‘Expendables’ falls to both ‘Turtles’ and ‘Guardians’

It was a weekend for the holdovers, as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy claimed the No. 1 and 2 spots at the box office, respectively. A combination of franchise fatigue and the online availability of The Expendables 3 in pirated, albeit high-quality, form, led to the downfall of the action flick, which opened much weaker than expected. Let’s Be Cops was there to reap the benefits, bowing ahead of The Expendables and scoring one of the strongest comedy openings of the summer. The Giver performed to expectation, which is, not great, while Boyhood’s largest expansion thus far landed the well-reviewed indie in the Top 10, far ahead of fellow specialty releases Magic in the Moonlight and What If.

Turtles dropped 57 percent this weekend to earn $28.4 million. To date, the film has grossed $117.6 million domestically, or $185.1 million worldwide.

Impressive numbers by any count, though they pale in comparison with those associated with Guardians of the Galaxy. Having already surpassed Thor: The Dark World’s total, this most recent Marvel tentpole is on track to out-gross the mega successful Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which tallied out to $260 million. Guardians raked in an additional $24.7 million this weekend for a current cume of $222.3 million. Odds are, Guardians of the Galaxy will top out to $280 million or so.

The weekend’s third-place slot was filled by a surprisingly strong Let’s Be Cops. The film grossed $17.7 million, a much better debut than those enjoyed by this summer’s Blended, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and Sex Tape, all  of which had larger name stars attached. Audiences skewed male (56 percent) and a little younger (54 percent under 25). It remains to be seen how well the film will hold, but it should ride its momentum to a total in the low to mid-$50 million range.

The disappointing Expendables 3 landed at No. 4 with $16.2 million. That’s 43 percent less than the opening-weekend gross of The Expendables 2, and marks yet another dud for distributor Lionsgate, whose Step Up All In debuted to 45 percent less than its predecessor, Step Up Revolution. Unsurprisingly, audiences were older (66 percent over 25) and mostly male (61 percent). They enjoyed what they saw, awarding the film an “A-” CinemaScore grade, but given such a weak start, The Expendables 3 will likely tally out to less than $50 million.

In fifth place, The Giver grossed $12.8 million. Its debut fell within last week’s projections, however, considering the star-studded cast and reputation of the novel on which the film is based, The Giver’s opening yet feels lackluster. Total revenue will likely fall somewhere in the $30 millions.

In more uplifting news, specialty hit Boyhood cracked the weekend’s Top 10 with its $2.15 million gross from 771 theatres. It has so far earned a little under $14 million, and should make it to $20 million.

Neither Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight nor the Daniel Radcliff-starrer What If, both of which also expanded this weekend, will likely hit that benchmark. Moonlight earned a weak $1.9 million from 964 theatres, while What If grossed just $829,000 from 787 locations, earning it the unenviable distinction of third-lowest nationwide opening (behind The Rover and The Railway Man) of 2014.

Thai Actress Jintara Sukaphatana Remembers Robin Williams

Today a household name in Thai cinema and television, Jintara Sukaphatana was only 22 years old and rather inexperienced as an actress when she was cast as Robin Williams’ Viet Cong-connected love interest Trinh in the iconic 1987 movie, Good Morning, Vietnam. FJI’s Far East Correspondent Thomas Schmid talks to Jintara about her experiences with the recently deceased actor.

What was your reaction upon learning of Robin Williams’ death?

I was deeply shocked to learn of Robin Williams’ death, to say the least. I had known him as a fun-loving person with a zest for life and it was unimaginable for me that he reportedly should’ve taken his own life.

Did you enjoy working with him on Good Morning, Vietnam?

Absolutely. He was funny both on set and off set, constantly joking with everybody on the cast and crew. And everybody loved him for it. He certainly never displayed episodes of being overly serious, sad or depressed as far as I can tell. Robin was very friendly with everyone, always mingling with the crew and cast during shooting breaks.

                               (Jintara and Williams during a shooting break)

So he was not a grumpy recluse keeping to himself as much as possible?

Not at all. He got along great with everybody and it was very comfortable to be around him. He was not the type of arrogant Hollywood star who didn’t want to have anything to do with lesser cast members. He obviously enjoyed social interaction and often asked the Vietnamese or Thai cast or crew how to say certain words or phrases in their respective languages. When he tried to repeat them, it caused a great deal of laughter, because of his laborious mispronunciations and the funny grimaces he made.

How about his professionalism as an actor?

He was an incredibly professional, versatile and creative actor. [Director] Barry Levinson in fact trusted him so much that he gave him a free hand to ad-lib his lines whenever he wanted. He didn’t insist that Robin followed the script to the point, so Robin’s character [Adrian Cronauer] pretty much turned out to be a true reflection of real-life Robin himself.

But I also recall that during filming the actors and crew often spontaneously broke out in uncontrollable laughter over Robin’s ad-hoc antics, of course with the result that many scenes had to go through multiple takes.

And sometimes Robin would fire off his lines so rapidly that Levinson asked him to calm down and advised him to repeat them slower, otherwise the audience would not be able to follow.

How did you feel when you had been cast?

When I learned that I had landed a supporting role alongside Robin Williams, I was extremely excited, because I had been a huge fan of Robin since [his late 1970s U.S. sitcom] Mork and Mindy. Mork’s greeting “nanoo, nanoo” is simply unforgettable [Jintara laughs]. It was hard to believe and almost seemed like a dream that I really should have the good fortune to act alongside world-famous Robin Williams in such a large Hollywood production.

What’s your favorite scene in the movie?

I think the one almost at the end of the movie, where Robin’s character has to return to the United States and must say good-bye to my character [Trinh], in whom he had a love interest, though unrequited. It becomes clear that she [Trinh] also had developed feelings [for Cronauer], but that she couldn’t give in to them because of the prevailing cultural and also political differences. She and him, they were worlds apart despite their attraction to one another.

                                  (The good-bye scene, Jintara's favorite)

Why is this scene in particular so important to you?

It was a very emotional scene and I started crying for real, which startled Robin at first. But when I explained why, he fully understood - and then joined me in shedding real tears during the re-takes.

Did you stay in touch with Robin Williams after Good Morning, Vietnam?

Unfortunately, we lost contact after shooting and I never touched base with him again. You have to understand that Robin already was a big star back then. On the other hand, I was just 22, a very young, quite inexperienced and practically unknown actress even in my own country with only two domestic movies to my name prior to Good Morning, Vietnam. To be frank, I didn’t dare to get in touch with Robin afterwards, as I feared I might bother him, although we had fostered a truly wonderful relationship during filming - and despite my practically non-existent command of English at the time.

This was your first role in a Hollywood film. Any other offers afterwards?

Yes, Good Morning, Vietnam was my first Hollywood movie, but also my last [Jintara laughs]. I was subsequently invited to audition for another foreign production [to be shot in Thailand], but eventually was not cast. I’ve never told that to anyone, because I didn’t want anybody to know unless I had actually been awarded the role. My professional mainstay today is in Thai movies and television series. I am currently shooting a period drama for [local] Channel 3.

                     (Jintara on a Thai magazine cover after the movie's release)

What is your favorite Robin Williams movie?

My personal favorite is Mrs. Doubtfire. I think Robin accomplished a terrific job and was absolutely credible as the cross-dressing title character, who resorts to very unusual means to keep in touch with his kids. But I also love him in “Dead Poets Society”, “What Dreams May Come”, and “Good Will Hunting”. There are so many great movies with Robin Williams. His body of work is so diverse, which goes to show again what a versatile actor he was. Oh, and there always will be Mork and Mindy, of course, which after all hooked me on him in the first place [Jintara giggles].

Any final thoughts?

While Robin’s premature death is sad and shocking, I just hope that he has found peace somewhere. I for one surely will never forget him and he will live on in my memories. He taught me a lot, and perhaps I am today a better actress because of him.

*All photos courtesy of Jintara Sukaphatana

Week in review: 8/11 - 8/15

This week was a somber one, marked by the passing of two beloved performers. Tragically, Robin Williams committed suicide Monday morning. While many knew of Williams' struggles with addiction, his widow, Susan Schneider, on Thursday revealed he also suffered from anxiety, depression, and had been recently diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

The public display of mourning for the 63-year-old comedian and actor has been something to behold, and continues, several days on. Writers and fans have been moved to post lovely remembrances online, while Twitter has been awash with favorite Williams lines, scenes and images. (Unfortunately, some things shared on the social site have been grossly unwelcome.) Fans have turned the Boston Public Garden bench on which Williams and co-star Matt Damon sat during a pivotal scene in Good Will Hunting, the same film that garnered Williams a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, into a memorial site, strewn with flowers and notes. "Sorry guys, I went to see about a girl," one couple wrote in chalk beneath the bench, quoting Williams' character in the film. Fans on the West Coast have likewise bedecked the front steps of the "Mrs. Doubtfire house," the location of one of his best-loved movies, in San Francisco.

Having gotten his start as a stand-up comedian, Williams was first introduced to mainstream audiences via "Happy Days," on which he played the endearing alien Mork. He was soon to headline his own spinoff sitcom, "Mork and Mindy," which aired in the late '70s. Williams went on to enjoy a lengthy film career, starring in a number of movies that defined the childhoods of innumerous fans, including Popeye, Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji and Aladdin. Works that saw Williams embodying other iconic roles (seeing them listed one after the other in this manner, one appreciates just how many there were),  include the aforementioned Good Will Hunting; The Fisher King; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Birdcage; The World According to Garp; and Dead Poets Society. It was a classic scene in the latter film that inspired Jimmy Fallon to stand atop his desk during a taping of "The Tonight Show" earlier this week, and give forth a moving tribute.

His was a career that spanned several decades, one Oscar, two Emmys, two SAG awards, four Golden Globes, and five Grammys. He is survived by his wife Susan and three children. We stand with Fallon and fans of Robin Williams the world over when we also say, "Oh Captain, my captain, you will be missed."

***

On Tuesday, 89-year-old actress Lauren Bacall died of a stroke. The Hollywood Golden Era actress was an "icon of cool," so proclaimed The Hollywood Reporter . With that voice, that first marriage, those eyes, and that reputation, Bacall was and will likely remain inimitable.

Her early career is the stuff of legend. The wife of powerful director Howard Hawks spotted her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, and convinced her husband to audition her for a part. Bacall, whose real name was Betty Joan Perske, thus scored her very first film role opposite Humphrey "Bogie" Bogart in To Have and Have Not when she was just 19. The ingénue and the movie star married a year later, when she was 20, and he, 45. They remained wed until Bogart's death in 1957.

Early Bacall films include other classic "Bogie and Bacall" flicks The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage ('47), and Key Largo ('48). Many years later, she was nominated for her only Oscar for her work in 1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces, in which she played Barbra Streisand's mother. She was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2010, a moment she would later publicly disparage, as she neglected to thank her children during her acceptance speech. She spoke candidly about that award, and other notables in her eventful life, including that oh-so-brief engagement to Frank Sinatra, during a lengthy interview with Vanity Fair three years ago. The resulting article shows her to be every bit as difficult and fascinating one could hope of a woman with her reputation, equal parts talent and toughness.

Bacall won two Tony awards: for Applause, an adaptation of All About Eve, in 1970; and for Woman of the Year, in 1981. In 1999, the American Film Institute named her one of the 25 greatest female screen legends in American history.

"When I think about her in the future, though, the images that will come to my mind, like most everyone else's, will be from more than a half-century earlier, long before I was even a figment of someone's imagination, when she began acting in films that will live on long after I am gone," wrote Scott Feinberg in his THR tribute. "That's the magic of the movies. That's the magic of Lauren Bacall."

Can the ‘Turtles’ hold off ‘The Expendables?’

Although three major-release films bow today (The Expendables 3, Let’s Be Cops, and The Giver), the No.1 spot at the box office should once again be filled by last week’s champion, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Positive word-of-mouth will likely help the action comedy rake in a little under $30 million or so, which should be more than enough to fend off the competition.

In likely second place, The Expendables 3 is looking at a $20 to $25 million debut. The first film in the franchise opened to a strong $38.4 million in 2010, though its sequel bowed to a weaker $28.6 million in 2012. The low $20 millions projected for this third installment comes courtesy of Lionsgate, a studio full of execs who are understandably still miffed at those who leaked a copy of The Expendables 3 several weeks ago. The film has reportedly been downloaded more than 2 million times. To what extent will its Internet availability affect Expendables’ ticket sales? To what extent will its new PG-13 rating, as opposed to the R of the earlier films? To what extent will simple franchise fatigue?

Marketing for The Expendables 3 makes the film seem more light-hearted than its predecessors, though viewers in the mood for comedy will likely opt for Let’s Be Cops instead. The poorly reviewed flick (a dismal 9 percent rotten on Rotten Tomatoes) technically opened on Wednesday, when it earned $5.2 million. Cops may not boast any marquee names, but its solid mid-week debut suggests weekend sales should be likewise healthy. It could earn just under $20 million for the weekend, or in the high $20 millions for its five-day total.

It’s looking as if Let’s Be Cops will out-earn The Giver, an adaptation of Lois Lowry’s beloved children’s book 20 years in the making. The novel certainly has a dedicated readership, but reviews have been poor (28 percent rotten on RT), and the decision to increase the age of protagonist Jonas from 12 to 18 or so, and to cast then 24-year-old Brenton Thwaites, has been met with fan opposition. Additionally, although The Giver was written well in advance of recent YA dystopian hits The Hunger Games and Divergent (whose authors owe a great deal to Lowry), its themes are so similar, those who are unfamiliar with the book could be forgiven for thinking its adaptation a copycat production. The Giver is looking at an opening weekend gross between $10 and $15 million.

Three specialty films expand considerably this weekend: Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight will play in 964 theatres, Boyhood will screen in 771, and What If has been booked for 786 locations.

Catching up with the cast of 'The Giver'

It took 18 years for producers Nikki Silver and Jeff Bridges to realize their wish of adapting The Giver, Lois Lowry’s popular children’s book (it was still considered a children’s book in those days, before the publishing industry had, like realtors bestowing a trendy name upon a neighborhood whose boundaries are disputed, established the trendy subgenre of fiction for the indefinably aged known as “Young Adult”). And a good thing, too, Bridges acknowledged at this morning’s press conference for the film, held at the Marriott Essex House in Manhattan. If they hadn’t suffered delays, they would have been unable to cast 17-year-old Odeya Rush, for instance. “Odeya wouldn’t have been born,” Bridges pointed out.

“I’m just glad it didn’t take any longer,” quipped Lowry. “Because I’m 77 years old.”

The Giver first came to Bridges’ attention while he was searching for a project in which he could direct his father, the late Lloyd Bridges.  A photo of an old, grizzled man adorned the copy of the novel, and Bridges thought, “Oh yeah, my Dad could play that part.” His interest was further piqued by the book’s Newbery Medal, and its controversial reputation: The Giver was banned in certain schools. Award-winning material and real-world drama? “The money guys are going to go crazy for this,” Bridges remembered thinking. “That did not prove to be true.”

Though he was able to enlist the support of his manager at the time, Neil Koenisgberg, who would become a fellow producer on the film, and Silver, even hiring screenwriter Robert Weide to pen a draft of the adaptation, Bridges saw his project languish for nearly two decades. However, “I’m pleased it did take so long,” he affirmed. “This is the right team.”

The actor/producer’s ideal assemblage includes Salt director Phillip Noyce; playwright and screenwriter Michael Mitnick, who worked off Weide’s script; Brenton Thwaites (Oculus) in the lead role of Jonas; the aforementioned Rush as Jonas’ love interest Fiona; Katie Holmes as Jonas’ mother; “True Blood’s” Alexander Skarsgard as his father; Taylor Swift as Rosemary; Meryl Streep as the Chief Elder of their dystopian community; and Bridges as the titular Giver, or, as he’s properly known in the story, the Receiver of Memory. The Giver is set in a world of uniform “sameness,” an era following an undisclosed horror so awful, it prompted the community’s forefathers to do away with individuality and strong emotion, as well as popular memory of the two, in order to safeguard against future conflict. The Receiver of Memory alone knows how it feels to hurt, or lust or love, knowledge he or she retains so as to advise the leaders of the community. Only, the current Receiver is growing old, and must train his successor – enter the sensitive Jonas.

“It really kind of blew my mind in a way that stuck with me,” said Swift of the book. She, like Mitnick, and Streep and Bridges' own children, was assigned the novel in school, when she was in the fifth grade. Upon receiving the script, the singer, whose previous film credits include 2010’s Valentine’s Day and voicework on The Lorax, knew “if it was anything like the effect the book had on me, I’m going to do it.”

Streep was similarly enthusiastic. “Well, I like to be boss,” she deadpanned in response to a reporter who asked why she felt drawn to the project. A bit more seriously, though still in-keeping with the actress’ general bonhomie, “I’ve always wanted to work with this gentleman my entire career,” she said, referring to Bridges. “So that was a big, big thing.” At one point, Streep threw up her hand and mimed cracking a whip, a theatrical means of expressing the (approximated) lengths to which she was formerly driven to ensure her children completed their summer reading assignments. (“That’s one of my parenting methods,” she joked, cracking the air whip a second time.) When it came time to read The Giver, however, her kids needed no forceful prompting.

“She’s a little young,” Holmes said of her daughter Suri, when asked if the 8-year-old had seen the film. Politely, she added, “I think so many people are going to be happy with this adaptation.”

A second question directed at the actress, about her “brush with Scientology” while married to Scientologist Tom Cruise, was swiftly dismissed by the conference’s moderator. The dud of a query followed one that touched upon religious readings of The Giver. Theological interpretations of both book and film seemed to surprise Noyce, though Lowry had heard various takes on her work before. Its ending has apparently led some to view The Giver as Christian in tone and message. “You think [Jonas] finds Christianity exclusively?” Noyce questioned the journalist who raised the issue. “I don’t think it was anyone’s intention that he should be discovering Christianity exclusively.”

Lowry, the understated, welcome wit, offered, “I’ve discovered over the years… many people give the book as a bar mitzvah gift.” After all, in the novel, Jonas is 12 and embarking upon a journey toward adulthood.  At any rate, “I did not intend it as a Christian allegory.”

The DVD of The Giver may be less frequently gifted to those celebrating the Jewish rite of passage, which corresponds with a teen’s 13th birthday. In the film, Jonas, Fiona, and their friend Asher (Cameron Monaghan) are several years older, around 16. “In the book, they’re 12, but for various reasons, some on the team wanted to make them older. That was a real struggle for me,” said Bridges, who nonetheless came to embrace the group decision once the filmmakers cast the then 24-year-old Thwaites.

The Australian actor and star of the film spoke little during the conference, though he did once briefly interrupt Rush with a few playful punches after she said he and Monaghan were like her brothers.

“Ok, it’s my turn to talk now,” Rush shot back good-naturedly, if decisively, continuing to praise the close-knit cast and crew. “Aside from Brenton,” she joked, “everyone’s really easy to get along with.”

Perhaps the roundest note of positivity was struck by Bridges at the very beginning of the gathering, when he shared a few words about Robin Williams, who passed away Monday. “I just want to acknowledge the fullness of life,” Bridges said. “I miss him, [and] I’m sure you guys do, too… What a gift he was to all of us.”

Swift later echoed these sentiments of the actor, who co-starred with Williams in 1991’s The Fisher King. “We live for these fleeting moments of happiness. It’s not a constant. But it’s worth it. That’s what I think people will take away from this movie.”

The Giver opens nationwide August 15th.

‘Turtles’ tallies out to weekend high

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stole the box-office crown from Guardians of the Galaxy with ease this weekend. The latest action offering from Michael Bay grossed an impressive $65 million, contributing a significant portion of the $173.6 million total earned by the weekend’s top 12 films, a 22 percent uptick from this same frame last year. After a season of relatively slow sales, this August is shaping up to be the best on record. By the end of the month, returns may be close to $1 billion.

Critics’ reviews proved of little to negligible importance to fans, who didn’t let a 19 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes keep them from theatres. Fifty-five percent of audience members were over the age of 25, and awarded the film an OK CinemaScore grade of a B. Given the performance of similar films like Transformers: Age of Extinction and the first G.I. Joe, which opened over this same weekend five years ago, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should wind up with total earnings of around $170 million or so. Paramount certainly thinks its momentum will hold; the studio has already green-lit a TMNT (not to be confused with the ’07 animated film of the same name, which earned less from its entire theatrical run than this most recent Turtles grossed in its first three days) sequel. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 will bow June 3, 2016.

Although it was unable to retain its top standing at the box office, Guardians of the Galaxy still managed to claim an impressive distinction: The film earned the highest second-weekend gross of the summer. Guardians dipped 56 percent to rake in $41.5 million, boosting its current total to $175.9 million, which is also the highest 10-day gross of the year. If things continue to move along at this nice clip (and why shouldn’t they?), Guardians is looking to be the summer’s most successful film, with roughly $260 million in all.

Third place went to Into the Storm, as expected. The latest update on the Twister disaster flick grossed a solid $18 million, the same amount of money to which director Steven Quale’s last film, Final Destination 5, debuted in 2011. Storm skewed slightly female (58 percent) and certainly older (71 percent over the age of 25). Like Turtles, audiences awarded the film a B CinemaScore grade, although with its lack of stars, compensatory, interesting characters, and Michael Bay-style action, Into the Storm will likely hold less well than the weekend’s No. 1 earner.

Helen Mirren-starrer The Hundred-Foot Journey did a little better than pundits had predicted, clocking in at No. 4 with an $11.1 million gross. Its opening was certainly softer than those enjoyed by similar August foodie-flicks Eat Pray Love and Julie and Julia, both of which bowed in the low $20 millions, but viewers who did turn out (an older crowd; 69 percent were over 35) liked what they saw: They granted the film an A CinemaScore grade. Movies targeted to older audiences tend to be less front-loaded and enjoy steadier holds, so given Journey’s positive word-of-mouth, it should chart a smooth b.o. course to total returns in the $40 million range.

Step Up All In tanked with its fifth-place earnings of $6.6. million. Each Step Up film has earned less than its predecessor, but this most recent entry performed particularly poorly – its opening weekend gross was down a whopping 44 percent from Step Up Revolution. Have we finally seen the last of the once lucrative dance-film franchise?

Finally, the specialty division experienced a slow weekend, as two of its high-profile offerings failed to generate much excitement among fans. James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D earned a very disappointing per-theatre-average of just $496 from 304 locations. What If, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan, didn’t fare quite as poorly, but its opening was nonetheless rather soft: The rom-com grossed $130,000 from 20 theatres. It may perhaps fare better once more moviegoers, and Radcliffe’s significant fan base, get their chance to view the film upon its expanded, nationwide release.

Week in review 8/4 - 8/8

Hollywood execs have hearkened to the cries of bloggers and film pundits, or taken a quick glance at the list of this summer's successes, and are moving ahead on three projects with lady leads: An all-female Ghostbusters, a Spider-Man spin-off featuring a female superhero, and an all-female Expendables, a film whose title, if we were inclined to quibble, we might point out suggests a repressive Southern culture, the Expendabelles. It is, however, a start, and our ears will remain pricked until gratified with the announcement of Rebel Wilson's casting in Paul Feig's (Bridesmaids) Ghostbusters. It now seems original premises are the final frontier.

In other development news of the welcome variety, two comedic favorites have been awarded film deals. In one, Ricky Gervais will reprise his role as the original BBC "The Office" boss David Brent. Life On the Road is reportedly a faux-documentary in the vein of "The Office" TV show, and will follow Brent as he works as a traveling salesman and attempts to save enough money to self-finance a concert tour. Brent believes this to be a rockumentary; it isn't.

Count on a great deal of singing and dancing and meme-generating tomfoolery from the guys of The Lonely Island, however, in their silver-screen debut. Andy Sandberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, or the trio behind SNL skits and hits in their own right, "I'm On A Boat" and "Lazy Sunday," will star in a film produced by Judd Apatow.

It's comforting when the pieces come together so nicely and expectedly in this way, as one could say of Frozen director Jennifer Lee's recent appointment of screenwriter to an adaptation of Madeline L'Engle's YA novel A Wrinkle in Time. We know Lee can tackle girl power with gumption, but let's hope her Time hews a bit closer to source material than Frozen with ostensible inspiration The Snow Queen.

The project will see Lee working once again with and for Disney, a famed producer of animated classics much like the much-in-the-news Studio Ghibli. Reports surrounding the Japanese animation studio changed quite a bit from the beginning of the week towards its end, thanks to a blogger who mistranslated remarks recently made by Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki. Ghibli went from closing down, to "envisioning a short break," to, now, likely welcoming back beloved Ponyo animator Hayao Miyazaki, who had previously announced his retirement.

This would be great news for anime fans, though it's director Bryan Singer who may be the recipient of the week's most welcome piece of information. Michael Egan, who had filed a sex-abuse case against the X-Men director and other Hollywood players, filed a motion to withdraw his final suit against defendants, THR reported on Wednesday. As the alleged abuse was to have taken place in Hawaii, Egan has been suffering blowback of late from sworn comments he made back in 2003, in which he stated he had never visited the state.

It remains to be seen the extent to which the backlash from a letter denouncing Israel's recent bombings of Gaza signed by Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz will affect the stars' careers. At least one exec, Ryan Kavanaugh of Relativity Media, the grandson of Holocaust survivors who took umbrage at the actors' use of the word "genocide" in describing Israel's military actions, has voiced his displeasure. The letter "makes my blood boil," he said. Ultimately, however, it comes down to cold dollars and cents: Studios will continue to work with the two if they continue to draw audiences.

Other stars have been putting their influence to less contentious use. In one of the best news items of the week, J.K. Rowling sent a handwritten note to the survivor of a shooting that killed her family, Cassidy Stay. The best part? Rowling penned her missive in the voice of Dumbledore after learning Stay was a big fan: "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on a light," the 15-year-old quoted Dumbledore at a recent press conference. The contents of the letter are undisclosed, as they should remain.