Monday Mixer: First look at 'Zoolander 2'
Posted Monday, August 3, 2015 at 11:31 AM Central
by John Couture
You know you're getting old when you start to measure the passage of time in terms of films in a franchise. I'm not talking about something generational like Star Wars which could, theoretically, span three generations with this year's release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but rather the Mission: Impossible franchise.
When Tom Cruise first dangled off that cliff as Ethan Hunt in 1996, I was finishing up my junior year in college and I was on the precipice of my adult life. When Mission: Impossible 2 debuted, I was actually working for Paramount at the time and kept busy with work in the midst of my first divorce.
You could say that the bomb that was Mission: Impossible III also mirrored the bomb that was my second marriage. By the time Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol breathed new life into the franchise on December 16, 2011, I was welcoming a new life of my own in the form of my daughter who was born 15 days prior.
So, you could say that I have a strange connection with this franchise and you better believe that I was going to be there opening weekend. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is everything that is great about the franchise with a touch of the silliness that sets it apart from similar action series. The film is a great summer popcorn flick that keeps the pace going even if it does feel about 20 minutes too long. But, I'm never going to complain with an extra 20 minutes of action in air conditioning on a hot summer day.
Not to bury the lede, but it appears that I wasn't the only one who enjoyed Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation this weekend.
Box Office 411
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation took in an estimated $56 million this weekend which would be second best opening of a Mission: Impossible film behind the $57.8 million opening of Mission: Impossible 2. Despite being 53 years old, it would seem that Tom Cruise has found the fountain of youth as his Ethan Hunt is still doing impressive stunts that would fell a lesser man.
While nothing has been officially announced from Paramount, Tom Cruise has mentioned recently during his late night circuit for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation that the sixth Mission: Impossible movie is being developed and is eyeing a late July 2017 release, which would put it up against the first Marvel Spider-Man film. This really shouldn't be too surprising as this strong opening should help propel Rogue Nation to the highest box office gross in the Mission: Impossible franchise. The film is looking to end up with about $225 million.
This week's other new wide release was the reboot/sequel Vacation. While the trailers were on point and actually piqued my interest, it would appear that all of the good bits were culled for the trailer. The critics piled on while audiences have been a bit more receptive to the film, perhaps thanks to the nostalgia of seeing Chevy Chase reprise his role of Clark Griswold.
The hard part of following up such a ground-breaking film such as National Lampoon's Vacation is that no matter how good it is on its own merits, it will always be held up in comparison to the original film. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery and in that vein, National Lampoon's Vacation has spawned so many copycats in the intervening years that a pure sequel/reboot seems a lot like something that has been done a million times over.
Vacation opened on Wednesday and brought in $21.2 million which isn't so bad on face value, but Warner Bros. was aiming for an opening closer to $40 million. When it's all said and done, the film should end up with about $75 million.
Quick Hitters
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So, we've got a slew of trailers for you to kickstart our Quick Hitters this week. First up is the Antonio Banderas film The 33 about the Chilean miners that were buried alive for 69 days. Apparently, everyone speaks English is with a Spanish accent in Chile, who knew?
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This next one is for the film Goodnight Mommy. My partner in crime Tim said it "might be the creepiest movie trailer" he's ever seen. I tend to agree that it's rather disturbing.
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The last trailer is one that I actually got to see in front of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. It's a bit deceptive at first with that whole Stephen Hawking-esque computer voice, but it's pretty indicative that 2oolander or Zoolander II or whatever it's called will be a big hit.
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I've always said that being a celebrity must come with some great perks. One of those perks for recently anointed A-lister Amy Schumer is getting to hang out with Jennifer Lawrence aka JLAW.
In a bikini.
Binders of women pic.twitter.com/7L6Z40xlgv
— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 30, 2015On a jet ski.
Jlaw #maniac pic.twitter.com/o5PvHWlxMt
— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 30, 2015As the bottom to her top of a human pyramid of awesomeness.
Human pyramid. Newest members on top #islandtime #day2 pic.twitter.com/c6lizzEj6f
— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 31, 2015Yep, life is good as a celebrity.
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As a tribute to John Hughes on the release of Vacation, The Hollywood Reporter reprinted the entire article from Hughes that originally appeared in National Lampoon and served as the basis of the original National Lampoon's Vacation.
As you can see, almost everything that made the first film a classic is right here in the original story.
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As many of you know, they are filming the sequel to Goon right now and I only wish that I were somehow involved as it includes so many of my life's passions. Goon: Last of the Enforcers probably won't see the light of day until 2016, but our friends over at
.@BaruchelNDG and the cast/crew shooting hockey action on the #Goon2 set! #LastoftheEnforcers pic.twitter.com/M0IRpiHius
— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) July 30, 2015We're here on the set of #Goon2. Looking forward to talking with writer and director @BaruchelNDG soon! pic.twitter.com/wSXjBY6tuf
— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) July 30, 2015
Mixer. James Mixer.