Week in review: 3/31 - 4/4

The power of the princess movie has asserted itself in Disney's Frozen, which officially became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time earlier this week, displacing previous record-holder Toy Story 3.

Incidentally, if you take the number three and double it, you will find you have just calculated the number of years director Kenneth Lonergan's "masterpiece" (in the view of some critics) Margaret remained mired in legal woes. On Monday, film financier Gary Gilbert moved to dismiss the lawsuits that have accrued against the fraught production.

Lonergan and company must be feeling very happy at the prospect of a future free of litigation, but it's unlikely their optimism -- or anyone's, for that matter -- can match that of Marvel Studio, which has reportedly mapped out a plan for its Marvel cinematic universe through 2028. Apparently, no one is a sidekick in the world of the modern superhero: Spinoffs for all and sundry.

And a writing platform, too! Entertainment Weekly set off a media firestorm on Wednesday when A). it laid off renowned film critic Owen Gleiberman, and then B). announced it was effectively replacing Gleiberman with its new vertical of film bloggers culled from social media and journalism schools. Right now, the publication has about 40 aspiring critics raring to go, though EW hopes to expand its corp of film scribes to roughly 1,000. If you think this sounds like an expensive venture, you would be right only if EW intended to pay for the labor of all of its writers. But it doesn't, at least not in dollars, cents, bitcoins, or anything a landlord would accept as payment, a pretty good gauge of value. Instead, most bloggers will be paid in prestige.

As The Week's Scott Meslow points out, "How much is all that 'prestige' going to be worth when there are 999 other writers vying for space on the landing page?"

There seem to be just as many opinions on Lars von Trier -- below, we've included two.

What do you think of this week's stories, viewpoints and developments?

 'Frozen' is Officially the Highest-Grossing Animated Film Ever, The Huffington Post

Six-Year Legal Battle Over Kenneth Lonergan's 'Margaret' Finally Ends, The Hollywood Reporter

Kevin Feige: Marvel has Plotted Films Through 2028, The Hollywood Reporter

Entertainment Weekly Lays Off Movie Critic Owen Gleiberman After 24 Years, Indiewire

Entertainment Weekly wants you to write for free. Don't do it., The Week

Music Ruined by Movies, The New Yorker

Working with the enigmatic Lars von Trier, LA Times

'50/50' has a chance at making the top spot

By Sarah Sluis

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a cancer patient in the dramedy 50/50 (2,458 theatres). The ads I've seen have gone for the stoner comedy angle, which has also been helped by the presence of dude actor Seth Rogen, who plays the man's friend. The casting and marketing should make the cancer-themed
movie an easier sell, and there's a chance a mid-teen millions opening will drive this picture to the top spot. 50/50 will have tough competition from The Lion King, which has reigned at the box office for the past two weeks, as well as Moneyball and feel-good family pic Dolphin Tale. These three titles should hold above $10 million.

Thanks to the "essential mystery of casting," the romantic comedy What's Your Number? (3,002 theatres) gets a thumbs-up from David Noh. Anna Faris, who's similarly enlivened stereotypical roles in movies like The House Bunny (a surprise hit), stars as a woman who decides she's slept with too many guys and tracks down her previous sexual partners in search of Mr. Right. Faris' "delectably quirky grace" should bring this movie above $10 million, but still lower than The House Bunny's $14.6 million summer debut.

Stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz met on the set of Dream House (2,660 theatres), later getting married. Considering that Dream House didn't screen for critics, it appears that Weisz and Craig were too busy giving each other googly eyes to widen their eyes in faux-fear and possibly save what looks to be a bad horror movie.

The faith-based production company behind Fireproof returns with Courageous (1,161 theatres), the tale of four police officers struggling with their religion. With over $2 million in advance ticket sales, this movie could surprise by driving infrequent moviegoers to the theatres.

On the specialty circuit, the fabulous character actor Michael Shannon stars in Take Shelter (3 theatres) as a man haunted by visions of an epic storm that may or may not be signs that he's delusional. The ever-present Jessica Chastain (The Help, The Debt, The Tree of Life) co-stars as his wife in the "eerie drama" critic Kevin Lally found "gripping." I reviewed Margaret (2 theatres), a drama I found imperfect in whole but composed of beautifully rendered scenes. The long-delayed movie is worth seeing for these moments of artistry, or as a cautionary tale of a film stuck for years due to lawsuits, indecision, and politics.

On Monday, we'll see where the half-dozen films in close competition land in the top ten.

Trailer for long-delayed 'Margaret' shows promise

By Sarah Sluis

Filmed in 2005 and since held up by not one, but two lawsuits related to director Kenneth Lonergan's (You Can Count on Me) incredibly long cut of the movie, Margaret will finally release on September 30, 2011. After watching the trailer, I think this is the rare film that might actually benefit from the long delay between filming and release. Anna Paquin starts as a high schooler who feels she has contributed to a bus accident that resulted in a woman's death. The synopsis describes her journey as such: "She has been confronted quite unexpectedly with a basic truth: that her youthful ideals are on a collision course against the realities and compromises of the adult world." Now, Paquin is six years older and has a lead role in the racy drama "True Blood." She's far since passed the age of being cast as a high schooler. This is a story about youth lost, told using an actress who has since aged six years. What's more poignant than that?

The supporting cast includes Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, and Allison Janney, all actors who have maintained their star power. Compare this to the disastrous, long-delayed 2008 animated film Delgo, which had a voice cast populated with faded young wonders like Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt (sorry, folks). Margaret has achieved something of a legendary status among those who saw initial cuts of the movie (reported to be over three hours). Martin Scorsese called it a masterpiece. He eventually sent in his editor Thelma Schoonmaker to help pare the movie down to a more normal running time. With its late-September release date, the movie is not in a time slot that screams "awards push," but there may be another reason for the timing. Lonergan's initial goal was to use the film to meditate on the aftermath of 9/11, and this year marks the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.