2012 Archives - The Playlist

Seth Rogen Is “Confounded & Plagued” By A Discussion He Had With George Lucas About The Apocalypse

Charles Barfield — Fri, 07 May 2021 17:14:32 +0000

By most accounts, George Lucas seems like a really creative, smart, kind person. This is the guy who created “Star Wars” and kickstarted the imaginations of millions around the world, right? Well, according to Seth Rogen, Lucas might also be a bit of a survivalist prepper fearful for the coming apocalypse.

Speaking to Conan O’Brien on the Conan Needs A Friend podcast, Seth Rogen was asked a question about a story in his recent memoir, “Yearbook.” The story involves a meeting that happened in 2012 with Rogen and his producing partner Evan Goldberg talking to Steven Spielberg.

Continue reading Seth Rogen Is “Confounded & Plagued” By A Discussion He Had With George Lucas About The Apocalypse at The Playlist.

Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis & Rhys Ifans Join Roland Emmerich’s ‘Anonymous’, Columbia Pictures Sued Over ‘2012’

Oliver Lyttelton — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:12:00 +0000

Since making his US debut with “Joey” in 1985, Roland Emmerich’s career has been marked almost entirely with sci-fi and explosions – even the closest thing he’s made to a real-world drama, “The Patriot,” was stacked with explosions and CGI cannonballs. So it marks a real shift that he’s gearing up to shoot “Anonymous,” a period thriller examining the so-called ‘Oxfordian theory’ that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was behind the plays and poems attributed to William Shakespeare.

Continue reading Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis & Rhys Ifans Join Roland Emmerich’s ‘Anonymous’, Columbia Pictures Sued Over ‘2012’ at The Playlist.

For Your Consideration With A Straight Face: ‘Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen’ For Best Picture & ‘Brüno’; Plus More FYC From The Studios

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:41:00 +0000

Today many are noting, some making a fuss, that that Warner Bros. are pushing “The Hangover” for Best Picture consideration in ads that are running on Variety (see below). However, it’s not really that odd. Studios typically campaign beyond their reach and hell, it’s a 10 film Best Picture race so of course they’re going to try and push hard for films that might not normally get Best Pic Oscar consideration.

On their For Your Consideration site, Warner Bros.

Continue reading For Your Consideration With A Straight Face: ‘Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen’ For Best Picture & ‘Brüno’; Plus More FYC From The Studios at The Playlist.

Weekend Box Office: Audiences Run To ‘2012’ Like John Cusack Running From A Fireball

Gabe Toro — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 +0000

People complain about quality control at the cinemas, but in the end, audiences like what they like. And they REALLY like watching Roland Emmerich end civilization. On one level, you really have to wonder about this guy, who’s repeated himself so many times over as far as onscreen destruction. Why is it that when terrorists plan to destroy a building they get locked up, but when Roland Emmerich completes extensive storyboards for the destruction of every major landmark in the world, he gets 25% of the gross?

Continue reading Weekend Box Office: Audiences Run To ‘2012’ Like John Cusack Running From A Fireball at The Playlist.

In Theaters: ‘2012,’ ‘Pirate Radio,’ ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’

Hunter McClamrock — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:01:00 +0000

Hollywood seems to be saving its best for last this year, or maybe they don’t have many aces up their sleeves after all. Last week, “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” opened to decent, not spectacular box office, but may have legs through the season. This week though, expect the end of the world to drum up anything but apocalyptic numbers as “2012” is unleashed in theaters nationwide.

In Wide Release: Nuclear November kicks off with Roland Emmerich latest disaster-porn flick “2012.” With “The Road” set to open in a couple weeks, audiences should get their fill of the apocalypse, both grandiose and poetic.

Continue reading In Theaters: ‘2012,’ ‘Pirate Radio,’ ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ at The Playlist.

Review: ‘2012’ Is the Laughable ‘Love Actually’ Of Disaster Movies

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:27:00 +0000

Sometimes you see a movie so bloated and silly (and so unaware of its own bloated silliness) that you don’t even know where to begin. This is the problem that anyone attempting to review Roland Emmerich’s nearly three-hour feel-good apocalyptic action thriller “2012” has to deal with.

The premise is simple, and one that Emmerich has recycled time and time again: a low level scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor, struggling desperately to maintain his dignity) discovers a cataclysmic scientific anomaly, one that could threaten the entire planet if someone doesn’t listen to him.

Continue reading Review: ‘2012’ Is the Laughable ‘Love Actually’ Of Disaster Movies at The Playlist.

John C. Reilly & Mary-Louise Parker Join Morgan Freeman & Bruce Willis In ‘Red’ Comic Book Adaptation, ‘Machete’ Poster & More…

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:20:00 +0000

— We’ve been a little ho-hum on the Bruce Willis/Morgan Freeman spy thriller “Red,” an adaptation of Warren Ellis’ comic book directed by Robert Schwentke (“The Time Traveller’s Wife”), but the recent news that Helen Mirren was stepping on-board was intriguing. Now John C. Reilly and Mary-Louise Parker, fine actors both, have joined the cast, the former playing a paranoid CIA agent, the latter playing the love interest, a federal pension worker, and we’re more than a little intrigued, it’s an unusually high-calibre cast for an action-thriller.

Continue reading John C. Reilly & Mary-Louise Parker Join Morgan Freeman & Bruce Willis In ‘Red’ Comic Book Adaptation, ‘Machete’ Poster & More… at The Playlist.

Roland Emmerich to Tackle Shakespeare, Presumably Blow Him Up

Oliver Lyttelton — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Buried away in a story about German company Studio Babelsberg co-producing Dark Castle’s Liam Neeson-starring psychological thriller “Unknown White Male,” is a piece of solid gold. The next movie from director Roland Emmerich, (pictured on the left, demonstrating how many minutes he took to write the script for “2012”) will be “Anonymous,” a thriller focusing on the, quite frankly, bullshit theory that William Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays.

While news to us, this seems to have been in the works for some time.

Continue reading Roland Emmerich to Tackle Shakespeare, Presumably Blow Him Up at The Playlist.

Video-ish Of The Day: ‘2012: It’s a Disaster!!!’

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:22:00 +0000

This clip skewering Roland Emmerich’s “2012” (and zero-brained, herculean blockbusters of that ilk) has been making the rounds and possibly fairly old, but a) we forgot to post it, and b) after this relatively terrible summer of movies it feels even more relevant. So better late then never, especially since it’s so on-the-money. “Run away from plot! Run away from character!” the trailer boasts over wah-wah blaxploitation-like funk. It basically — and rightfully so — mocks the absurdity and ridiculousness of these over-the-top disaster porn spectacles that popcorn munchers and “low-thread-count” joe-jobbers (to coin a Jeff Wells phrase) seem to eat up.

Continue reading Video-ish Of The Day: ‘2012: It’s a Disaster!!!’ at The Playlist.

Sony’s Michael Jackson Film To Hit Theaters In October For 2 Weeks, American Idol’s Adam Lambert To Provide Track For Roland Emmerich’s ‘2012’

Simon Dang — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:41:00 +0000

Kenny Ortega will helm the upcoming live music film based on Michael Jackson’s final rehearsals for his 50-show run at London’s O2 Arena before his tragic death. “This Is It” will see a global two-week-only release beginning October 28th and is being endorsed by the Jackson family. [DeadlineHollywoodDaily]

American Idol’s Adam Lambert is set to record a track for Roland Emmerich’s upcoming apocalyptic film “2012” which, according to Queen guitarist Brian May is “truly sensational” and “obviously a number one smash.” Lambert also has a album due out in November when “2012” is due to hit theaters.

Continue reading Sony’s Michael Jackson Film To Hit Theaters In October For 2 Weeks, American Idol’s Adam Lambert To Provide Track For Roland Emmerich’s ‘2012’ at The Playlist.

Get Your Disaster Porn Fix For The Day: Trailer For ‘2012’ Boners Up Destruction Of Mother Earth

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:52:00 +0000

The trailer for “2012,” seemingly a deep fetishization of global disasters and modern apocalypse, replete with slow-motion oceans and gigantic Naval boats washing over the White House (you get the sense that an animators and geeks are erect in collective unison), is simply hilarious.
1. It’s introduced by Roland Emmerich. Why? Who exactly gives a flying fuck? What is this hack (“Independence Day”) Scorsese?
2. It’s CGI-laden up the hilt and will probably make “Avatar” feel handwoven.

Continue reading Get Your Disaster Porn Fix For The Day: Trailer For ‘2012’ Boners Up Destruction Of Mother Earth at The Playlist.

Blockbusterbeat: Spider-Man 4 Waylaid? 2012 Postponed! Watchmen Naughty! Oh Noes!

Gabe Toro — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:49:00 +0000

-Sony has removed a horse from the big summer race. With the likely painful combo “Angels And Demons” and “The Taking Of Pelham 1, 2, 3” likely hitting big, and the recent push of “The Ugly Truth” into a counterprogramming June slot, they’ve opted to move their Roland Emmerich disaster pic “2012” to November 13th. This places the disaster movie in direct competition with Dwayne Johnson’s kidpic “The Tooth Fairy” and the likely four-quadrant target “Sherlock Holmes.” A winter slot might be best for Emmerich, as many have claimed that the movie, which deals with the Earth’s destruction, leans heavily on the process of plotting out who would end up in the earth’s many Noah’s Ark-type salvation chambers (are you registered?), not exactly the stuff that Emmerich’s summer spectacles (“Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow”) have leaned on.

Continue reading Blockbusterbeat: Spider-Man 4 Waylaid? 2012 Postponed! Watchmen Naughty! Oh Noes! at The Playlist.

Shortcuts: ‘Quantum’ On Track To A $60 Million Weekend? ‘2012’ And ‘Crossing Over’ Trailers

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:46:00 +0000

“Quantum of Solace” has already racked up $200 million overseas (that’s nutty). “Casino Royale,” opened to $40.8 million in the U.S. and Sony Execs say the film is “certainly on track”to do at least that much. Probably at least $10 million more too in our opinion. THR says, “many believe a $50 million-plus opening is likely, with a first-weekend haul of $60 million doable if moviegoing proves robust this weekend.” No accounting for taste though.

Continue reading Shortcuts: ‘Quantum’ On Track To A $60 Million Weekend? ‘2012’ And ‘Crossing Over’ Trailers at The Playlist.