Unlicensed Movies 2011: 'Fast Five,' 'The Hangover Part II'

Searching to internet piracy just like any type of indication of movie quality won't enable you to get far -- it's type of like asking what is the most elegant boxed wine -- but 2011 would be a melting pot of tastes and preferences which, apparently, stretches to illegal movie installing, too. There is a movie about cars, a pal comedy having a chain-smoking monkey along with a hammer-carrying action flick from the director noted for his Shakespeare. At the forefront -- speeding out front, for a moment -- was 'Fast Five,' the 5th installment from the 'Fast and also the Furious' franchise. The Vin Diesel-brought action spectacle -- properly about stealing -- was unlawfully downloaded 9.3 million occasions. Following close behind were 'The Hangover Part II' and 'Thor,' the first kind which seemed to be properly about this list. In the end, a lot of its plot was stolen from the beginning. (Tip your waitress, folks!) James Franco's rock-climbing-disaster film '127 Hours' nabbed an unexpected place at number seven. Without doubt his performance finally year's Academy awards had something related to it (or possibly his 20 minute recorded reading through of Amie Barrodale's story "William Wei," for that uber-intelligent). However the most surprising? 2011's Best Picture 'The King's Speech,' which made over $414 million worldwide. Have a look in the other people who made the cut. 1. 'Fast Five' (Universal): $9.3 million 2. 'The Hangover Part II' (Warner Bros. / Legendary): $8.8 million 3. 'Thor' (Marvel/Vital): $8.3 million 4. 'Source Code' (Summit / Vendome): $7.9 million 5. 'I Am Number Four' (DreamWorks / Disney): $7.7 million 6. 'Sucker Punch' (Warner Bros. / Legendary): $7.two million 7. '127 Hours' (Fox Searchlight): $6.9 million 8. 'Rango' (Vital): $6.5 million 9. 'The King's Speech' (Weinstein Co.): $6.3 million 10. 'Harry Potter and also the Deathly Hallows Part 2' (Warner Bros.): $six million [via LAT/Company Town] [Photo: Universal] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Ridley Scott on 'Prometheus': There Will Be No Xenomorphs

And the 'Prometheus' plot thickens. Ridley Scott's first sci-fi flick in three decades may be loosely tied to the 'Alien' franchise, but the director wants you to get one thing clear: There will not, under any circumstances, be xenomorphs (the creature from the 'Alien' movies) in 'Prometheus.' In an interview with Filmophilia, Scott revealed that his upcoming movie will not feature the famous extra-terrestrials Sigourney Weaver fought off for years. "No. Absolutely not. They squeezed it dry," admits Scott. "[The xenomorph] did very well. He survived, he's now in Disneyland in Orlando, and no way am I going back there. How did he end up in Disneyland? I saw him in Disneyland, Jesus Christ!" In addition to 'Promtheus,' Ridley also discussed why he hasn't gone back to the science fiction in almost 30 years. I think one of the reasons why I've never gone back to science-fiction, even though I've often noodled around, thought about it, looked for story, looked for material, is that there's a nice purity to the original Alien. It's fairly pure. And ['Prometheus'] does actually raise all kinds of other questions, because if someone could, a being, could be as monstrously clever to create something like we experienced in the very first one -- I always figured it's a weapon, and I always figured that [the ship in the first 'Alien'] was a carrier of weapons. Therefore, who is that, inside that suit? That wasn't a skeleton, that was a suit. And if you open up the suit, what do you get inside it? And why were they going, where were they going? You can check out the entire interview over on Filmophilia. 'Prometheus,' which stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Idris Elba, hits theaters June 8, 2012. [via Filmophilia and JoBlo] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Football ratings setback Sunday for NBC

Thanks to an NFL overrun and the season finale of "Survivor," CBS had an edge in Sunday's preliminary primetime ratings over NBC, which had a lackluster "Sunday Night Football" game as a counter.The Nielsen numbers were subject to revision, which could temper the effect that the 8.0 rating and 23 share (26.9 million viewers overall) that CBS had for its first halfhour in primetime. The Eye followed with "60 Minutes" (4.4/12, 18.8 million) and then a two-hour "Survivor" (4.0/10, 13.1 million), with a separate "Survivor" reunion special (3.2/8, 10.2 million) as a postscript.The one-sided game between Baltimore and San Diego came in at 5.2/13, 13.8 million for NBC, compared with 8.5/20, 22.5 million in preliminary numbers the previous Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys against the NY Giants. "Football Night in America" (2.9/8, 8.4 million) preceded the game.Fox ran a night of animation, all repeats except for the 8:30 season finale of "Allen Gregory" (1.5/4, 3.3 million). "American Dad" and "The Cleveland Show" had similar numbers at 7 and 7:30 p.m. "The Simpsons" (2.2/6, 5.0 million) and "Family Guy" (2.1/5, 4.5 million) performed better.ABC was the network laggard in 18-49 with "America's Funniest Home Videos" (1.5/4, 6.5 million), "Once Upon a Time" (1.2/3, 4.4 million) and "The Santa Clause 3" (1.3/3, 4.1 million).Preliminary 18-49 averages: CBS 4.5/11, NBC 4.3/11, Fox 1/8/5, ABC 1.3/3, Univision 0.7/2.In total viewers: CBS 15.9 million, NBC 11.8 million, ABC 4.8 million, Fox 4.2 million, Univision 1.8 million Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

Santa Barbara fest honors Christopher Plummer

PlummerChristopher Plummer will receive the Modern Master Award at the 27th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival at a Jan. 28 ceremony. "My fondest memories of going to the movies and the theater involve Mr. Plummer, and I'm so grateful he's agreed to this honor," said SBIFF executive director Roger Durling. Plummer, whose first role was in Sidney Lumet's 1958 film "Stage Struck," has enjoyed a half-century in front of the camera, in films including "The Sound of Music" and "A Beautiful Mind." Plummer was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Tolstoy in 2009's "The Last Station," and this year appeared in "Beginners" opposite Ewan McGregor. Past Modern Master Award winners include George Clooney, Clint Eastwood and Jodie Foster. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

The Astonishing Spider-Guy will get a awesome new poster

[brightcove]1069347403001[/brightcove]Everything has been just a little quiet around the Amazing Spider-Guy front lately (well, unless of course you are an enthusiastic Pez fan).But that is transformed today using the unveiling of the awesome new poster, which clearly requires a leaf from Batman's stylish book, and marks a departure in the vibrantly-coloured promotions of Mike Raimi's era.The poster, featured on Super hero Hype, shows Peter Parker perched nimbly on the wall, together with his shadow creating an legendary arachnid design. That tagline helps make the film's intentions pretty obvious too...Browse the poster entirely below:The Astonishing Spider-Guy opens on 4 This summer 2012, which surely means there has to be a brand new trailer not far off.

AFI announces honours slate

The American Film Institute introduced its official options for your 2011 AFI Honours, which records the year's most outstanding achievements in film, television together with other kinds of the moving image arts. The film and tv series can get honours within an invitation-only lunch on Jan. 13 within the Four Seasons Hotel in La.Among this year's film honorees are "Bridesmaids," which has received plenty of attention for supporting actress Melissa McCarthy "The Woman While using Dragon Tattoo," that have its great deal of dialogue over embargoes the other day and a pair of films that have been Oscar management for many days, "The AssistanceInch and "Evening amount of time in Paris."AFI also gave "The Artist" as well as the "Harry Potter" franchise special honours, recognition that's presented to films that don't meet AFI's criteria, most particularly the production ought to be mainly American- created.Round the TV side, AFI's tastes would be the wealthy historic drama "Boardwalk Empire," for the innovative comedy "Louie." Showtime's newcomer series "Homeland," that's been a sizable ratings draw for your network, may also be on AFI's list.Honorees are selected based on works which best advance the ability of the moving image raise the wealthy cultural heritage of America's talent inspire audiences and artists alike and/or produce a mark on American society."AFI Honours signifies the proudest of moments inside the Institute's calendar of occasions," mentioned Bob Gazzale, AFI Leader & Boss. "The large event includes the year's top artists in the celebration of community, not competition."The whole report on honorees follows:AFI Movies from the seasonInchBridal partyInchInchThe Descendants""The Woman While using Dragon Tattoo""The AssistanceInchInchHugo""J. Edgar""Evening amount of time in Paris""Moneyball""The Tree of Existence""War Equine"AFI Special Honours"The Artist"The Harry Potter SeriesAFI TV Programs from the seasonInchBusting Bad""Boardwalk Empire""Curb Your Enthusiasm""Wager on Thrones""The Truly Amazing Wife""Homeland""Justified""Louie""Modern Family""Parks and Entertainment" Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com

'Book of Mormon' Headed for Los Angeles Run in 2012

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney rolled into town for his first major fundraiser Tuesday night, and the supporters he drew to the Beverly Hills Hotel was instructive on the nature of the GOP's support in monied Los Angeles.our editor recommendsDonald Trump's GOP Debate: Mitt Romney Becomes Third Candidate Who Won't Participate Mitt Romney and Fox News' Bret Baier Butt Heads Over Attack Ads (Video)Democrats Release 'Hollywood-Style' Ad Attacking Mitt Romney (Video)Mitt Romney's 2007 'Meet the Press' Appearance Provides Fodder for Newt Gingrich Campaign (Video) It also was Romney's first big chance to draw in Hollywood, but that didn't materialize. PHOTOS: 10 Hollywood Players That Will Make a Difference in the 2012 Elections While there's a smattering of industry conservatives -- like Terry Semel and Harry Sloan -- who support Romney, the event roster Tuesday evening was dominated by some of the city's top venture capitalists, hedge fund managers, private equity fund investors and others with longtime ties to Los Angeles' business community. The list of co-hosts -- obtained by The Hollywood Reporter -- was a bit like reviewing a list of the Westside's top ½ of the upper 1 percent. The Beverly Hills gala was chaired by Canyon Capital's Josh Friedman and his wife Beth; Tracy and Gene Sykes of Goldman Sachs; and long-time Los Angeles Music Center supporters Eva and Marc Stern, CEO of The TCW Group. PHOTOS: Democrats and Republicans' Favorite Movies Others co-hosting the event: Catherine and Bob Beyer, chairman of Chaparral Investments, a private equity fund; Jacquie and Harry McMahon, vice chairman of Merrill Lynch; Allison and Richard Roeder, venture capitalist with the Aurora Capital Group; Peter Starrett, chairman of Pacific Sunwear and founder of the Warner Bros. Studio stores, and his wife Cam, an advisor to the company that owns the Arclight and the Pacific theaters; former entertainment and media law attorney Mark Siegel, chairman of the J. Paul Getty Board of Trustees, and his wife Christina. Also on the list: Former European Union Ambassador Rockwell "Rock" Schnabel, co-founder of Trident Capital, and his wife Marna; Beny Alagem, owner of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and his wife Adele; John Heubusch, executive director of the Reagan Library Foundation; Scott Honour, of the Gores Group, and his wife Jamie. Tickets to the Beverly Hills Hotel dinner were priced at $2,500 - the maximum an individual can contribute to a presidential candidate, but attendees also were given the opportunity to pledge to raise amounts ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 to support Romney's candidacy. The events biggest money raisers were invited to the nearby home of hosts Beth and Josh Friedman's for desert with the candidate, who spoke mostly about the economy and improving the nation's eduction system. (No one in the crowd asked Romney about hot-button social issues, like abortion, immigration and same-sex marriage, according to one attendee.) As former MGM chief-turned investor Sloan, one of the hosts of Tuesday's fundraiser, told The Hollywood Reporter that he is still hopeful that more people in Hollywood will come out in support of Romney. He is hoping to co-host an event in February that will at least give studio heads a chance to meet the candidate. While Romney's event wasn't the sort that brings out the paparazzi, it did bring in more than $1 million for his campaign - not a bad take on dinner and dessert. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 10 Entertainers Democrats and Republicans Love to Hate Related Topics Politics Mitt Romney