Warner Bros. brings out the stars

One of the biggest attractions of CinemaCon for motion picture exhibitors is the chance to ogle stars off the big screen. Well, Warner Bros. delivered ample star wattage at its Thursday afternoon "Big Picture" presentation of upcoming product at the Caesars Palace Colosseum. Making the trip to Las Vegas were Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, CinemaCon Stars of the Year Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, Melissa McCarthy, Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis and the iconic Clint Eastwood, along with directors Wally Pfister (Transcendence), Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), R.J. Cutler (If I Stay), Steven Quale (Into the Storm), Ben Falcone (Tammy) and Frank Coraci (Blended), and Into the Storm co-stars Richard Armitage and Sarah Wayne Callies ("The Walking Dead"). Whew!

First up was footage from Transcendence, the directing debut of Christopher Nolan's longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister, starring Depp as a dying scientist whose brain is merged with a computer. Depp, always a man of few words, nodded at Freeman and said, "This is God, by the way." Pfister, meanwhile, assured the theatre crowd that "every film I've shot is designed to be viewed on the largest canvas possible." In the spirit of his colleague Nolan, a producer on the project, Transcendence is big-scale sci-fi with larger questions on its mind.

The self-effacing Edwards called himself the world's second biggest Godzilla fan after producer Thomas Tull, and told exhibitors they were part of the team bringing the revival of the rampaging lizard to a hoped-for successful fruition. Judging from the pulse-pounding footage shown, with especially intense work by Bryan Cranston (currently back in New York performing in the LBJ play All the Way), this iteration will be much more satisfying than the 1998 reboot.

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore were certainly impressed. "Never mind Blended [the comedy they came to promote]. How about that f---ing Godzilla!" Sandler exclaimed. And a very pregnant Barrymore declared, "I'm creating life and I started crying at the destruction in that trailer!" Blended is their third film together, and Barrymore called Sandler "the greatest partner a girl could ever hope for," as Sandler murmured approval. Sandler then joked that they were there in Vegas to find out who fathered Barrymore's child. "She's not raising this baby alone!"

Eastwood came to the stage to a standing ovation, and not only thanked the audience but their parents who once came to the Vegas event when it was called ShoWest. He also gave a shoutout to the theatre's Dolby Atmos sound system for "blowing me out of my seat." Actually, he joked, "it's the first time I've been able to hear a film."

The veteran star was there as the director of Jersey Boys, the film of the hugely successful Broadway musical about The Four Seasons, which adds period realism to the piece while retaining the device of having the individual group members narrate their own story direct to the camera.

Improv queen Melissa McCarthy had some fun banter with her Tammy director, co-writer and spouse Ben Falcone, joking, "For the first time, I can now say I'm sleeping with the director." Falcone retorted that McCarthy was one of three cast members he slept with; McCarthy counted four on her bedpost. The film, meanwhile, looks like another well-tailored vehicle for the ribald, uninhibited screen personality that has made McCarthy a surprise box-office force.

One preview that certainly lived up to the advance hype of its director and stars was Into the Storm, a realistic depiction of devastating Midwest tornados whose persuasive visual effects may be too painful a reminder for Americans who've lived through these extreme weather catastrophes.

The Warner event ended with a prerecorded video from director Peter Jackson and a film tribute to the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit series of films that has grossed a remarkable $4.9 billion worldwide. The once-dubious gamble to turn the comparatively thin Hobbit volume into a trio of films has certainly reaped big dividends.

Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara also made his first CinemaCon appearance, noting that the decision of other studios to cut back on their release slates offers "a great opportunity for us to expand our footprint." With an annual schedule of 22 films, Warner Bros. is one of the true believers in theatrical exhibition.

—Kevin Lally