WATCH: First 'Joker' trailer introduces Joaquin Phoenix's Clown Prince of Crime

The first trailer for "Joker," the upcoming Todd Phillips-directed movie starring Joaquin Phoenix as DC Comics' iconic clown villain, was released on Wednesday. 

The disturbing clip documents the descent of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) from a failed comedian to the deranged criminal who eventually becomes Batman's archenemy — all set, aptly enough, to a chilling rendition of the classic song "Smile."

The film is set to debut this October. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujihara resigns as AT&T probes 'mistakes'

(Reuters) - Kevin Tsujihara has resigned as the head of Warner Bros as one of Hollywood’s most powerful studios investigates a report that he improperly helped an actress obtain roles at the studio.

He is the latest in a line of executives to lose their jobs in the media business following accusations of improper conduct or sexual harassment.

“It is in the best interest of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros, our employees and our partners for Kevin to step down as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros,” WarnerMedia Chief Executive John Stankey said in a statement on Monday.

Tsujihara’s departure from the AT&T Inc-owned studio follows a March 6 article in the Hollywood Reporter that said an actress had sought his help in landing roles after they had sex.

The report included text messages between Tsujihara and the actress that appeared to reveal they had sex. Tsujihara has not directly addressed his relationship with the actress, whether they had sex, nor his involvement in helping her career.

“Kevin acknowledges that his mistakes are inconsistent with the company’s leadership expectations and could impact the company’s ability to execute going forward,” Stankey said in his statement.

Stankey did not specify what mistakes Tsujihara made. Only two days before the Hollywood Reporter published its story, Tsujihara was given an expanded, more powerful role as part of a restructuring of AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

“It has become clear that my continued leadership could be a distraction and an obstacle to the company’s continued success,” Tsujihara said in an email to employees on Monday, which was seen by Reuters. “The hard work of everyone within our organization is truly admirable, and I won’t let media attention on my past detract from all the great work the team is doing.”

Tsujihara did not address why he was leaving in the email. Earlier this month, following the Hollywood Reporter story, Tsujihara’s attorney said the executive did not have a direct role in the hiring of the actress in any movie.

AT&T is continuing to work with an outside law firm to complete its investigation into the matter, Stankey said.

That would be the third investigation, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters, and was sparked by the Hollywood Reporter article, which included text messages between the executive, the actress and two business partners.

Tsujihara was cleared in two previous internal investigations related to the matter since late 2017, the sources said. The first, conducted by Time Warner, was initiated at Tsujihara’s request, the sources said, and the second was conducted by AT&T.

AT&T shares rose 0.4 percent and closed at $30.80.

Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Bill Rigby

Pokemon Go's Niantic taps 'Harry Potter' magic for new AR game

LOS ANGELES - Fantastic beasts, wizard adventures and magic spells will come to life in a new "Harry Potter" augmented reality mobile game from Pokemon Go developer Niantic Inc and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, the companies said on Wednesday.

"Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" will bring author J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World to mobile phones and use augmented reality (AR) to create a real-world scavenger hunt, allow players to cast spells, find artifacts, team up and encounter magical beasts and characters from the popular book series.

The game's use of real locations is similar to Niantic and Nintendo Co Ltd's Pokemon Go, which became the first mass market adoption of AR in July 2016 and allows players to "catch" animated characters that appeared in their real surroundings.

No release date was given for the "Harry Potter" game, but Niantic and Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros said more details would be available next year.

Warner Bros Pictures, which produced the $7.7 billion-grossing "Harry Potter" film franchise, will release "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2" in November 2018, the second installment in a new series of films that expand the world Rowling created in her Potter franchise.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Movie review: Christopher Nolan guns for Oscar glory in 'Dunkirk'

Few directors create event cinema quite like Christopher Nolan. For his latest movie “Dunkirk,” the director of "Memento," "Inception" and the "Dark Knight" trilogy crafts a quietly coiled vision of men trapped in war.

At 107 minutes, “Dunkirk” is one of the shortest movies in Nolan’s oeuvre but don’t be fooled. That runtime is more than enough to immerse you in this tone poem of carefully structured, white knuckle tension. Thunderous and triumphant, “Dunkirk” will give you chills as you watch every scene unfold – like a dripfeed of desperation. When it finally ends, you just want to hand Nolan an Oscar.

The miracle of Dunkirk comes straight from the history books: In the early days of World War II, the cream of the British army faced certain defeat after being trapped by the German forces’ advance into northern France in May 1940. Thousands of British soldiers, along with French, Belgian and Canadian troops, were forced back to the beaches of Dunkirk where the shallow water prevented large British naval ships from coming close to rescue the men. It’s a kill-box situation as German dive bombers raised hell on the boats and beaches, unseen snipers fired on the waiting troops and torpedos slammed into vessels. Only a miracle will get these men out alive.

Focusing on three different timelines, Nolan structures this narrative like an ever-tightening vise. There’s a young soldier Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) who is stuck right in the middle of the battle for a week. There’s RAF pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy) who takes on the German forces in the sky. And we have a boat captain Dawson (Mark Rylance) who answers the call to join Operation Dynamo and help save the trapped soldiers.

Kenneth Branagh also plays a British naval officer who assesses the dangers faced by his men and raises the call for help. Nolan uses these three characters to frame the narrative but the best trick in his cinematic hat is that these three might not even be the most important in the whole story.

Tommy, our audience surrogate, gets the longest exposure – it is through his eyes that we see and feel the quiet desperation of soldiers trying to escape Dunkirk. Whitehead has minimal dialogue in the film but his actions are enough: this is a movie that shows how trust is forged by small, significant gestures; of simple acts that explain motivations. 

 Also of equal importance is Gibson (Aneurin Barnard), a low ranking soldier whose friendship with Tommy is tested in one tense sequence. Harry Styles of One Direction plays Alex, a British Army private whose basest instincts are exposed by war.

Rylance’s boat captain Dawson is the closest thing to an emotional anchor to the movie, exuding unassuming decency in his drive to save as many soldiers as he can even as he cares for his two wards, Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and George (Barry Keoghan).

And then we have Farrier, played by Nolan favorite Tom Hardy. Hardy’s role may be the hardest as he is portrayed inside a cockpit during his near entire time in the movie.

One plus point in every Nolan joint: you get the full immersive experience. It’s a movie of details: seafoam on the beaches, a makeshift breakwater using lined-up military trucks, copper-tinged water due to oil coming out a downed ship. A wordless sequence of soldiers walking a seemingly deserted city while German leaflets drop down like confetti is particularly chilling.

Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack also deserves every accolade – ticking clocks and heartbeats mix together with the thunder of bombs, heightening the confusion of thousands of soldiers on the windswept beaches while German planes scream overhead. And then he goes quiet: the scariest scene – soldiers inside a boat’s hull slowly filling up with water while a sniper shoots at them. At one point, you realize this movie might need a trigger warning – for those with a fear of drowning and confined spaces. 


Nolan also captures the ferocity and scale of the battle. Never is this more evident when he straps his camera on a British plane and films the aerial dogfights right in the sky. It’s a scene that a lesser production would’ve done via CGI; Nolan makes it real by putting you there as Farrier struggles to take down his many enemies dealing death in the air.

History already shows us how the miracle of Dunkirk ended. Strangely though, the ending of “Dunkirk” feels weaker than its set-up – there is no glorious uplift when salvation nears. The import of Dunkirk is not realized by the soldiers who lived through it until much later. There are no grand speeches except one so well-known that it comes through as muted.

Perhaps that is the point of Nolan’s take of this event. It’s a story of sights and sounds, of the uncertainties of conflict and the heroism of small gestures. And that is enough.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

AT&T to buy Time Warner for $85 billion, create telecom-media giant

NEW YORK - AT&T Inc (T.N) said on Saturday it agreed to buy Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) for $85.4 billion, the boldest move yet by a telecommunications company to acquire content to stream over its high-speed network to attract a growing number of online viewers.

The biggest deal in the world this year will, if approved by regulators, give AT&T control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets. The tie-up will likely face intense scrutiny by U.S. antitrust enforcers worried that AT&T might try to limit distribution of Time Warner material.

AT&T will pay $107.50 per Time Warner share, in a combination of cash and stock, worth $85.4 billion overall, according to a company statement. AT&T said it expected to close the deal by the end of 2017.

Dallas-based AT&T said it and Time Warner were determining which Federal Communications Commission licenses, if any, would be transferred to AT&T in the deal.

Several U.S. lawmakers were already worried about cable company Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) $30 billion acquisition of NBCUniversal, creating an industry behemoth. They argued for close regulatory scrutiny of the AT&T deal.

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has complained about media coverage of his campaign, said at a rally on Saturday he would block any AT&T-Time Warner deal if he wins the Nov. 8 election.

"It's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few," said Trump.

Representatives of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CONTENT PLUS DELIVERY

AT&T, whose main wireless phone and broadband service business is showing signs of slowing, has already made moves to turn itself into a media powerhouse. It bought satellite TV provider DirecTV last year for $48.5 billion.

It had about 142 million North American wireless subscribers as of June 30, and about 38 million video subscribers through DirecTV and its U-verse service.

New York-based Time Warner is a major force in movies, TV and video games. Its assets include the HBO, CNN, TBS and TNT networks as well as the Warner Bros film studio, producer of the “Batman” and “Harry Potter” film franchises. The company also owns a 10 percent stake in video streaming site Hulu. The HBO network alone has more than 130 million subscribers.

The deal is the latest in the consolidation of the telecom and media sectors, coming on the heels of AT&T's purchase of NBCUniversal. AT&T's wireless rival Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) is in the process of buying internet company Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) for about $4.8 billion.

Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes rejected an $80 billion offer from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) in 2014.

5G IS COMING
Owning more content gives cable and telecom companies bargaining leverage with other content companies as customers demand smaller, hand-picked cable offerings or switch to watching online. New mobile technology including next-generation 5G networks could make a content tie-up especially attractive for wireless providers.

"We think 5G mobile is coming, we think 5G mobile is an epic game-changer," Rich Tullo, director of research at Albert Fried & Co, said in a research note, adding that mobile providers would be in position to disrupt traditional pay-TV services.

A previous Time Warner blockbuster deal, its 2000 merger with AOL, is now considered one of the most ill-advised corporate marriages on record.

(Additional reporting by David Shepardson, Liana Baker, Malathi Nayak and Diane Bartz; Writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by David Gregorio)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Stars, director of 'Rurouni Kenshin' movies to visit PH

MANILA – The stars and director of the “Rurouni Kenshin” live action movie will visit the Philippines next month to promote the two-part sequel of the blockbuster hit.

The announcement was made by William Ireton, president and representative director of Warner Entertainment Japan Inc.; and Francis Soliven, general manager of Warner Bros. Philippines, on Friday.

“We are thrilled to bring director Keishi Otomo and cast members Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei and Munetaka Aoki to Manila so they can personally thank and engage with the loyal fans of ‘Rurouni Kenshin’. The Philippines is a very important market for the franchise as proven by the outstanding box office success in Manila of the first ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ film,” Ireton said.

For his part, Soliven said: “Moviegoers in the Philippines have helped create a wave of anticipation and excitement for the ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ sequels and the upcoming talent visit is a much welcome recognition of the fans’ ardent support.”

Warner Bros. Philippines announced last May that “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” will be screened in the country on August 20, while “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” will premiere on September 24.

In Japan, the two movies are set to be screened on August 1 and September 13.

Otomo, Satoh (Kenshin Himura), Takei (Kaoru Kamiya) and Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara) will attend the red carpet premiere of “Kyoto Inferno” on August 6 at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, and the public press conference on August 7 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.

“Kyoto Inferno” covers the fan favorite Kyoto Arc of the “Rurouni Kenshin” manga and anime where Himura encounters the burnt and bandaged Makoto Shishio (Fujiwara) and the members of his elite group, Juppongatana.

Here is the trailer for part of “Kyoto Inferno”:

Click here for ABS-CBNnews.com’s review of the first “Rurouni Kenshin” live action film.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

ToyCon to display 'Rurouni Kenshin' costumes

MANILA -- Ahead of the opening of the “Rurouni Kenshin” sequels “Kyoto Inferno” and “The Legend Ends” in the Philippines, Warner Bros. has flown in three authentic costumes from the film, which will be publicly displayed at the 13th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention 2014 (ToyCon) at SM Megamall this weekend.

The costumes to be exhibited are those worn in the sequels by the titular hero Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), the street-brawler who became Kenshin's best friend, Sanosuke Sagara (Munetaka Aoki); and Aoshi Shinomori (Yusuke Iseya), a ninja and one of the Shogun’s Hidden Watcher spies.

All three costumes were designed by Kazuhiro Sawataishi and contribute significantly to the films' overall visual impact.

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the “Rurouni Kenshin” sequels follow the story of reformed assassin Kenshin Himura as he goes up against pure evil Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara) who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.

ToyCon opens on Friday and runs until June 22 at SM Megatrade Hall.

The first sequel, “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” will open across the Philippines on Aug. 20, to be followed by “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” on Sept. 24.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Warner Bros pushes Superman-Batman film back to 2016

LOS ANGELES - Warner Bros. pushed back the release date of the still untitled film that will bring together superheroes Superman and Batman, delaying it by almost a year to May 2016, the studio said on Friday.

The sequel to last year's hit Superman film "Man of Steel" was revealed at the Comic-Con convention last July by director Zack Snyder, who said the two DC Comics' caped crusaders will face off against each other.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said in a statement that it needed to move back the date to allow "the filmmakers time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story."

The decision was made after the start of production was moved to the second quarter of this year, Warner Bros. said.

The superhero-duo was originally slated for July 17, 2015, and Warner Bros. said it would put a still untitled Peter Pan adventure into that slot.

"We are happy to take advantage of these coveted summer dates, which are perfect for two of our biggest tentpole releases," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution.

"Man of Steel," starring British actor Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, premiered in June 2013 and grossed $668 million worldwide. In the North American market, it was the fourth-biggest film of 2013, with ticket sales of $291 million.

In the first encounter of the two superheroes on the big screen, Cavill returns to play Superman, while "Argo" actor and director Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman in a controversial choice that split fans.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ben Affleck to play Batman in 'Man of Steel' sequel

LOS ANGELES - Actor Ben Affleck will play Batman in an upcoming Superman sequel that will see the two caped crusaders face off against each other, film studio Warner Bros Pictures said on Thursday.

Affleck, 41, will take on the role of reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter-ego, in director Zack Snyder's 2015 sequel to this year's Superman reboot "Man of Steel," starring 30-year-old British actor Henry Cavill.

"We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Comics' most enduringly popular super heroes, and Ben Affleck certainly fits that bill, and then some. His outstanding career is a testament to his talent and we know he and Zack will bring new dimension to the duality of this character," Greg Silverman, president of creative development at Warner Bros Pictures said.

The announcement that two iconic comic book heroes will face off against each other was made by Snyder earlier this year at San Diego's annual Comic-Con, a convention celebrating comic-book and pop culture.

"It's beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest super heroes in the world," Snyder said.

The director's "Man of Steel" has been a successful reboot of the Superman franchise this year, making $650 million at the global box office. The yet-to-be titled sequel, slated for release on July 17, 2015, will reunite "Man of Steel" stars Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.

Affleck joins a list of actors who have donned Batman's black mask and cape, including Michael Keaton, George Clooney and most recently Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy. Both Batman and Superman are part of the DC Comics universe, which is part of the Warner Bros Entertainment division, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

Nolan's "Dark Knight" films, which explored a darker and more complex portrayal of Batman, made more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office between 2005 and 2012, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Affleck, who directed and starred in this year's Best Picture Oscar winner "Argo," will also be in upcoming gambling drama "Runner Runner," opposite Justin Timberlake.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Dark clouds over ‘Dark Knight Rises’ at box office

LOS ANGELES – Warner Bros. studio on Friday faced the prospect of seeing blockbuster “The Dark Knight Rises” sink at box offices after a tragic movie theater shooting in Denver, even as the film got off to a strong start across the United States and Canada.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said the film took in $30.6 million at screenings just after midnight, but those results could turn lower in the wake of a mass shooting at one showing of the movie in a Denver suburb.

In New York, police planned to deploy officers at screenings throughout the city as a precaution, and theaters nationwide began reviewing and tightening security.

The head of Cinemark Holdings, owner of the Century 16 movie theater where the shooting occurred in Aurora, Colorado, went on television to stress the safety of moviegoing. Cinemark CEO Tim Warner called the shooting “a one-off tragedy.”

“We play to 250 to 255 million people a year with very little incidents. As so, the movie theaters are a very safe and secure environment,” Warner said on CNBC.

“The Dark Knight Rises,” which is based on the exploits of crime-fighting superhero Batman, is one of this year’s major movie releases. Some box office watchers had believed its U.S. and Canadian ticket sales could reach as high as $198 million over this debut weekend, just shy of the $207 million opening set by “The Avengers” earlier this year. The movie cost Warner Bros. $250 million to produce and tens of millions more to market.

But at a midnight premiere in Denver, a gunman wearing a gas mask and a bulletproof vest hurled a gas canister inside the theater and opened fire on moviegoers, killing 12 people and injuring scores more.

Hollywood box office watchers said it was too soon to know exactly how ticket sales would be impacted by the event as the industry has never faced a situation like this one.

“It’s too early to tell. This is a tragic and unprecedented event,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box office watcher for Hollywood.com Box Office.

Phil Contrino, editor of Boxoffice.com, echoed those sentiments, saying “nobody’s ever encountered this before” and added that the first concerns should be for the people and families who were affected by the shooting.

Contrino said the impact on Hollywood and the industry could go beyond just “The Dark Knight Rises” to all films in theaters if people stay away, and it could extend well into the future if the event lingers in people’s minds.

Others said the incident would do little to dampen turnout for “The Dark Knight Rises,” the finale to a popular Batman saga.

“As horrible as this was, it is likely to affect ‘The Dark’ at the edges and won’t take away that many viewers,” said Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott who follows entertainment companies and theater chains. “There are only a few people who won’t come out to see a movie because of this.”

Warner Bros. issued the midnight box office number but had no further comment. It is the second highest midnight screening total ever, behind 2011′s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II,” which raked in $43.5 million in its midnight screenings.

The studio yanked from theaters the promotional trailer for its upcoming crime thriller “Gangster Squad.” Set in the 1940s and 1950s, “Gangster Squad” chronicles the Los Angeles Police Department’s fight to keep the mafia out of its city.

The trailer, which had been playing ahead of “The Dark Knight Rises” in some locations, features a scene in which men open fire with machine guns on an audience in a movie theater.

Some industry experts said the studio should scale back its promotions for the film.

“Warner Brothers should show sensitivity and pull the ads for a week, certainly in Denver, and maybe around the country,” said former Columbia Pictures marketing head Peter Sealey.

The movie, said Sealey, already “had incredible word of mouth. They probably don’t even need to advertise over the next week to have a truly huge film.”

Earlier this year, Warner pulled video ads for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” around Ground Zero in New York after residents there complained it’s depiction of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack was insensitive.

Elsewhere, the National Association of Theatre Owners, a trade industry association representing movie theater owners, said in a statement its member companies were “working closely with local law enforcement agencies and reviewing security procedures.”

The ArcLight Cinemas in Los Angeles increased security at all locations and said “Dark Knight” screenings would continue as planned, according to a message from the theater on Twitter.

Carmike Cinemas, the nation’s fourth-largest theater chain, said it uses uniformed “law enforcement officers and plainclothes agents” and other security measures at its 237 theaters.

Carmike, which occasionally searches bags its customers bring into the theater, isn’t likely to increase security measures to include metal detectors or search moviegoers, said Terrell Mayton, the company’s director of marketing.

Shares of movie theater chains dropped on Friday after the killings.

Cinemark Holdings, owner of the Century 16 movie theater where the shooting occurred, dropped 4.6 percent to close at $23.15 on the New York Stock Exchange. Regal Entertainment Group shares fell 4.4 percent to close at $13.54 on Nasdaq. Shares of Carmike slipped 2.3 percent to $14.48, also on Nasdaq.

Cinemark, in a statement, said it was “working closely” with law enforcement authorities in Aurora and was “deeply saddened” by the incident.

Shares of Time Warner Inc, the media conglomerate that owns the Warner Bros. studio, which produced “Dark Knight Rises,” dropped 28 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $38.86 on the NYSE.

source: interaksyon.com

Madonna 'very upset' at new song leak - manager

LONDON - Madonna's manager Guy Oseary has said the U.S. singer was "very upset" that a demo of her new song "Give Me All Your Love" had leaked onto the Internet.

The song, which hit the web on Wednesday and has been listened to by fans around the world, is expected to be the debut track from Madonna's upcoming album, her first studio release since leaving Warner Bros to join Live Nation.

"Madonna told me this morning 'my true fans wouldn't do this'... whoever is responsible for this leak, we ask that you please stop!" Oseary wrote via Twitter.

"Im very happy with the positive reaction to the demo, but we are very upset with whoever leaked the song!!!!!!!!" he added.

Addressing questions tweeted by fans, Oseary said the new album should be finished "in the next month or so", and that it did not yet have a title.

He added that the 53 year-old star, whose hits include "Like a Virgin", "Vogue" and "Hung Up", had penned a "beautiful ballad" for her movie "W.E.".

The picture, Madonna's second feature film as director, follows the life of Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee whose relationship with King Edward VIII sparked a constitutional crisis in Britain and led to his abdication.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Venice film festival, hits U.S. theaters in December and British cinemas in January.

Madonna's new record will be her first studio album since 2008's "Hard Candy," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States.

In 2007, Madonna dropped her long-time music label Warner Bros and signed a deal with concert promoter Live Nation reported to be for 10 years and worth $120 million.

The deal, part of a recent trend in the struggling music industry, involved not only record sales, but also touring and merchandising. - Reuters

source: gmanews.tv