From IMDB: Oscar hopes continued to shine bright for Golden Globe winners Chicago and The Hours as the directors for both those films – Rob Marshall and Stephen Daldry, respectively – were nominated today for this year’s Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film; it was the first DGA nomination for both directors. Previous DGA nominees Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Roman Polanski (The Pianist) and Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York) – none of whom have ever won.
Day: January 21, 2003
“Kementari” shows how easy it is to make a cloth Hobbit doll. Crafty people could build on this simple idea to make some adorable presents to corrupt, uh, I mean, to give to young relations. [More] Thanks to Mel for the link
Nick Georgandis writes: As anyone who’s ever met me will tell you, the similarities between The Lord of the Rings’ Aragorn (played by actor Viggo Mortensen) and myself are fairly obvious. With my rugged, brooding good looks, equal talent on horseback or with sword in hand, and my penchant for having Elvish princess Liv Tyler constantly swooning in my wake, it’s easy to see how the two of us can be confused. [More]
Yesterday I listed the first half of my ten personal highlights of the upcoming movie year that involve cast members of The Lord of the Rings. If you found the list even vaguely interesting, read on for what will hopefully be five more of the most successful films of 2003. [More]
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” passed $400 million internationally and registered Italy’s biggest opening weekend ever while rapper Eminem found his voice with stellar debuts for “8 Mile” in the U.K., Oz, Mexico and smaller territories. The Italian preem for “Two Towers” returned $9.1 million in four days in an otherwise soft market where the Warners co-produced local comedy “Ma che colpe abbiamo noi” is the only other fresh title. [More]
By MICHAELA BOLAND
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” passed $400 million internationally and registered Italy’s biggest opening weekend ever while rapper Eminem found his voice with stellar debuts for “8 Mile” in the U.K., Oz, Mexico and smaller territories. The Italian preem for “Two Towers” returned $9.1 million in four days in an otherwise soft market where the Warners co-produced local comedy “Ma che colpe abbiamo noi” is the only other fresh title.
Helmer Curtis Hanson’s fictionalized biopic of Eminem took $15.5 million in 14 territories.
Down Under distrib UIP might have underestimated the twin forces of Eminem and summer holidays stretching into week five. Pic released on just 217 screens, half the number that launched “Harry Potter” and “Two Towers” and 60 screens fewer than last week’s chart topper “Catch Me if You Can.” As a result “8 Mile” returned a hefty $14,000 screen average to hit $2.9 million in four days. Other frame leaders “Two Towers” (in lap four) and “Catch Me” (in lap two) dropped 40% and 44%, respectively.
In Blighty, Eminem’s bigscreen debut returned $6.2 million in three days ($7 million including limited sneaks) to register Universal’s sixth biggest opening weekend there, ahead of studiomates “Gladiator” and “Jurassic Park II.” Miramax’s “Chicago” also made a splash, expanding to 276 screens after three weeks of sneaks; total B.O. is now $3.83 million.
In Germany and Austria “8 Mile” dropped 30% in lap two against a stellar debut of “Star Trek: Nemesis,” which took about $3.2 million from 742 in fours days in Germany and $280,000 from 63 in three days in Austria. Pic, in its third week in Blighty, has nabbed $10 million.
Miramax’s “The Quiet American” wowed auds Down Under in its second international outing after preeming in Blighty in November. Auds in helmer Phillip Noyce’s homeland spent about $476,000 at 61 locations in four days, a firm $7625 screen average.