjay part 1

Instead, the sequel is a giant exercise in setting up the big finale. It’s something that has become typical of big franchise movies that have their last installments split over the course of two films. In that respect, “Mockingjay - Part I” feels a lot like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.” 

That’s not to say the film doesn’t do a good job.  

Lawrence is the heart and soul of the film. This franchise would be nothing without her domineering presence. Her character goes back and forth between powerful, authoritative, and fearless “girl on fire” one minute to ravaged soul the next as she battles with PTSD from the games. It’s an incredible range to watch on screen. 

katniss everdeen hunger games mockingjayjennifer lawrence rose katniss hunger games mockingjay

The other great on screen performance belongs to Sutherland. As the ruthless, conniving head of Panem, he easily steals every scene he’s in. The film’s antagonist at his finest when dishing both advice and warnings to Everdeen in a condescending manner.  

donald sutherland hunger games

Philip Seymour Hoffman also needs to be recognized. The late actor plays off of Lawrence so effortlessly that a wry smile near the film’s beginning comes off as a genuine reaction to the actress’s fiery remarks. One of the few moments of humor in the film occurs between the two as he directs Everdeen in her first piece of propaganda for the rebellion. 

plutarch phillip seymour hoffman the hunger games mockingjay part 1

However, “Mockingjay" has such a huge cast of characters that many of them are rotated through so quickly that you never get enough screen time with most of them. That goes for Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Finnick (Sam Claflin), too.  

Elizabeth Banks is one of the film's only bright spots in the form of comic relief. As Katniss’s escort Effie Trinket in the first two films, we’re used to seeing her character adorned in wild wigs and lavish outfits like this:

hunger games catching fire trailer

And this:

elizabeth banks hunger games catching fire

Stripped of her lavish lifestyle, we watch as she struggles to settle into life outside the Capitol as a “political refugee,” condemned to a life of jumpsuits. It’s hilarious and refreshing since she’s barely in the final book.  

effie trinket elizabeth banks the hunger games mockingjay part 1

And this is one of the reasons “The Hunger Games” is probably one of the best book adaptations to screen. It dares to stray from the story in a way that expands upon its source material. The three novels are only given to readers from Katniss’s perspective. In “Mockingjay,” we see firsthand how other districts deal in their own ways with the rebellion. We see how President Snow interacts with members of the Capitol and with Katniss. It all makes for a more engaging film than what many refer to as the worstbook in the series. 

A few scenes that stick out include Katniss’s heartbreaking return to her home and a rising from a group of singing rebels fighting for freedom. 

However, the best part of the two-hour movie doesn’t come until the very end, after a wanna-be slightly cheesy “Mission Impossible”-like operation takes place *spoiler* to save Peeta and other victors including last year’s fan favorite Johanna (Jena Malone). (You’ll remember her as the actress who stripped naked in the elevator in “Catching Fire.”) *spoiler* 

A huge twist, that I won’t spoil here, lays the foundation for what will play a huge part in next fall’s big finale. Fans of the series know the twist. They’ve been waiting years to see it on screen. However, they’ll be upset the film cuts to black right when it starts to get really juicy, leaving viewers wanting more.  

For the record, the film does split the 398-page “Mockingjay” book in half pretty evenly. Since the film moves pretty slowly that was one of our main concerns. We were then reminded afterward that the first half of all “The Hunger Games” books are pure set up.  

And at the end of the day, that’s what “Mockingjay - Part 1” is, a total teaser for the final installment due out next year. It will make tons of money for Lionsgate, probably break a few box-office records, and will undoubtedly be one of the years highest-grossing films, if not the highest-grossing of 2014 (it has to beat out Michael Bay’s $1 billion “Transformers”). 

Stick around through some of the credits, not for an additional scene, but Lorde’s music which is one of the best parts of the movie. You wish there was more of it throughout the film. 

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I" is in theaters Friday, Nov. 21.

Watch the trailer: 

SEE ALSO: Read the letter that landed Donald Sutherland his role in "The Hunger Games"

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Composer Hans Zimmer: 'The Music Industry Has Run Itself Into The Ground'

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hans zimmer Earlier this month, the debate on whether musicians benefit from streaming services was revisited after Taylor Swift's record label pulled all of her music from Spotify

Since then, Spotify and Swift's label have gone back and forth disputing the actual royalties received by the streaming service. (Spotify says Swift's label received $2 million from the artist's streamed songs in the past year. The label says it was actually $500,000.)

If anyone's going to pull their content off of Spotify, it certainly doesn't hurt Swift to do so. 

Her latest album "1989" generated more than $10 million in sales in its first week after selling more than 1.2 million copies. She's the only artist whose last three albums have sold more than one million copies in their debut week.

Over the weekend, during a press day for “Interstellar,” we asked Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer his thoughts on the Taylor Swift / Spotify ordeal.  

His response included a passionate critique of the music industry, in which he told Business Insider music shouldn’t be free and came to the defense of Taylor Swift and musicians in general.

Zimmer explained to Business Insider:

I think Taylor Swift, and really honestly, I haven’t quite been following it — I've been a little busy — but my point on the whole thing is, you know, it’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, those rich musicians. Their music should be free or whatever.'

It shouldn’t be free. It’s their livelihood. It’s their job. And I’m not talking about the rich musicians. Anybody should have the chance to as their dream say, ‘I want to become a musician and I want to make a living at it.’ You know? And why shouldn’t they be afforded a living? It’s a great big world and if there are millions of people listening to your music and enjoying it and getting something out of it then it’s not a hobby, it’s work.

The composer also explained the importance of original orchestral music:

It’s absolutely ridiculous. Look, one of my big things in life is, I like using real orchestras. I like supporting real orchestras. The way the music industry has run itself into the ground ... you know the last place on Earth that really on a daily basis commissions orchestral music is Hollywood. Whatever horrible things you want to say about Hollywood — which are all true — you can’t take away this idea that it’s the last place on Earth that actually supports orchestral music. And I think, it’s just a thought I have, you know, if we lose the orchestra it’s not just about these musicians and their families and their livelihood. You know the loss of the orchestra would be such a rift in our … such a tear into our culture. We as humanity would lose a lot more.

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Disney Has Been Hiding A Secret Message In Its Movies For Years

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Woody, Toy Story, number

Pixar has been known for its Easter eggs — hidden messages in films — but one of its best has to do with A113.

A video on Disney Pixar's YouTube page shows A113 can be found in almost all of Pixar's films, from "Toy Story" to "Finding Nemo."

What does it mean?

Pixar's John Lasseter has explained A113 is the number of the animation classroom at the California Institute of the Arts.

Many animators like Lasseter attended school there, and by including the number they are giving a subtle shoutout to their alma mater.

The number has been used for many different things in Pixar films, such as Andy's mom's license plate in 1995's "Toy Story."

Woody, Toy Story, number

It was on a camera in 2003's "Finding Nemo."

finding nemo, number

A113 is the number of a train in 2006's "Cars."

train, cars, number

It can also be found on a box that Flik walks by in 1998's "A Bug's Life."

a bugs life, number

Here's Sully from 2013's "Monsters University" entering a classroom whose number is A113.

monsters university sulley

However, Pixar films aren't the only ones to hide the number in plain sight. Here's Tiana from Disney's 2009 "The Princess and the Frog" jumping on a trolley car marked A113.

Princess and the frog, number

"The Simpsons" used it for Bart Simpson's mug shot.

the simpsons, number

It even shows up on a door in 1987's "The Brave Little Toaster."Joe Ranft, who went on to work on Pixar movies including "Toy Story,""A Bug's Life," and "Monsters, Inc.," and Dan Haskett, a character designer on "Toy Story," worked on the film.

the brave little toaster

You can also notice the number on a chewed-up vehicle in Warner Bros.' 1999 movie "The Iron Giant." The director, Brad Bird, later made Pixar hit "The Incredibles."the iron giant a113

Even live-action films like 2012's "The Avengers" had a file labeled A113.

the avengers, number

Finally, here's a photo of Lasseter and Pixar animators Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter standing outside the famed classroom:

Pixar animators

Frank Palotta contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: How Napkin Sketches During A Pixar Lunch Meeting Led To Four Of The Studio's Greatest Movies

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Oscar-Winning Director Mike Nichols' 5 Most Memorable Movies

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NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Nichols was a master of self-satire, a man of wealth and education and connections for whom his best targets were those of wealth, education and connections, from the vapid Californians of "The Graduate" to the military brass of "Catch-22."

Here are highlights from the long film career of Nichols, who died Wednesday at age 83:

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966)

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.JPG

Nichols was already a top stage director when he made a spectacular film debut by adapting Edward Albee's play about the bickering, self-loathing spouses George (a history professor) and Martha (daughter of the college president). Filmed in claustrophobic black and white, winner of five Academy Awards, it featured the world's most glamorous couple, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, very unglamorous and almost unrecognizable — he in glasses and an old sweater, she in a knotty wig and dull, unflattering dresses and blouses. The film was highly profane and sexually explicit for its time, and was among the first releases that barred attendees under 18 who were unaccompanied by an adult.

"The Graduate" (1967)

The Graduate

The movie which brought Nichols his lone directing Oscar, a touchstone for the 1960s that somehow never mentioned Vietnam, civil rights or any issues beyond a general scorn for money, authority and Southern California. "The Graduate" starred Dustin Hoffman, in his breakthrough role, as the aimless, awkward Benjamin Braddock and his disastrous affair with family friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). Many who saw it once, saw it again, and again, and savored the jump-cuts, the Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack and such catchphrases as "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?", spoken by Hoffman, who (in an iconic shot) appears in the back of the frame, dwarfed by the looming close-up of Bancroft's bent, exposed leg.

"Working Girl" (1988)

Working Girl

The rich — at least the unscrupulous rich — get theirs in Nichols' popular fairy tale about a young secretary (Melanie Griffith, in her most famous role); the financial executive who deceives her (Sigourney Weaver) and the executive (Harrison Ford) who Griffith wins over. Few could forget the voluptuous, baby-faced Griffith, in her low-cut dress, uttering her come-on to Ford: "I have a head for business and a bod for sin."___

"Birdcage" (1996)

Birdcage

In the 1990s, Nichols began working again with his old stage partner, Elaine May, whose screenplay brought a sense of energy and wit that had been missing for several years. The adaptation of the great French farce "La Cage Aux Folles" featured Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple and, best of all, Gene Hackman as the uptight prospective father-in-law to Williams' son.

"Primary Colors" (1998)

Primary Colors

Another Nichols-May collaboration, this one based on Joe Klein's roman a clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. John Travolta starred as the Clinton stand-in, Gov. Jack Stanton; Emma Thompson played his wife, Susan, modeled after Hillary Clinton. May's screenplay shifted gracefully, movingly from political satire to tragedy as the Stantons' hired gun (Kathy Bates) confronts the price of helping such a gifted but unprincipled man.

Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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You Need To See 'The Imitation Game' If You Care At All About Technology

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the imitation game benedict cumberbatch

Movies about mathematicians are rare, the problem being that the real action is all in the head. At first sight, maths doesn't quite have the cinematic potential of a car chase or a romantic love story.

But The Imitation Game has approached it head on. The remarkable thing about the story it tells is that it is not just about the maths, that scarily incomprehensible abstraction.

It is a story so bizarre and intensely moving, you'd have trouble inventing it.

In 1936 a 24-year-old mathematician called Alan Turing wrote a paper on computable numbers. This paper contained something we now call "the Universal Turing Machine".

When working at Bletchley Park in World War II, the machine that Turing designed to crack the supposedly unbreakable German Enigma code: the Turing-Welchman Bombe, was a primitive prototype of the machine he imagined, and of the modern computer. It was not yet "universal", but it helped the Bletchley Park heroes – almost 10,000 of them – shorten World War II by at least two years.

This is the story at the centre of The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. It's a film that might finally be making Turing the household name he should be.

Imitation

Director Morten Tyldum set himself a hard task. There's the double hurdle of accurately portraying somebody's life, as well as making some sense of the mathematics at the heart of the film; to make it understandable, as well as doing it justice.

It is the scriptwriter Graham Moore who made the director's task doable. A degree of creative license is essential when making a film that is at once a biopic, an exploration of a key moment of history – and also has complex maths and computing at its heart. And so unsurprisingly, The Imitation Game is already being computed quite differently by individual movie goers and critics.

You might expect me, as a mathematician and Turing champion, to be its harshest critic. But actually it was Turing's mathematics that helped me understand and appreciate what the film makers are doing. Turing's mathematics splits information into increasing levels of complexity. This is mirrored in the case of the film where some historical details are added or changed to help us, the viewers, have more insight into the real story.

So for me, the beauty of the thing is that this kind of imitation is at the root of Graham Moore's fantastic script. It is present both in Turing's scientific focus and in his life as a gay man on "the autistic spectrum"– the latter nicely described by Morten Tyldum as "thinking different". For living and working mathematicians, it is the "neuro-typicals" who are "different".

This is beautifully shown in a moving scene in which Turing gives his team some apples after having been advised by Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) that they are more likely to help him in his plan if they like him. This is just part of Alan's personal imitation game.

This and more makes the film fabulously engrossing, a wonderful creative imitation of the world of Turing that we have left behind us. The brilliant creative team – director, score composer, and some wonderful actors – have astutely accepted that Turing's mentality has to be at the very centre of the film. The result is a youthful and creative engagement with the Turing story.

Alan TuringWhat didn't happen

There is a need for boldness when dramatising the hidden inner reality of Turing's amazing mental engagement with the machine and its meaning. To achieve this, the film imports various figures and elements into the story that don't quite fit the history. Soviet spy John Cairncross is teleported from a quite different hut into Turing's decrypting team at Bletchley Park, for example, something Turing historian Andrew Hodges has questioned publicly.

To me this made good sense. Using this dramatic device our appreciation of the sheer complexity, pain, and incomputability of the imitation game – and its necessity in wartime Europe – is enriched. Another example is the seeming arrogance and socially abrasiveness of Turing in some scenes; this time dramatically reflecting the undoubted isolating role of originality of thinking and mathematical rationality.

Did Alan ever give his team apples after being advised on the usefulness of being liked? Of course not, but it's a beautiful and truthful moment in the film. Our amusement is affectionate and – as Graham Moore will have intended – complex. Did Alan ever have a replica of the Bletchley Park Bombe in his final years in the house in Wilmslow, obsessed with the mysteries of the machine called Christopher? Obviously not. But he was busy probing other mysteries (something called morphogenesis), and was sad and isolated. And so that scene is a small but dramatically potent adjustment, one of the most poignant and complex moments of this moving and thought-provoking film.

It was not until a second viewing that I was fully adjusted to these shifts and additions. I just knew too much. I started out wanting an enormous amount of detail – like that present in the Andrew Hodges's biography, the inspiration for the film. And I wanted detail explained of the wide spectrum of scientific areas Turing brought his genius to.

But what eventually took hold, powerfully, was the depiction of a very real Turing – and an inner experience of his fundamental thinking on the mathematics, an admirable achievement.

I guess this is not a film for all experts. It's aimed at the many people who until now have known little or nothing of Turing and his unique contribution to our modern world. The directing and acting – especially from Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley – is outstanding. And the resulting learning experience is potentially universal. It's impossible to tell what will emerge from this cinematic playing out of such a poignantly adventurous Imitation Game.

The Conversation

S. Barry Cooper does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

SEE ALSO: 8 Reasons Discovery's Snake-Eats-Man-Alive Show Is A Terrible Idea

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Charlie Brown Is Back In The Spectacular Trailer For The New CGI 'Peanuts' Movie

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Fox Family Entertainment released a full-length trailer for its upcoming "Peanuts" movie, scheduled to hit theaters in November 2015. The clip features a dream sequence where Snoopy engages in a spectacular aerial chase with the infamous Red Baron.

The movie is directed by Steve Martino, who previously helmed the animated hits "Horton Hears A Who" and "Ice Age: Continental Drift."

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The First 'Pitch Perfect 2' Trailer Is Out And It's Hysterical

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pitch perfect 2

The first trailer for "Pitch Perfect 2" came out Thursday and the sequel looks even funnier than the original.

The whole cast is back: from Anna Kendrick as the eye-rolling rebel Becca to Rebel Wilson as the confident and unapologetically badass "Fat Amy." Even Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins return as the raunchy commentators that nearly stole the first movie with their one-liners.

Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, and Benn Platt also star, and "Ender's Game" and "True Grit" actress Hailee Steinfeld joins the cast as a Bella pledge.

The movie busts into theaters May 15, 2015.

In the trailer, we see that the Barden Bellas, a women's collegiate a cappella group, has entered into an international competition that no American team has ever won. The clip is filled with running gags the fans will love, such as Amy and Bumper navigating their sexual tension, and the hussy-singer offering to have sex with "whoever it takes in order for us to get back to the top."

The trailer even opens with a new rendition of "Cups," a song that snared mega radio play after the first movie's success. 

"Pitch Perfect 2" released the first poster, too, which the stars have been tweeting.

NOW WATCH THE TRAILER:

SEE ALSO: Disney's Live-Action Version Of 'Cinderella' Finally Gets A Full-Length Trailer

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'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I' Should Have The Biggest Opening Weekend Of 2014

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hunger games gale katniss

When “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I” comes out this weekend, it should do something no other film this year has been able to do — make well over $100 million opening weekend. 

So far, there has only been one movie in 2014 that has had a $100 million opening weekend. That was Paramount’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” the fourth installment of Michael Bay’s ongoing franchise back in June. 

That's unusual. 

Last year, three movies crossed the $100 million mark opening weekend — “Iron Man 3,” “Man of Steel,” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” 

2012 had four movies debut to over $140 million (“The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Hunger Games,” and the final “Twilight” film). 

The last time we’ve only seen only two movies open above $100 million opening weekend was in 2009 when "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($142 million) and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($108 million) came out.

What’s the deal with 2014? 

For one thing, more movies have debuted in the $90-$100 million range than previous years. Those five films include "Godzilla,""Guardians of the Galaxy," and sequels "Captain America 2" ($95 million), "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" ($91 million), and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" ($90 million). 

There also weren't as many event films. Next year, we'll have "The Avengers" sequel, the final "Hunger Games" movie, and a new "Star Wars" film. “Fast and Furious 7” was originally set for a July 2014 release but was pushed back to April 2015 after the death of Paul Walker in late 2013. The last sequel, "Fast 6," made $120 million opening Memorial Day Weekend.

"Mockingjay" has been one of the most anticipated movies of 2014. Tickets for the sequel have been on sale since the end of October. After tickets went on sale, both Fandango and MovieTickets.com reported the movie had the largest first day advance ticket sale of the year. The film accounts for over 90% of Fandango's ticket sales this weekend.

BoxOffice.com estimates the film will debut to $150 million.

A quick look at the film’s two previous openings shows “Mockingjay” could and should easily open higher.

Here are the numbers to beat:

MovieYearOpening WeekendWorldwide GrossEstimated Budget
"The Hunger Games"2012$152 million$691 million$78 million
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"2013$158 million$864 million$130 million

SEE ALSO: Our review of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I"

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Here’s The Biggest Problem With The New ‘Hunger Games’ Movie

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katniss everdeen hunger games mockingjay

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I" is in theaters this weekend, and while the majority of reviews agree the latest installment of the best-selling young adult series is the darkest film yet, critics have one other consensus on the film: "Mockingjay" is basically a two-hour trailer for "The Hunger Games" finale due in theaters next fall.

It's the latest franchise after the "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" series to stretch its final film across two movies.

Nearly every review points this out, with some accusing film distributor Lionsgate of making a break for a fast cash grab. For reference, the first two "Hunger Games" movies have made over $1.5 billion worldwide combined.

AV Club: 

"This is the future of big-budget filmmaking, a Hollywood hustle to turn profitable source material into multi-movie investments. It’s good for business but bad for drama, and the inelegantly titled Mockingjay—Part 1 suffers from an unavoidable sense of anticlimax. It doesn’t build to an ending so much as just eventually grind to a halt, like a video game demanding more quarters to continue playing."

Associated Press: 

"In its best moments, the movie has a tense, night before the battle feel. Only the battle is still a year away. … It does not seem to be the type of movie that fans will revisit on its own. This half is part of a whole in the most cynical way."

Entertainment Weekly:

“It’s a pretty cynical business plan, and it's led to a film that feels needlessly padded. Mockingjay—Part 1 is like a term paper with the margins enlarged and the font size jacked up to reach the assigned number of pages.  

… when the story finally does manage to get interesting toward the end, it just screeches to a halt and cuts off, leaving fans wriggling on the hook for a finale they won't get to see for another 12 months. That's not a cliff-hanger, that's just a tease.”

Vulture:

“The film ends at the apex of anguish: Thanks, Lionsgate, for cleaving Suzanne Collins’s third book in twain to maximize your already staggering profits.” 

Time 

"In the greed-is-good tradition of the Harry Potter and Twilight movie franchises, the overseers of The Hunger Games have split the last book into two films. You may recall that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was the only lame episode in the entire canon and that Mary Pols titled her TIME review of the penultimate Twilight film “Breaking Yawn Part 1.” Expectations for the artistic and entertainment possibilities of this half-Mockingjay should be at least as low, though it’s likely to be the top-grossing movie of 2014." 

The Hollywood Reporter: 

"Like an overgrown and bloated trailer for a film yet to come, Francis Lawrence's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 spreads perhaps 45 minutes of dramatic material across two far-too-leisurely hours. … But far more than with Harry Potter and about the same as with Twilight, this doubling-the-profit gambit feels like a gaming-the-public ploy." 

The New York Post is the least forgiving

"'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1' … thinly spreads a half-hour’s worth of plot over two plodding hours. Like the next-to-last episodes of the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises, this snoozy slog arbitrarily cuts the third book in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy in half for no good reason other than cleaning up at the box office one more time." 

These critiques don't mean the film isn't any good. 

The acting chops of Jennifer Lawrence, Philip Seymour Hoffman in his last starring role, Donald Sutherland, and supporting performances of Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks, are the saving grace of the sometimes slow third installment.

Still, the film currently has worse reviews than the previous two "Hunger Games" installments. The first and second films sit at 84% and 89%, respectively, on critique aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews for "Mockingjay" are more polarizing with 69% positive.

You can read our review, here.

SEE ALSO: "Mockingjay" should easily have the biggest box-office opening of 2014

AND: Read the letter that landed Donald Sutherland his role in "The Hunger Games"

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DC Comics Wants To Sue Valencia FC Because Their Logo Looks Like Batman

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Valencia_CF_logo

DC Comics has decided it isn’t happy with Spanish football giant Valencia wanting to use a bat symbol for its club logo.

Despite the fact Valencia CF has had a bat in its logo since the club was founded in 1919, and the first Batman comic was published in 1940, DC Comics have filed papers to the Office for the Harmonization of Internal Market (OHIM), which governs the European Union’s trademark registration process.

DC’s problem with Valencia is that the club has lodged a variant of its traditional design which has the bat with its wings raised.

That’s too close for comfort with presumably the latest incarnation of DC’s bat symbol:

batman valencia

But given DC Comics has changed that symbol almost every other year since Batman’s debut, it’s hard to see how the OHIC can rule against Valencia.

The bat is an important symbol in the city. It sits atop Valencia’s coat of arms and its use is thought to have dated back to 1238, when King James of Aragon was fighting to take it back from the Moors.

Legend has it a bat landed on top of his flag and he proceeded to win Valencia back, whereby the bat was added to the coat of arms as a sign of good luck.

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Fans Aren’t Impressed With The Trailer For George Lucas’s First Animated Movie 'Strange Magic'

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strange magic george lucas

Yahoo Movies has premiered the trailer for George Lucas's first animated movie, "Strange Magic."

Disney unexpectedly announced the Lucasfilm musical, written by Lucas, earlier this month only two months ahead of the film's January 23 release. 

It looks like we may know why. 

The film doesn't look like a must-see from the initial trailer. 

That may explain why Disney is letting Touchstone Pictures release the movie about goblins, elves, and fairies who are battling for control over a powerful potion. (Remember, Disney purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4 billion in 2012.) Otherwise, why wouldn't the Mouse House want to align itself with Lucas's first post-"Star Wars" movie more closely?

That's kind of a bummer. It sounds like "Strange Magic" has been a big passion project for Lucas. A Lucasfilm employee tells Yahoo Movies he has been working on it for years. 

Check out the trailer:

So far, fan reactions haven't been great either. 

SEE ALSO: George Lucas has been working on a secret animated musical for Disney

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Security Was So Tight On The New 'Star Wars' Movie Set That Phone Cameras Had To Be Covered With Stickers

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jj abrams star wars episode 7

Some photos from “Star Wars: Episode VII” may have leaked online from fans and TMZ, but don’t expect to see any from the cast or crew make their way to the internet.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, any crew members entering the set at Pinewood Studios in England had to cover the lens of their phone with a sticker to prevent them from taking photos.  

The sticker couldn’t be removed until they were off the set. 

Via THR: 

Producers even required that a sticker be applied over the lens of every cellphone that entered the perimeter of Pinewood Studios outside London and removed upon departure. Once taken off, the sticker could not be reused, so visitors couldn't sneak a photo and reapply it.

THR highlights a few other measures Disney took to make sure "Star Wars" was kept underwraps.

  • Producers applied for a Drone Shield that warns the owner when an unwanted presence may be in the area. As of September, two months before the film wrapped shooting, they weren't granted a license.
  • After photos of the Millennium Falcon were taken from the skies above Greenham Common in England, airspace was shut down over the area while filming took place.

As production continued, director J.J. Abrams reportedly had anti-spoiler posters with the phrase "Loose Lips Bring Down Starships." put up all over Pinewood Studios to discourage cast and crew from spreading rumors off set. 

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy's husband, Frank Marshall, tweeted out the following photo of the poster during a set visit:

loose lips bring down star ships and star wars

"Star Wars: Episode VII" will be released December 18, 2015.

SEE ALSO: How Marvel prevents footage from leaking at New York Comic Con

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'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I' Has The Biggest Opening Weekend Of The Year

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katniss gale hunger games mockingjay

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I" had a huge opening weekend grossing $123 million making it the biggest debut of 2014.

That number puts the third "Hunger Games" installment ahead of Paramount's June release, "Transformers: Age of Extinction" which opened to $100 million.

Despite that win, the opening weekend numbers for "Mockingjay" are lower than expected.

Estimates were calling for a $150 million weekend

Instead, "Mockingjay" made less opening weekend than its previous two installments domestically.

Here are the box office numbers for all three films side by side.

MovieOpening WeekendWorldwide GrossEstimated Budget
"The Hunger Games"$152 million$691 million$78 million
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"$158 million$864 million$130 million
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I"$123 million$275 million (so far)n/a

"Mockingjay" is already performing better overseas than at home. What's going on?

There are a few reasons for its weaker performance stateside. The film had competition from "Big Hero 6" and "Interstellar" and received worse reviews than the previous two installments. "Mockingjay" was also the first big release in theaters since 2009 to not get an IMAX release. Instead, all IMAX theaters will continue playing Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" until "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" debuts next month. The Wrap reports IMAX screenings contributed over $12 million to the box-office opening for "Catching Fire" last year.

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Mockingjay"

AND: Read the letter that landed Donald Sutherland his role in "The Hunger Games"

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