Alita: Battle Angel Director Got Hundreds Of Pages Of Notes From James Cameron

Alita: Battle Angel Director Got Hundreds Of Pages Of Notes From James Cameron

James Cameron famously worked on bringing the Battle Angel Alita manga to life on the big screen for the better part of two decades, with the can getting continually kicked down the road due to development issues and Cameron's busy schedule. When the Titanic director finally handed off his passion project to director Robert Rodriguez to go hang out in the world of Pandora, he made sure that all the work he put in on Alita: Battle Angel was not for naught.

Robert Rodriguez told Digital Spy that James Cameron generously promised not to send him the 1,000 pages of notes he had done on Alita: Battle Angel, instead stating that he would only send him a meager 600 pages. Robert Rodriguez naively took this figure as a jest, only to find out that James Cameron was quite serious when a tome of notes for Alita: Battle Angel, 600 pages in width, arrived in the mail.

It just goes to show how much James Cameron cares about Alita and the ridiculous amount of work he put in over the years to get it right and bring it to the big screen. He obviously put a lot of thought into adapting the property and likely learned a ton of valuable lessons along the way.

So by giving Robert Rodriguez hundreds of pages of notes on the film, and a 15-minute presentation, artwork and story concepts, James Cameron gave Robert Rodriguez a head start and set him up for success. Robert Rodriguez ultimately was the one who directed the film, but all those notes had to help, even if they were somewhat overwhelming.

It’s like a group project in college: even if you’re the one saddled with writing the paper, it sure makes things easier when your group members do all of the research for you.

Intriguingly, James Cameron’s 600 of pages of notes, culled from 1,000, encompass a much larger vision than just one movie, as Robert Rodriguez explained:

There's like one whole document about the trilogy, because that's just part of his process. 'Here are three movies. Just so you know what to include in the first story and whatnot.'

James Cameron’s vision for Alita: Battle Angel extends beyond just one film and he already has it all laid out on paper, like what to include in the first movie and what will be saved for later. At a time when big franchises don’t always seem like they are operating with a firm plan or guiding vision in place, this is quite exciting.

The ending of the first film definitely whets the appetite to see what happens next and where the story goes. James Cameron knows the answer to that and has already mapped out a whole Alita trilogy, but whether he as producer and director Robert Rodriguez will get to tell it though is unknown.

Alita: Battle Angel is still Number 5 on the worldwide box office charts in 2019, but it’s unclear if that will be enough. Although domestic audiences did the film no favors, international box office elevated Alita’s worldwide run to $404.8 million. However, given its budget, the film may have needed $500 million to break even. So although it didn’t flop like it was suspected to, it isn’t an outright success either, making its sequel chances unclear.

If it doesn’t get a sequel, maybe James Cameron can just publish his notes as a very heavy book and we can all get a look at what might have been. If you’d like to see Alita: Battle Angel get a sequel though, it finally arrives on digital on July 9 and on Blu-ray, DVD and Ultra HD 4K on July 23.

Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of this year’s biggest movies.

Shazam!’s Official Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed

Shazam!’s Official Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed

April is going to be a bigger month than usual when it comes to movies based on comic book heroes. While we, of course, have the massive Avengers: Endgame closing out the month, we also have Hellboy before that. However, the first superhero movie out of the gate next month will be DC's Shazam! and if the film's reviews are any indication for what is to come, April will be a very good month. The film has already been certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes  with a RT score of 93%.

Of the 81 reviews that have been submitted to the aggregation site, so far 75 of them are considered positive, giving Shazam! a lot of positive buzz going into next week's big opening. It's a pretty impressive result considering the movie is still a week away. There will certainly be many more reviews to come between now and next Friday, Shazam! only has a fraction of the total number of reviews that your average wide release film receives, but if the ratio holds up, it will remain looking strong.

While Shazam! may not have quite as many reviews as some of the other recent box office movies, as a percentage, it's one of the best reviewed films in recent weeks. The 93% score puts Shazam! ahead of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and Captain Marvel. It's only one point behind Jordan Peele's Us.

CinemaBlend's own review of Shazam! is one of those being counted in the plus column. Our review, and many others, praised Shazam! for the way it was able to be both a light-hearted and fun story while still being the rousing superhero adventure that audiences are seemingly always in the mood for.

The power that the Tomatometer has over the audience is difficult to actually gauge, but there are certainly those that believe it has a huge sway over the moviegoing public. Many in Hollywood have taken aim at the site in recent years, believing that it has the power to cause audiences to dismiss movies out of hand if the majority of reviews are bad, rather than give them a chance.

While critical reviews and box office numbers might frequently be in agreement, it's certainly true that they can quite frequently conflict as well. Many movies that critics love fail to capture a massive audience. Just as many movies that critics pan become box office juggernauts. While Rotten Tomatoes may have some of the power that critics claim, it's certainly not absolute.

Does the Rotten Tomatoes score really matter to you? Let us know in the poll below if Shazam! current score is influencingyour decision to see the movie.

The Perfection’s Director And Stars Really Want You To Keep The Movie’s Big Twists A Secret

The Perfection’s Director And Stars Really Want You To Keep The Movie’s Big Twists A Secret

Every movie ever made is made better when you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen before you watch, but that’s being said, The Perfection is a special case. Simply put, it’s one of the most surprising horror features released in recent memory, and possesses some major twists during its runtime that audiences will definitely not see coming. As such, it’s a feature that deserves extra protection from widely spread spoilers as it makes its way to Netflix this week – and that’s not just me talking, but also the film’s director and stars.

This past week I had the immense pleasure of sitting down with writer/director Richard Shepard and actresses Allison Williams and Logan Browning, and one subject that I brought up during both conversations was the way in which they hope that audiences will wind up discussing the movie. There’s a bit of an extra challenge involved given that it will be available to watch instantly by Netflix subscribers everywhere on Friday, but as Browning put it, The Perfection isn’t a film that you should recommend to your friends by simply explaining it beat for beat:

I really don't want people to spoil it for each other…. So you have to kind of go in early and then really respect your friends and just encourage them to go watch it. Because I think it's way more fun, way more enjoyable to talk to someone about, 'Oh, remember when that happened?' instead of telling them everything and then they have a ruined experience. So yeah, just don't spoil it, and enjoy it!

For his part, Richard Shepard agreed that the movie is best experienced when audiences know as little about it as possible – but also added that even if you are aware of some plot details, there is still a lot going on in the film that people will be able to appreciate. The Perfection is purposefully built with different layers (he describes it as “unique and sexy and weird and dark, and also funny”), and is personally excited to hear about the conversation that surrounds it following its release. He explained,

The greatest genre movies always have more than one thing going on. There's social commentary, there's hopefully film aesthetic commentary, and then there's just the fun of a good genre movie. And I hope that The Perfection has all of those things… But part of the joy of this movie is kind of going in a little blind. So it's going to be interesting as it drops all over the world on the same day. But in a way that's kind of what the beauty of this situation is. It's like, 'Here it is. Now let's see if people gravitate toward it.'

While I most certainly won’t spoil the movie for you here, it’s safe to mention that The Perfection stars Allison Williams as a former cello prodigy named Charlotte Willmore, who finds her way back into the music world following the death of her mother – whose sickness was the reason she left in the first place. Reuniting with her former instructor (Steven Weber) during an event in China, she has the opportunity to meet Logan Browning’s Elizabeth Wells, who has experienced all the global acclaim and fame to which Charlotte once came so close. The two of them immediately bond, agreeing to go on a two week vacation together, but things start to go horribly wrong when a night out partying results in Lizzy starting to feel exceptionally sick.

Allison Williams, of course, has some notable experience with big twists thanks to her acclaimed part in Get Out, and she had her own interesting perspective to add to the conversation. She definitely agreed with Logan Browning that specific details from The Perfection shouldn’t just be dropped on friends or blasted on social media, but she also has a certain hands-off approach that recognizes that the movie doesn’t really belong to the filmmakers or stars once it’s released; it belongs to the audience. Said Williams,

This is now that weird moment where it's not ours anymore. And so I can hope that people interact with this theme or that theme or whatever, but for the most part I'm learning this is when we just throw up our hands and say, 'Okay, we've raised you as best we can. Now be good in the world and take care of yourself!' I'm so curious to see what people's reactions are to it, because that's always this other phase of doing a movie. You learn stuff about it when you hear other people thinking and engaging with it. So I agree. Don't spoil it for people. Memes will happen, and hopefully people just won't know the context of them.

You can watch my conversation with Logan Browning, Allison Williams, and Richard Shepard about protecting The Perfection spoilers by clicking play on the video below.

The Perfection co-stars Alaina Huffman, Mark Kandborg, and Graeme Duffy, and arrives on Netflix this Friday. To be totally safe, you should definitely watch the movie as early as possible – and we can promise you it’s a decision you won’t regret.

James Cameron Congratulated Avengers: Endgame For ‘Sinking’ Titanic’s Box Office Records

James Cameron Congratulated Avengers: Endgame For ‘Sinking’ Titanic’s Box Office Records

Avengers: Endgame has been in theaters for two weeks, and has become a true pop culture sensation. The Russo Brothers crafted a story that was built on the myriad movies before it, and moviegoers flocked to theaters in droves to see how it all goes down. Endgame is also such a complicated tapestry of stories that it totally warrants a rewatch from the hardcore fandom, selling more tickets in the process.

The anticipation and rave reviews for Avengers: Endgame have resulted in some insane box office numbers. And aided by the blockbuster's fantastic performance internationally, the movie has even surpassed James Cameron's Titanic in its earnings. After Endgame passed Titanic's $2.187 billion (which was adjusted for inflation), Cameron went to social media to congratulate the team at Marvel Studios. Check it out below.

How cool is that image? The Marvel Cinematic Universe's box office power has been steadily building for the last decade, and the anticipation and celebration of Avengers: Endgame proved to be enough to sink the titanic. Again.

Aside from the narrative feats and positive reviews, Endgame's legacy in the film world can be seen by its unprecedented box office success. The 22nd installment in the MCU is currently the second highest grossing film in movie history, second only to another James Cameron classic: Avatar. So it probably wasn't too hard for the director give up the #2 spot to Marvel Studios, considering Avengers: Endgame is sandwiched between two of Cameron's blockbusters.

Related: James Cameron Reveals What Really Happened With Matthew McConaughey And Titanic

James Cameron has had some insanely successful movies during his long career, and he's not stopping anytime soon. The 64 year-old actor has a slew of Avatar sequels in the works, although it's taken quite a long time to get the ball rolling. In fact, Avatar 2 recently got pushed back yet again, as a result of Disney's acquisition of Fox and its properties. It's currently set to arrive during the 2021 holiday season, a whopping 12 years after the original broke records back in 2009.

The Avatar sequels are coming out eventually, and they have the potential to break box office records as well. Although given the long gap between films, it'll be interesting to see if moviegoers are still invested in the colorful world of pandora. Luckily, an attraction at Disney's theme parks may help satiate the fans, and keep the public curious about the film's eventual sequel.

As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's going to be another blockbuster in theaters before we know it. Spider-Man: Far From Home will be the final installment in Phase Three, revealing how Earth has recovered from Thanos' assault and The Decimation. So we should expect plenty more money to come form both the Avatar and Marvel franchises.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now, and Avatar 2 is currently set to arrive in theaters on December 17, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Yes, Taron Egerton Threw Himself Down Some Stairs While Filming Rocketman

Yes, Taron Egerton Threw Himself Down Some Stairs While Filming Rocketman

Taron Egerton really put his all into playing Elton John in Rocketman, the new musical biopic from director Dexter Fletcher that is out in theaters right now. There’s already been a lot written about how Egerton did his own singing as Elton John, but we’ve heard less about the stunt work Taron Egerton did, of which there was a surprising amount.

In fact, in a recent interview, Taron Egerton revealed that one particularly harrowing scene in Rocketman involving a dangerous-looking stairwell. He noted he ultimately decided to shoot the scene himself, mentioning,

I felt keenly that I could do that and do it safely. I have a back pad on. And I threw myself down the stairs. It looks painful and dangerous. But I didn’t get hurt in the slightest. And it’s quite shocking in the film. I’m so glad we did it.

The things we do for love and art... In the past, Taron Egerton has left some of the stunt work to the professionals, but in Rocketman, it’s clear he, the actor, actually fell down those stairs as the camera pans in rather close during the sequence.

Looking back, Taron Egerton told USA Today he’s super happy he took the task on himself because of how it comes off in the film. He also said he really wanted to make sure that the Elton presented in the movie was his Elton, thus explaining the need to do his own stunt. He said:

The character of Elton is my character, and I didn’t want any moment in the film to be anyone else's.

The moment – and minor spoilers if you aren’t familiar with the life of Elton John – comes when Elton John is at his lowest. The singer and performer could always captivate an audience, but it took a lot out of him. And Rocketman seems to push the idea that Elton’s deep-seeded issues from childhood spawned a dislike for his person and an abundance of drug abuse.

Following a night of rampant drug use, he tumultuously falls down some stairs.

Of course, all of this pales in comparison to something like Tom Cruise breaking his ankle jumping off a building. But sanely, Taron Egerton doesn’t seem like the type who would want to compete with Cruise, which is likely why he leaves a lot of the Kingsman stunts to the professionals. Still, it’s good to know he’s game to try new things when it can improve a scene.

Rocketman didn’t win the box office this weekend, but it was still a good start for the biopic, which kicked off to $25 million domestically and $56 million worldwide. While not a box office behemoth, there’s obviously a lot of interest around the movie and with a lower budget, it should end up being a hit.

Related: How Rocketman’s Box Office Compares To Bohemian Rhapsody

A lot of the reason I personally enjoyed Rocketman was because Taron Egerton and Dexter Fletcher did a good job of making Elton John seem vulnerable and someone the audience can empathize with even at his lowest. Part of that may have to do with the work Taron Egerton put in with things like the stair scene and the portion of the movie where he had to figure out how to “sing” underwater with a camera trained on him.

Taron Egerton also doesn’t just mimic Elton John in the role, a request he said Elton John made of him, noting,

He said not to try and sound like him, which is tough when you’re playing him.

Luckily, it all seems to have worked out, as Rocketman is rapidly becoming one of the movies that both the critics and the audience seem to really be latching onto this year.

If you haven’t caught the movie for yourself you can check out Rocketman, in theaters now. Or take a look at its summertime competition with our full movies schedule.

Leonardo DiCaprio Circling Role In New Guillermo Del Toro Movie

Leonardo DiCaprio Circling Role In New Guillermo Del Toro Movie

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of those actors who will get the chance to work with just about all of the greatest filmmakers of our time. The Oscar-winner has collaborated with Christopher Nolan, Alejandro Iñárritu, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, the list goes on. And the list might be getting longer, because the actor is reportedly in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s next project, titled Nightmare Alley.

The filmmaker, best known for stylized films such as Pan’s Labyrinth and Crimson Peak, has been taking a year off from directing, but he's set to make a strong return with a coming adaptation of thriller Nightmare Alley, based on the ‘40s noir by William Lindsay Gresham. Leonardo DiCaprio would star as conman Stanton “Stan” Carlisle, who pairs up with a female psychologist to swindle people into giving them their riches.

Guillermo del Toro has penned the script with Kim Morgan, and he will produce the film with frequent collaborator J. Miles Dale for Fox Searchlight, according to Deadline. The novel was previously adapted into a movie in 1947 starring Tyrone Power, but the upcoming Nightmare Alley is said to be drawing more from the source material than serving as a remake to the previous film.

Nightmare Alley is scheduled to begin shooting in the fall, amongst del Toro’s other high-profile project, a new Pinocchio movie for Netflix. The streaming service is backing the project for the writer/director, which will be a new take on the fairytale that is set behind fascist Italy. Disney was previously to add the tale to its live-action slate starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto, but it has since reportedly been cancelled, maybe due to competition with del Toro’s vision.

Guillermo del Toro was recently recognized with a Best Picture win for his 2017 girl meets fish romance The Shape of Water. He has since been producing his upcoming horror film Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and Antlers.

Leonardo DiCaprio is infamously choosy about what roles he signs on for. His last role was all the way back in 2015 for The Revenant. The actor will soon return to the big screen for Quentin Tarantino’s highly-anticipated next film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as a ‘60s television actor named Rick Dalton. He will also team back up with Martin Scorsese for an adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon and potentially for a Theodore Roosevelt biopic.

If the actor joins Nightmare Alley, it will certainly be the highest-profile collaboration Guillermo del Toro has opted for, since the director has usually hired lesser-known actors in his prior films. It’s an exciting project to look forward to, especially the idea of DiCaprio and del Toro taking on the noir genre together.

Mark Ruffalo Had No Idea Brie Larson Was In 13 Going On 30

Mark Ruffalo Had No Idea Brie Larson Was In 13 Going On 30

Get out those Razzles and your “Thriller” dance moves because Avengers: Endgame actually marks a reunion of sorts for two 13 Going on 30 actors: Mark Ruffalo and Brie Larson. The classic early ‘00s rom-com starring Jennifer Garner as a pre-teen who time jumps to her 30-year-old self famously features the Bruce Banner actor in his early days as Jenna Rink’s childhood bestie, Matty. But did you know Captain Marvel was one of the “Six Chicks” in the film? If not, it’s okay… Ruffalo didn’t know either.

At the Los Angeles premiere of Endgame on Monday night, the actor was shown a picture of Brie Larson in his well-known film. Here was his reaction:

She was a mean girl. Oh my god, that's amazing! Wow, I didn't know that. It looks like her a lot. It's her.

Mark Ruffalo and his wife Sunrise Coigney were speaking with Entertainment Tonight on the purple carpet before going in to see the highly-anticipated blockbuster when the big reveal was laid on them. The news really seemed to tickle Ruffalo. He continued with this:

How cool, I didn't know that. Did she talk about that? What did she say? We didn't work together.

It makes sense that Mark Ruffalo may not have known about Brie Larson’s small role in 13 Going on 30, because he was not in same scenes as she was. Larson’s role of “Six Chick” is featured in the beginning of the film with young versions of Jennifer Garner’s Jenna and Ruffalo’s Matty. ET also showed the same picture to Larson before talking to Ruffalo. Here’s what she said of her time on the set:

I remember it was the moment when I realized that I really wanted to direct. I remember paying a lot of attention to where the camera was and the camera moves, thinking about how I would have cut it together and then seeing the movie and seeing how it differed from what I thought.

How cute! Sounds like her short time in 13 Going On 30 was actually an inspiring one that lead her to her passion of directing. The actress has since helmed two shorts and a recent Netflix film called Unicorn Store. Let’s get back to Ruffalo’s amazing reaction though. Look for it below:

Oddly enough, Brie Larson was around 13 years old when she worked on the 2004 movie and will be turning 30 later this year. I guess young Jenna Rink was right to aspire to be a Six Chick... one of them became a superhero! Next to Brie on the left is also a young Ashley Benson, best known for her role of Hanna in Pretty Little Liars. Andy Serkis, who played Ulysses Klaue in a few MCU films and Judy Greer, who is Ant-Man’s ex-wife in the franchise were also main characters in 13 Going On 30 as well.

This is such a delightful detail to know ahead of Endgame, especially since the movie just celebrated its 15-year anniversary since release a couple days ago. It’s the perfect time to revisit it, even if the two don't work alongside each other in the comedy. Let’s hope the two share a few memorable scenes this time around in Avengers: Endgame.