Lionsgate To Split Final ‘Divergent’ Sequel ‘Allegiant’ Into Two Films To Cap Hit Sci-Fi Franchise

Lionsgate/Summit will adapt Veronica Roth‘s Divergent novel trilogy into a total of not three, but four films starring Shailene Woodley as the dystopian sci-fi heroine Beatrice “Tris” Prior, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger revealed today. Following last month’s blockbuster hit Divergent and its planned 2015 sequel Insurgent, Allegiant – adapted from the third book in Roth’s bestselling YA book series – will be split into two separate films to conclude the franchise. Lionsgate had previously set Allegiant for a March 18, 2016 release. Allegiant Part 1 will keep that date, with Part 2 to follow on March 24, 2017. Both films will be produced separately.

Divergent has quickly made a box office star of Woodley, who will reprise her role in all three sequels as Tris, the 16-year-old girl who finds herself a target as one of few in her futuristic society who defy categorization into one of five personality-based factions. The first picture scored a $54.6M opening in March and has now racked up $117M domestic and $139M worldwide in three weeks of release. It’s still rolling out strong internationally and opens this weekend in France, Germany, Russia, Australia, Scandinavia, and other territories. Meanwhile sales of Roth’s novels have also enjoyed a bump from the film’s release, with boxed set and multi-book e-bundles jumping up 55 percent in sales last week and nearly 20 million copies sold worldwide.

Splitting Roth’s final novel into two films isn’t a left field move for Lionsgate. Similar thinking first paid off for the company in a big way with Twilight Saga-ender Breaking Dawn. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II took in $829M in worldwide grosses alone and extended Summit’s vampire romance franchise into five films from author Stephenie Meyer’s original four novels. Likewise, the upcoming Hunger Games finale Mockingjay will be released in two parts on November 21, 2014 and November 20, 2015, respectively, squeezing an extra installment out of the final book in novelist Suzanne Collins’ YA series. Together the two film franchises have already grossed over $5 billion worldwide for Lionsgate/Summit, with last year’s Hunger Games: Catching Fire becoming the 10th highest grossing film of all time.

“Veronica Roth brings her captivating story to a masterful conclusion in Allegiant, a rich, action-packed book with material that is ideally suited to two strong and fulfilling movies,” said Friedman and Wachsberger. “The storytelling arc and world of the characters lend themselves perfectly to two films, a storytelling strategy that has worked very well for us on the two Twilight Breaking Dawn films and about which we’re tremendously enthusiastic for the two upcoming Mockingjay films of The Hunger Games franchise.”

The question is, where will Lionsgate split Allegiant‘s story? Conspiracies within the world of Divergent unfold further in sequel Insurgent, which begins filming next month under helmer Robert Schwentke, directing from an Akiva Goldsman rewrite of Brian Duffield’s draft. He got the gig when Lionsgate fast-tracked the sequel for a March 20, 2015 date while helmer Neil Burger was still in post-production on the first pic. Third book Allegiant is told from the perspectives of both Tris and fellow initiate Four, played in Divergent‘s film adaptation by Theo James, as the characters enter a dangerous new world they no longer recognize and new truths are revealed about the past and future.

Source: deadline

NY film critics name 'American Hustle' best film

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Film Critics Circle has named David O. Russell's American Hustle the best film of 2013.

The critics group also awarded the film best supporting actress for Jennifer Lawrence and best screenplay for the script by Russell and Eric Singer. The film is a fictionalized tale of the FBI's late 1970s Abscam investigation.

Paul Walker's 'Hours' will open as planned

Pantelion Films and Lionsgate plan to release Hours— starring Paul Walker, 40, who died Saturday in a car crash in Santa Clarita, Calif. — as planned on Dec. 13 in 15 select U.S. cities.

Fifty Shades of Grey may take Nymphomaniac's lead with hard and softcore cuts

The producer of the upcoming adaptation of EL James's bestseller has hinted at an R-rated version, followed by an NC-17 take targeted at a more adult audience - a similar strategy as had been planned for Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac

About 20% in the shade … Jamie Dornan guest-starring in Once Upon a Time Photograph: Craig Sjodin/Kharen Hill/AP

Mega-hyped sex drama Fifty Shades of Grey could be released in two different versions, with a second cut including more explicit material,according to the film's producer.


Dana Brunetti told the Collider blog the additional version might be released a few weeks after the original cut in an effort to satisfy fans of EL James's bestselling source novel hoping for a "grittier" take. It is understood the first cut would be aimed at securing an "R" rating in the US (similar to a UK 15), while version two would target an "NC-17" (close to a UK 18).

Fifty Shades of Grey filming finally gets under way

Jamie Dornan begins his turn as EL James's protagonist Christian Grey after delayed production starts in Vancouver

Shooting is finally under way on the much-hyped cinematic adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Sam Taylor-Johnson's film features Jamie Dornan as kinky billionaire Christian Grey, with Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, his well-remunerated sex slave.

Dornan, best known for Belfast-set BBC2 drama The Fall, replaced Charlie Hunnam in October after the Pacific Rim star reportedly got cold feet amid overwhelming attention from fans. The film's release date was subsequently pushed back from August 2014 to Valentine's Day 2015.

Paul Walker's death: 'Fast & Furious 7' postponed, not canceled

Universal is likely to delay the next feature in the racing movie franchise, initially expected to arrive in theaters in July 2014, following the death of one of its stars, Paul Walker.

Walker died in a car accident over the weekend. The 40-year-old actor, who played Brian O'Connor in the "Fast & Furious" series, was shooting the seventh film in the series, slated for release next summer.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal met with director James Wan on Sunday, when the cast and crew had planned to resume filming after the Thanksgiving holiday. No firm decisions have been made yet for the long term, but producers have reportedly halted production for at least a few days to give everyone time to process the drama.

Paul Walker dead at 40: 'Fast and Furious' future in limbo after death of franchise star

The actor’s tragic passing happened in the midst of filming the seventh installment of the popular action franchise.

The lucrative "Fast and Furious" action movie franchise was in the midst of filming its seventh installment when main actor Paul Walker tragically died in a car accident on Nov. 30.

Lutz: I'll watch Johnson's Hercules

Kellan Lutz has revealed that he doesn't mind going up against Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson on the big screen.

Both actors are portraying Greek hero Hercules in upcoming films, and the Twilight actor admitted there is no rivalry between the pair because his film, Hercules: The Legend Begins, is "totally different" from Dwayne's version.

"I can't wait to see The Rock as Hercules. He (Dwayne) is a beast," he said.

"It's a totally different story to mine. Mine is more about the origins of Hercules, the beginning of his journey. You see him transform from a young boy... and he has to grow up, accept the fact he is Zeus' son and take up the reins to save his kingdom," the actor added.

'Catching Fire' sets Thanksgiving box office record

Action film "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" led the North American box office with ticket sales of $35.6 million over the first two days of the long U.S. Thanksgiving weekend that began on Wednesday, while Disney's animated "Frozen," sold a hefty $26.3 million.

The Wolverine: Hugh Jackman’s ‘Real’ X-Men Costume Revealed in Alternate Ending

By next May, Hugh Jackman will have played the mutant hero Wolverine in seven different X-Men films (including the X-Men: First Class cameo) and not once has he worn one of his iconic costumes from Marvel Comics. In the trailer, image and teaser footage of Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, Jackman suits up in new duds yet again (in the future and in the ’70s). But still no classic yellow and blue – at least that we've seen.

Box Office: 'Catching Fire,' 'Frozen' Making Thanksgiving History

UPDATED: The pair of films will each rake in more money than any previous holiday title, not accounting for inflation; Spike Lee's "Oldboy" bombing.

Disney's family film Frozen and Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire are making history at the Thanksgiving box office, where they are set to gross as much as $90 million and $100 million, respectively, for the Wednesday-Sunday stretch.

Frankie Muniz, Alison Eastwood Join Western in Arizona

'Hot Bath' sequel shooting in Tucson

Frankie Muniz, Alison Eastwood and Robert Patrick have come on board the sequel to the indie Western “Hot Bath an’ a Stiff Drink.”

Muniz is portraying a deputy on the project, which is currently shooting in Tucson, Az. Earlier this week, the former “Malcolm in the Middle” star disclosed he had recently suffered his second mini-stroke.

Not Quite Expendable: Stallone tries to make a star out of Statham

Still of Winona Ryder, Jason Stratham and James Franco in Homefront.

Once upon a time — the 1980s — you could walk into a movie theater any day of the year, plop down a few bucks, and watch one man kick another man's ass. Not every action flick was great, but most were good enough, the film equivalent of pizza. Back then, Jason Statham, the star of the new action drama Homefront — and another two dozen just like it — would have been a forgettable punching bag. Today, he's an action lover's last hope, though we support his career with the same dutiful gusto as tea partiers voting Romney.

Jennifer Lawrence isn’t finished with 2013 yet. Box office records shattered, she’s making Oscar noise, too.

Jennifer Lawrence was paid $500,000 for her first turn as Katniss Everdeen in the then-unproven 2012 adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ young adult dystopian fantasy, The Hunger Games. For the second installment, the 23-year-old actress from Kentucky was paid $10 million. Not a bad pay raise. And not a bad investment for a film that opened to the tune of $158.1 million in ticket sales last weekend, the biggest opening ever for a November release. On top of that, Box Office Mojo ranked THG:CF's take as the sixth-biggest opening on record, and third all-time among 2D-only movies.

Morgan Freeman supports Ben Affleck as Batman

Morgan Freeman, who played a prominent role in 'The Dark Knight' series, has slammed the outcry over Ben Affleck playing the new Batman.

The Academy award winner said it was wrong to judge Affleck before watching his performance.

"Listen: Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Val Kilmer, and Christian Bale have played it. It's a franchise! It'll stand on its own merits, and you can't really say anything until he's done it. The pre-judging was strange. Give him a shot!," Freeman said.

First Trailer: ‘Maleficent’

In theaters May 30, 2014

Disney has unveiled the first trailer for “Maleficent,” starring Angelina Jolie.

The film stars Jolie as Maleficent, the most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville also star.

“Maleficent” is produced by Joe Roth, directed by Robert Stromberg, and written by Linda Woolverton. Jolie, Don Hahn, Matt Smith, Palak Patel and Sarah Bradshaw serve as executive producers.

Source: variety

Universal Shifts ’50 Shades’ Release Date to February 2015

Universal has shifted the release date for “50 Shades of Grey” to Feb. 13, 2015.

‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ moved to Valentine’s Day 2015, first look at Christian and Anastasia released!

The Fifty Shades of Grey movie has been delayed until February 13, 2015, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The book to film adaptation of E.L. James novel was previously set for a debut on August 1, 2014. The six-month delay means that the film can now be marketed as a romantic movie for couples considering a dinner and movie date on the weekend designated for love.

Ehle excited about Fifty Shades

Jennifer Ehle has confessed she hadn't read Fifty Shades Of Grey until she signed up to appear in the movie.


The Zero Dark Thirty actress will play Anastasia Steele's mother in the big screen adaptation of EL James' erotic novel.

Lawrence first-time producer with 'Glass Castle'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Jennifer Lawrence will not only star in the upcoming film adaptation of Jeanette Walls' 2005 best-selling memoir "The Glass Castle," the project will also mark her first time as a producer.