Dejana

Jennifer Lawrence's casting in American Hustle was announced February 2013 and principal filming began March 8, 2013. Being Leonardo DiCaprio's longtime BFF probably didn't hurt when The Great Gatsby was being cast, either.

Sorkin didn't want to work on the movie at all; he wanted to adapt a different book written by a woman he's possibly dating (according to Pascal). IMO, that "there aren't any Asian movie stars" (because Jesse Eisenberg was a huge movie star when he was cast in The Social Network) is just an excuse he threw out in the hopes that the studio would agree and shelve the project. She had. Her lawyers went to Sony and they agreed to give her a higher profit percentage, but that amount was still lower than what the men in American Hustle were getting. Perhaps she and Amy Adams should have gone back again and tried to get Sony to explain how in the world they could justify giving them fewer points for that film than Jeremy Renner. And no one at Sony would've called them demanding, ungrateful, greedy, replaceable or...minimally talented spoiled brats, I'm sure. Hollywood has a long history of giving a fair shake to women in front of and behind the camera, after all. The media not reporting on the contents of the Sony Hack down to privacy concerns, well, I'm sure a lot of people in Hollywood would love that, a massive mulligan for all the questionable attitudes and poor judgment on a variety of fronts and shoddy business practices on display. Jennifer Lawrence has been dragged into both hacks; I wonder if she would share the opinion that the leaks of her business dealings and nude photos she sent to her boyfriend are exactly the same thing.

December 12–14, 2014 Estimates: 1 (N) Exodus: Gods and Kings, $24,500,000 | 3,503 Theaters | $6,994 Avg. | $24,500,000 2 (1) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, $13,200,000 | 3,731 Theaters | $3,538 Avg. | $277,398,000 3 (2) Penguins of Madagascar, $7,300,000 | 3,667 Theaters | $1,991 Avg. | $58,839,000 4 (N) Top Five, $7,210,000 | 979 Theaters | $7,365 Avg. | $7,210,000 5 (4) Big Hero 6, $6,145,000 | 2,943 Theaters | $2,088 Avg. | $185,325,000 6 (5) Interstellar, $5,500,000 | 2,692 Theaters | $2,043 Avg. | $166,800,000 7 (3) Horrible Bosses 2, $4,630,000 | 3,202 Theaters | $1,446 Avg. | $43,601,000 8 (6) Dumb and Dumber To, $2,757,000 | 2,842 Theaters | $970 Avg. | $82,117,000 9 (7) The Theory of Everything, $2,525,000 | 1,220 Theaters | $2,070 Avg. | $17,148,000 10 (15) Wild (2014), $1,550,000 | 116 Theaters | $13,362 Avg. | $2,423,000 Outside the Top 10: Birdman, $1,325,000 | 606 Theaters | $2,186 Avg. | $20,794,000 The Imitation Game, $875,000 | 25 Theaters | $35,000 Avg. | $2,000,000 Foxcatcher, $402,000 | 79 Theaters | $5,089 Avg. | $3,368,000 Inherent Vice, $330,000 | 5 Theaters | $66,000 Avg. | $330,000 Whiplash, $264,000 | 154 Theaters | $1,714 Avg. | $4,775,000 Back in Time (Congcong Nanian), $210,000 | 20 Theaters | $10,500 Avg. | $210,000 Rosewater, $67,000 | 115 Theaters | $583 Avg. | $3,043,000 Global Totals: THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1: $334M Overseas Total | $610.7M Global Total GONE GIRL: $180.5M Overseas Total | $344.9M Global Total BIG HERO 6: $68.2M Overseas Total | $253.5M Global Total PENGUINS OF MADAGSCAR: $116.7M Overseas Total | $175.5M Global Total THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES: $117.6M Overseas/Global Total EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS: $50.1M Overseas Total | $74.6M Global Total

Sony emails reveal Jennifer Lawrence paid less than male American Hustle co-stars, at least in terms of back-end compensation. Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner were all at 9 percent while Amy Adams and Jennifer got 7 percent (JLaw negotiated up from 5 percent). Pascal's response concedes "there is truth here". Glass ceilings and casual racism: three cheers for Liberal Hollywood! Here's a round-up from last night of 10 new developments, some responses to old developments, but Clooney wants to take on Rupert Murdoch, the studios want to take on Google and the new James Bond movie is still facing massive rewrites. Also, Aaron Sorkin is "broke", maybe sleeping with an author and one proposed budget for the Jobs movie had Sorkin making more than any actor cast, twice as much as Fassbinder playing Jobs. Because the Jobs movie flamed out, Pascal wanted Sorkin to finish a script for Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt (from the same author of The Blind Side and Moneyball books), while Sorkin preferred Molly's Game, about a real-life Hollywood poker ring. Sorkin argued that Flash Boys would take too much research and also that the protagonist was Asian-Canadian and "there aren't any Asian movie stars". Pascal worried that since Molly's Game has some unflattering accounts of Tobey Maguire's poker antics, making it could upset Tobey's father-in-law Ronald Meyer, chairman of NBC Universal.

Luisa's back, only to be committed. Eventually, it will be revealed that she was telling the truth. At the rate this show goes, it will be 2-3 episodes from now! I'm surprised and glad that they cleared up Jane catching Rafael in bed with someone else, in maybe half an episode. When's Rafael going to mention to Jane that he and Petra lost a pregnancy, before? Pretty sure Nadine has some sort of ulterior motive, with respect to the investigation. Michael sleeping with her was a really bad idea that will probably come back to bite him.

Later today at 6:30 EST, TCM will show 1943 documentary December 7th, followed by From Here to Eternity at 8 PM.

December 5–7, 2014 Estimates: 1 (1) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, $21,600,000 | 4,054 Theaters | $5,328 Avg. | $257,700,000 2 (2) Penguins of Madagascar, $11,100,000 | 3,775 Theaters | $2,940 Avg. | $49,591,000 3 (5) Horrible Bosses 2, $8,600,000 | 3,400 Theaters | $2,529 Avg. | $36,075,000 4 (3) Big Hero 6, $8,130,000 | 3,168 Theaters | $2,566 Avg. | $177,548,000 5 (4) Interstellar, $8,000,000 | 3,028 Theaters | $2,642 Avg. | $158,657,000 6 (6) Dumb and Dumber To, $4,169,000 | 3,088 Theaters | $1,350 Avg. | $78,081,000 7 (7) The Theory of Everything, $2,668,000 | 826 Theaters | $3,230 Avg. | $13,613,000 8 (8) Gone Girl, $1,500,000 | 1,205 Theaters | $1,245 Avg. | $162,861,000 9 (N) The Pyramid, $1,350,000 | 589 Theaters | $2,292 Avg. | $1,350,000 10 (9) Birdman, $1,150,000 | 738 Theaters | $1,558 Avg. | $18,919,000 Outside the Top 10: St. Vincent, $1,085,000 | 1,432 Theaters | $758 Avg. | $40,766,000 Nightcrawler, $1,076,000 | 1,257 Theaters | $856 Avg. | $30,021,000 Wild (2014), $630,000 | 21 Theaters | $30,000 Avg. | $677,000 Foxcatcher, $575,000 | 75 Theaters | $7,667 Avg. | $2,842,000 The Homesman, $501,000 | 154 Theaters | $3,253 Avg. | $1,067,000 The Imitation Game, $402,000 | 8 Theaters | $50,250 Avg. | $1,013,000 Whiplash, $351,000 | 175 Theaters | $2,006 Avg. | $4,415,000 The Babadook, $66,600 | 22 Theaters | $3,027 Avg. | $112,300 Global Totals: INTERSTELLAR: $434.4M Overseas Total | $593.1M Global Total THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1: $302.8M Overseas Total | $560.5M Global Total BIG HERO 6: $62.8M Overseas Total | $240.3M Global Total PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR: $93.8M Overseas Total | $144.1M Global Total EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS: $23.1M Overseas/Global Total

I compare Katrina to Megan on Mad Men. The latter wasn't universally adored by any stretch, but even the season when she had the most dialogue of any actress on the show, and the scripts were written so that more established, beloved characters would randomly praise her amazingness, many of the storylines still didn't involve her on a deep level. What was happening with Roger or Pete or Joan or Peggy on any given week, for example, was generally separate from the life of Megan, most of the time. You can't really say that with Sleepy Hollow, which is less of an ensemble than MM. Katrina, for better or worse, has been made a much more integral part of the show this season, so she's much harder to ignore for those who don't care for the character and her storylines. It will always happen that some fans won't like a character on any given show and sometimes, honestly, it's on them. Bitter that Don Draper gets so much airtime on Mad Men? It was always obvious that he was the main character, so don't expect it to change. Sure, Katrina is in the original short story, but SH the show deviated from that quite a bit, and received the most praise for its depiction of a partnership of a man out of time and a very modern woman, and the least for the handling of Katrina. If the big reveal is that she's playing Ichabod somehow, the writers are going about it in the worst way possible. As it is, she just comes off as duplicitous yet thoroughly ineffectual as a witch, when it seems like we're all supposed to think she's the most wonderful thing since sliced bread, which just makes fans more annoyed with her.

Pretty much. Remember how Michael Jackson was such a big fan of the story?

Book Katniss is said to have olive skin, straight black hair and gray eyes. The casting call only asked for white actresses, even though people who don't identify as white could also fall under that physical description. Another contender for Katniss was Hailee Steinfeld, who doesn't exactly fit the physical description from the books either, but not as far off as JLaw, and her ancestry might have diminished some of the criticisms about the limited scope of the casting call. I tried to give the kids who didn't realize Cho Chang or the Patil twins weren't white something of a pass, since the Potter fandom could skew very young. The book did mention Dean being black, so maybe they figured that if there other non-white characters, it also would've said so in the books (but then, you have the Rue example with THG, so...maybe not). There were probably slightly older girls who thought (hoped?) it was an Alexa Chung situation, so they too would be considered for those open auditions to play Harry Potter's date/girlfriend. I always wondered if they did those open auditions for roles like Cho and the Patils because the British talent agencies didn't have that many young actors of color on their rosters. Not that they didn't have any, but for a part like Cedric, they probably just put out a notice to all the agencies and were sent dozens, possibly hundreds of head shots of young, handsome white actors to consider. They rifled through them to find the ones who could reasonably pass for a 17 year old (by Hollywood standards), called those guys in for auditions and picked the most suitable one. But for Cho, maybe there were only a dozen young actresses already booked with talent agencies who would've been the right age, but some might not have been able to commit to months of filming, or weren't "Hollywood pretty", had the wrong vibe, a mismatch with the leading man, etc. It wasn't like those movies demanded acting prodigies, so they threw it out to the masses, figuring they could find schoolgirls to do a decent enough job. Interestingly, the HP production ended up casting Luna the same way after going the more traditional route first.

Michelle in her own words:

November 28–30, 2014 Estimates: 1 (1) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, $56,875,000 | 4,151 Theaters | $13,702 Avg. | $225,693,000 2 (N) Penguins of Madagascar, $25,800,000 | 3,764 Theaters | $6,854 Avg. | $36,000,000 3 (2) Big Hero 6, $18,770,000 | 3,365 Theaters | $5,578 Avg. | $167,209,000 4 (3) Interstellar, $15,800,000 | 3,066 Theaters | $5,153 Avg. | $147,090,000 5 (N) Horrible Bosses 2, $15,700,000 | 3,375 Theaters | $4,652 Avg. | $23,010,000 6 (4) Dumb and Dumber To, $8,295,000 | 3,130 Theaters | $2,650 Avg. | $72,205,000 7 (10) The Theory of Everything, $5,082,000 | 802 Theaters | $6,337 Avg. | $9,604,000 8 (5) Gone Girl, $2,470,000 | 1,174 Theaters | $2,104 Avg. | $160,757,000 9 (9) Birdman, $1,880,000 | 710 Theaters | $2,648 Avg. | $17,237,400 10 (7) St. Vincent, $1,773,000 | 1,256 Theaters | $1,412 Avg. | $39,327,000 Outside the Top 10: Foxcatcher, $1,032,000 | 72 Theaters | $14,333 Avg. | $2,126,000 John Wick, $525,000 | 488 Theaters | $1,076 Avg. | $41,577,000 The Imitation Game, $482,000 | 4 Theaters | $120,500 Avg. | $482,000 Ouija, $383,000 | 455 Theaters | $842 Avg. | $50,340,000 Women Who Flirt (Sajiao Nvren), $80,000 | 26 Theaters | $3,077 Avg. | $141,000 The Babadook, $27,000 | 3 Theaters | $9,000 Avg. | $27,000 Global Totals: INTERSTELLAR: $395.2M Overseas Total | $542.2M Global Total THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1: $254.4M Overseas Total | $480M Global Total THE MAZE RUNNER. $235.5M Overseas Total | $336.5M Global Total GONE GIRL: $174M Overseas Total | $334.5M Global Total BIG HERO 6: $56.9M Overseas Total | $224.1M Global Total FURY: $89.8M Overseas Total | $171.7M Global Total PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR: $63M Overseas Total | $100M Global Total THE BOOK OF LIFE: $40.6M Overseas Total | $88.9M Global Total

Sony is investigating possible North Korean involvement, in retaliation for The Interview, scheduled to be released this Christmas. Who knows, but even if it's garden variety American hackers, blaming North Korea gives the movie a nice, free and timely publicity boost.

For The Hunger Games, yes, but with the Divergent series...the first one cost $85 million and made a little under $290 million. The Fault In Our Stars made more globally and cost $12 million (though no franchise potential, obviously). The overseas markets for Divergent might expand, but if it doesn't explode and domestically, the increase is minor at best... Sequels tend to cost more and Allegiant is...not the most popular book with its fanbase. Not just "that was a stupid baby name" or "the epilogue was dumb" reviled, but fans telling non-readers not to bother with the series at all, reviled. Yet they did still show up for the first movie, so maybe they'll buy tickets and just complain the whole time. If it had a budget like The Maze Runner ($34 million) I would say go for it, but with the budget, box office and marketing... Eventually, I think this "split the last part in two" gambit is going to have at least one outright failure.

It's a new NFL provision that began this season: Who knew?

I saw Love Actually in the theater when it first came out and there was laughter when Billy Bob was revealed to be POTUS. Not the most believable president, but as part of a rom-com subplot, I don't find his casting terribly egregious. He's still probably more believable as president than Fitz on Scandal, but anyway... He's the guy who holds up the signs at the door while pretending to be "Carol Singers" (it took me a few watches to realize that he was just referring to Christmas carolers). The Liam Neeson storyline in LA is a gut-punch to watch now.

Gabaldon could have done that, but then it would be a different story. Englishwoman Claire knows all that she does about the American Revolution because she ended up living in Boston when she went back, and picked up a lot of things by living there and helping Bree with her homework. If you'd made Claire American instead, then there isn't the tension with her being an English person among Scots. Would Jamie have called her Sassenach? Maybe she could have been a fellow historian like Frank, but then she wouldn't have had the nursing background. I think it will work out that Claire spends roughly half of her life in each "time", and her life in the 20th century does a lot to shape the person she is when she's in the past. But people like stories for different reasons and it is a bit different to separate your main lovers for that long. I don't really like that he married Laoghaire but I kind of understand it why Gabaldon married Jamie off to someone while Claire was gone, though, granted, it could have been some pleasant widow lady and they had a nice enough life together, but she died of a fever, or whatever, before Claire came back. OTOH, that wouldn't have been as dramatic. I do agree that Gabaldon is meandering as the books go on, and the series could have been wrapped up before eight books. I wonder what will happen if the TV show only gets five seasons or so; will the story be left hanging? What if the series is canceled before Gabaldon is finished writing the books? Will she allow the show to "spoil" the book?

The Hunger Games franchise turns out not to be immune to the split finale blahs, or maybe it was the lack of games (and showings in IMAX) this time around? Anyway, it's still the biggest opening weekend of the year so far, but Guardians of the Galaxy might end up the #1 movie of the year. Lionsgate should be thinking its plans to make Allegiant a two-parter very carefully... November 21–23, 2014 Estimates: 1 (N) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, $123,000,000 | 4,151 Theaters | $29,631 Avg. | $123,000,000 2 (2) Big Hero 6, $20,086,000 | 3,650 Theaters | $5,503 Avg. | $135,708,000 3 (3) Interstellar, $15,100,000 | 3,415 Theaters | $4,422 Avg. | $120,692,000 4 (1) Dumb and Dumber To, $13,820,000 | 3,188 Theaters | $4,335 Avg. | $57,473,000 5 (5) Gone Girl, $2,815,000 | 1,609 Theaters | $1,750 Avg. | $156,823,000 6 (4) Beyond the Lights, $2,630,000 | 1,766 Theaters | $1,489 Avg. | $10,124,000 7 (6) St. Vincent, $2,354,000 | 1,707 Theaters | $1,379 Avg. | $36,613,000 8 (7) Fury (2014), $1,900,000 | 1,720 Theaters | $1,105 Avg. | $79,150,000 9 (10) Birdman, $1,855,000 | 862 Theaters | $2,152 Avg. | $14,407,000 10 (17) The Theory of Everything, $1,500,000 | 140 Theaters | $10,714 Avg. | $2,796,000 Outside the Top 10: John Wick, $915,000 | 972 Theaters | $941 Avg. | $40,649,000 Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas, $644,000 | 390 Theaters | $1,651 Avg. | $1,904,000 Rosewater, $578,000 | 371 Theaters | $1,558 Avg. | $2,076,000 Whiplash, $530,000 | 331 Theaters | $1,601 Avg. | $3,227,000 Foxcatcher, $474,000 | 24 Theaters | $19,750 Avg. | $822,000 Citizenfour, $184,000 | 86 Theaters | $2,140 Avg. | $1,221,000 The Homesman, $140,000, 33 Theaters | $4,242 Avg. | $202,000 Dear White People, $101,000 | 68 Theaters | $1,485 Avg. | $4,067,000 Global Totals: INTERSTELLAR: $329M Overseas Total | $449.7M Global Total THE MAZE RUNNER: $234.2M Overseas Total | $334.6M Global Total GONE GIRL: $171.4M Overseas Total | $328.2M Global Total THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1: $152M Overseas Total | $275M Global Total DRACULA UNTOLD: $156.7M Overseas Total | $211.6M Global Total BIG HERO 6: $49.5M Overseas Total | $185.2M Global Total THE BOOK OF LIFE: $39.1M Overseas Total | $87M Global Total OUIJA: $19.3M Overseas Total | $62.8M Global Total

The high school theater sketch made me think of recent interview where Jaden and Willow Smith shared their "deep thoughts" with the world. Teenagers who spout pretentiousness and think they have all the answers are so cute. My favorite part of Back Home Baller was the awkward exchange with the neighbor. Definitely been there, ouch. Also been there with being asked a completely stupid question, but soon realizing that it's just easier to answer it and keep on going. Really glad they added Leslie to the cast.

I would say Claire and Jamie are shown together in at least half of every book, if not more. Their time apart is a big deal, but the story is told in a way that kind of condenses those years. I think Gabaldon wanted Claire and Jamie's child to grow up in the 20th century, and that they weren't together for 20 years was also a major obstacle for our leads to overcome. A big deal is made out of how young Claire looks for her age to everyone in the 18th century when she goes back, partly due to nutrition, partly because Diana seems to have pretty good genes in that department herself, and the leads in a romance tend to be attractive. Though just as conveniently, aging also seems not to have slowed down Claire and Jamie's sex life very much. Perhaps making up for lost time?

A couple of weeks ago Bill Simmons of ESPN/Grantland wrote a piece theorizing Tom Brady's relatively mellow personality was down to him growing up as the only boy with three older sisters (in contrast to Peyton Manning competing against two brothers). Simmons noted that his own daughter was a couple of years older than his son and she was completely the boss of her brother, and this was the same sibling dynamic that went on with all of his friends who had the older daughter/younger son combo. Mackynzie and Michael remind me of that. Lying about Jana being on the trip, very dishonest, Duggars! What happened to "values"? Josh has no poker face; he soooo does not want more children right now. The season finale is really going to be centered around Cousin Amy's singing career? Talk about ending with a whimper!

This show is just burning through story...do the writers know the show's only going to last one season? I don't think Michael is the worst guy ever and if not for the pregnancy, he and Jane probably would've lived happily ever after, but...things happen and change the entire course of your life. It'll be interesting to see Rafael's reaction to Jane being a virgin. Though at the rate she's moving with him, perhaps she won't be one for much longer. Maybe we're in for Jane the Virgin? or Jane the "Virgin", if she goes through with the act in the heat of the moment, regrets it and decides to reclaim her virginity later on. Though that might be too much, even for this show. Luisa had better show up next week, or at least they could explain what happened to the pivotal hearing related to the lawsuit that she just had to attend, or else Rafael would lose his hotel.

For years, I've felt that Twilight reads like the fan fiction of a (non-existent) better book. Who knew a much-worse written Twilight fanfic would become its very own phenomenon? It's like EL James learned everything about the craft of writing from Stephenie Meyer. About Edward being marble and perfect, I remember reading about that being an allusion to the Mormon angel Moroni: I gave on reading the series with New Moon, but I did finish "Midnight Sun", Meyer's excerpt of the first book told from Edward's point of view. I preferred it to being inside Bella's head.

The actress playing Aaliyah wasn't bad exactly, but she reminded me of Jordin Sparks. Timbaland and Damon Dash got to be way better looking onscreen. It was all pretty by-the-numbers.

November 14–16, 2014 Estimates: 1 (N) Dumb and Dumber To, $38,053,000 | 3,154 Theaters | $12,065 Avg. | $38,053,000 2 (1) Big Hero 6, $36,010,000 | 3,773 Theaters | $9,544 Avg. | $111,653,000 3 (2) Interstellar, $29,190,000 | 3,561 Theaters | $8,197 Avg. | $97,810,000 4 (N) Beyond the Lights, $6,500,000 | 1,789 Theaters | $3,633 Avg. | $6,500,000 5 (3) Gone Girl, $4,625,000 | 1,959 Theaters | $2,361 Avg. | $152,699,000 6 (6) St. Vincent, $4,025,000 | 2,332 Theaters | $1,726 Avg. | $33,258,000 7 (5) Fury (2014), $3,810,000 | 2,382 Theaters | $1,599 Avg. | $75,941,000 8 (7) Nightcrawler, $3,038,000 | 2,103 Theaters | $1,445 Avg. | $25,000,000 9 (4) Ouija, $3,025,000 | 2,382 Theaters | $1,270 Avg. | $48,105,000 10 (11) Birdman, $2,450,000 | 857 Theaters | $2,859 Avg. | $11,575,000 Outside the Top 10: Rosewater, $1,200,000 | 371 Theaters | $3,235 Avg. | $1,200,000 Saving Christmas, $1,012,000 | 410 Theaters | $2,468 Avg. | $1,012,000 Whiplash, $801,000 | 419 Theaters | $1,912 Avg. | $2,482,000 The Theory of Everything, $738,000 | 41 Theaters | $18,000 Avg. | $1,033,000 The Maze Runner, $650,000 | 524 Theaters | $1,240 Avg. | $100,079,000 Foxcatcher, $288,000 | 6 Theaters | $48,000 Avg. | $288,000 The Homesman, $48,000 | 4 Theaters | $12,000 Avg. | $48,000 Global Totals: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: $283.2M Overseas Total | $474.3M Global Total THE MAZE RUNNER: $231M Overseas Total | $331M Global Total INTERSTELLAR: $224.1M Overseas Total | $321.9M Global Total GONE GIRL: $166.6M Overseas Total | $319.3M Global Total DRACULA UNTOLD: $153.1M Overseas Total | $208.8M Global Total BIG HERO 6: $36.7M Overseas Total | $148.3M Global Total THE BOOK OF LIFE: $37.4M Overseas Total | $84.7M Global Total OUIJA: $17.5M Overseas Total | $65.6M Global Total