By Katey Rich
A pleasant surprise following a weekend in which two potential flops managed to outperform expectations: This summer's box office is actually up over 2007's, despite last summer's one-two-three punch of major threequels. The Reporter notes in their roundup that few films have seriously underperformed, and four particular standouts-- Iron Man, Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda and Sex and the City-- have turned in stellar performances. The success has caught even some of the optimistic studio execs off-guard: ""It's staggering," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said in the Reporter. "I didn't think it was going to be like this." And that's coming from one of the guys who hasn't even had a big-name hit. At Paramount they've probably installed trampolines to amplify their leaps of joy.
Less good news is coming from the SAG and AFTRA negotiations, where it's looking increasingly likely that actors will be walking off the set at the end of this month. Variety mentions what's been discussed elsewhere, namely that big productions like Transformers II and Angels & Demons have built-in hiatuses to cover a strike. Where it will really hurt is TV productions and smaller features that can't afford to revolve around a potential strike. The basic tone of the Variety piece is, "Uh-oh. It's happening again!"
HBO's nightly drama "In Treatment" wasn't much of a hit when it debuted in the spring, but that's not keeping Kevin Spacey and many others from giving the concept a shot on the big screen. In Shrink, Spacey will play a psychiatrist to the stars, treating a variety of fictional Hollywood figures played by the likes of Robin Williams, Keke Palmer, Gore Vidal, Dallas Roberts and more. Jonas Pate (TV's "Friday Night Lights") is directing, Variety reports.
And finally, New Line is going ahead with its first big-budget project since it was folded back into its parent studio, Warner Bros. Len Wiseman will be directing Gears of War, according to the Reporter, a video game adaptation (of course!) about a battle between humans and otherworldly creatures. Talking to the Reporter, a designer for the movie is reassuringly optimistic: "Disney made a great movie out of a theme park ride, and somebody is sooner or later going to make a great one out of a video game," Bleszinski said. "Having someone like Len really helps the odds. I think we're going to create something special here."
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