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Todd Phillips Insists 'The Hangover Part II' Is Better Than The Original 'The Hangover'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 23, 2013 11:16 AM
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  • 8 Comments
News
This seems to be the week for filmmakers to make assessments on their past work. Yesterday, Michael Bay apologized for "Armageddon," revealing that the studio took the movie out of his hands and if he had his way, he would've completely reshot the final third. And today, Todd Phillips comes out swinging against folks who used "The Hangover Part 2" as a punching bag, criticizing the movie's lack of originality and carbon copying of the first film's template.
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More: The Hangover 2, The Hangover, The Hangover Part 3, Todd Phillips

Adam Sandler Earns Record Breaking 11 Razzie Nominations; 'The Hangover Part II' Nominated For Worst Sequel & Remake

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • February 26, 2012 11:43 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Awards
Usually held one day before the Academy Awards, this year the Razzies are changing the game a bit, choosing instead to unveil their nominations this weekend, with the ceremony to take place on April 1st -- that's right, April Fools Day. So who earned the distinction in 2011 of the best at being the worst? Adam Sandler.
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More: Adam Sandler, Razzies, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon, The Hangover 2

The Alternate 2011: Who Nearly Directed Or Starred In The Most Notable Movies Of The Year?

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • December 12, 2011 2:05 PM
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  • 12 Comments
Features
2011 hasn't been too shabby for the movies. But even in a year such as this, there's that niggling feeling of what could have been. With the process of picking a director and casting a film seemingly more public than ever, thanks to rumors leaking and trades running short-list stories, it's possible to imagine any number of alternate outcomes for many of the biggest, and best, films of the year.
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More: Features, Feature, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Tree Of Life, The Hangover 2, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Green Lantern, Thor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2011: The Year In Review

Who Were The Winners And Losers Of The Summer Of 2011?

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • August 30, 2011 4:08 AM
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  • 24 Comments
As the summer winds die down with a flat and uninspired whimper, the realization sets in: the summer of 2011 was for the birds. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was the last major tent-pole to open, followed by sleeper hits like "The Help" and the not-so-successful R-rated action comedy, "30 Minutes or Less." Many had forecast that the overstuffed summer would prove disastrous, with Jon Favreau predicting that, "There’s not a weekend where there won’t be teeth on the floor," but ironically it's Favreau's film that proved to be one of the biggest box-office disappointments. Financially, films did very well with three billion-dollar blockbusters – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”-- helping the industry set a summer box-office record and nearly rebound from a horrible start to 2011 (Currently, 2011 revenue is running only 4 percent behind 2010, but in March, things were looking grim – 19% lower than the year previous).
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Film Studios, Feature, Rob Marshall, Justin Lin, The Hangover 2, Super Hero Films, Comedies, The Help, Horrible Bosses, Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two, Bridesmaids, 30 Minutes Or Less, Attack The Block, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Timberlake, Chris Evans, Tom Hanks, Michael Fassbender, Owen Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Cameron Diaz, Kristen Wiig, Hayley Atwell, Green Lantern, The Change-Up, Marvel, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Pixar, Paramount, Conan, D.C. Entertainment

Weekend Box Office: 'Cars 2' Continues Pixar Formula, 'Green Lantern' Plummets

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • June 26, 2011 5:27 AM
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  • 8 Comments
The numbers on “Cars 2” don’t actually matter, except for the stat-hounds regularly following the weekly box office noise (us!). “Cars 2” exists to facilitate Disney’s biggest merchandising cash cow, a multi-billion (annually!) property that needs no further justification. As Pixar seems like a studio that hopes to branch out into more ambitious directions (in theory), they will need something to keep the lights on when, and if, they should fail. Even if the reviews continue to be the worst ever received by a Pixar film, the “Cars” franchise will live on.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, The Hangover 2, Super Hero Films, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Super 8, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Animated Films, The Tree Of Life, Bad Teacher, Bridesmaids, Beginners, A Better Life, John Turturro, Blake Lively, Cameron Diaz, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern, Thor, The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, Buck, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Pixar, Sony, Paramount, Cars 2, D.C. Entertainment

Weekend Box-Office: Is 'Green Lantern' The End Of The Superhero Gravy Train?

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • June 19, 2011 5:34 AM
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  • 14 Comments
Perspective is necessary. $53 million is a whole lotta money. $53 million could buy several houses, it could feed many people, it could save lives. $53 million is also a pretty good opening for a somewhat higher-budgeted film, provided advertising isn’t through the roof and there aren’t a massive amount of back-end benefactors involved. But for “Green Lantern,” which cost upwards of $200 million before a massive ad campaign even by superhero standards, this is not a strong opening.
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More: Films, Actors, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, The Hangover 2, Super Hero Films, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Super 8, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Animated Films, The Tree Of Life, Bridesmaids, Midnight In Paris, Ryan Reynolds, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern, Thor, Justice League, Buck, Page One, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony, Sony Pictures Classics, Paramount, Dreamworks, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom Of Doom, D.C. Entertainment

Weekend Box Office: 'Super 8' Is A Super Performer For Paramount, 'Judy Moody' Has A Bummer Summer

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • June 12, 2011 6:53 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Call this one a victory for Paramount, and a big one at that. “Super 8,” which opened to $37 million, was advertised with only the slightest of peekaboos, an ad campaign that played less coy and more stubbornly mysterious. While the film was pitched on the name of Steven Spielberg, the filmmaker has his name on a lot of projects annually, and the wealth of offerings has become so consistent that it no longer tilts the needle.
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More: Films, Film Studios, Foreign Films, Weekend Box-Office, The Hangover 2, Super Hero Films, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Super 8, Animated Films, The Tree Of Life, Bridesmaids, Midnight In Paris, The Trip, X-Men: First Class, Thor, Universal, 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Classics, Paramount, Dreamworks, Viva Riva, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom Of Doom, Win Win

Warner Bros. Planning To Digitally Alter Ed Helms Tattoo In 'The Hangover Part II' Due To Lawsuit

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • June 9, 2011 1:21 AM
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  • 2 Comments
DVD Release Planned For DecemberYou can bet Warner Bros. was hoping this issue would go away. Just in time for the film's theatrical release last month, tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the studio for replicating Mike Tyson's tattoo that he designed -- and claims he own's the copyright too -- without his permission. Whitmill sought to have the film barred from release while it was all sorted, and while he lost that battle, he may have won the war.
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More: Films, The Hangover 2

Weekend Box Office: $56 Million 'First Class' Opening Isn't X-actly What Fox Had In Mind

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • June 5, 2011 5:16 AM
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  • 13 Comments
As the only major opening of the week, it was not a surprise to see “X-Men: First Class” reign with a $56 million total. For those keeping track at home (why are you doing this?), this is the lowest-scoring opening weekend for any of the four films in the “X-Men” series save for the eleven-year old first entry, and not a particularly impressive start for the only new wide release in town. This isn’t even taking into account a summer that has seen the fifth and fourth installments of the “Fast And The Furious” and “Pirates Of The Caribbean” achieve great success.
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More: Films, Actors, The Hangover 2, Super Hero Films, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Animated Films, The Tree Of Life, Fast Five, Bridesmaids, Midnight In Paris, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, Thor, The Last Mountain, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom Of Doom, Beautiful Boy

Weekend Box Office: Despite All Warnings, Everybody Sees 'The Hangover Part II'

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • May 29, 2011 6:58 AM
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  • 39 Comments
In the future, sequels to all our popular films will not require writers, directors, or even new talent. Sure, they might re-hire some of the people responsible for the first film, but by and large, the leading users of Xerox technology will be Hollywood executives. At least, that’s if the mammoth opening for “The Hangover Part II” is any indication, as the film took advantage of the holiday weekend to score an expected $137 million over this five day period. Critics seemed to do everything short of design spreadsheets to illustrate just how Todd Phillips and company were replicating the exact story of the first film (arguably, the marketing campaign did the same), but audiences, who loved the earlier installment enough to make it a massive word-of-mouth hit, were apparently happy enough to indulge the funnymen (not women, though -- sorry, ladies!) behind the picture one more time.
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More: Films, Weekend Box-Office, Todd Phillips, The Hangover 2, Super Hero Films, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Animated Films, The Tree Of Life, Fast Five, Bridesmaids, Midnight In Paris, Thor, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom Of Doom

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