Man Replaces Woman: TV veteran
Alan Taylor has landed the job of directing
Thor 2, replacing Patty Jenkins (
Monster), who left the project over creative differences. Taylor most recently helmed mutliple episodes of HBO’s action/fantasy series
Game of Thrones, and has directed extensively for shows like
The Sopranos and
Mad Men;
Thor 2, starring
Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, is set for release in November 2013. (
Deadline)
U.S. Box Office: Preliminary reports show that holdovers
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwecked all finished ahead of the debuting
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
The Adventures of Tintin, and
We Bought a Zoo. That’s based on box office estimates through yesterday; since today is a holiday, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the final estimates, and to get a glimpse at the first returns for
War Horse and
The Darkest Hour. (
Movie City News)
Post-Christmas Cheer: Everyone who watched Frank Capra’s
It’s a Wonderful Life for Christmas this year may be interested to know that the town of Seneca Falls, New York claims to be the
real-life inspiration for the film’s fictional setting of Bedford Falls. Evidence may be thin, but that hasn’t stopped the town from establishing a museum, holding an annual festival, and renaming a hotel and a cafe in honor of the film. (
CBS News)
9/11 Movie Flashback Warning: The new movie
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, revolving around a young boy dealing with grief after his father (Tom Hanks) dies in the World Trade Center on 9/11, has prompted a non-profit organization to warn that its “intense images”
could trigger flashbacks. “Be prepared to possibly relive past issues or have difficulty handling those you have currently, due to [the] 9/11 attacks," the Tribute WTC Visitor Center wrote in an email. (
DNA Info)