The First Week of the Rest of Avatar's Life
Avatar is finally dethroned, but Sam Worthington is on his way up. Do you want Wheel of Fortune in 3D? Henry Winkler has a new role, and Valentine's Day gets a pre-release sequel. Welcome to a very super Trade Roundup.
•The Channing Tatum cheese-fest Dear John has supplanted Avatar as the most popular film in America: Dear John opened to bigger-than-expected $32.4 million weekend compared to Avatar's $23.6 million. But don't feel bad for Avatar: The film topped the domestic charts for seven straight weeks and is up to a $630 million cumulative take. From Paris With Love opened to a pretty week $8.1 million. We've got a 3D film about animistic blue people vs. a Nicholas Sparks adaptation vs. John Travolta looking like Lenin if Lenin was a pro wrestler. America! [Deadline]
•Meanwhile, Avatar star Sam Worthington just landed the starring role in Texas Killing Fields. Fields is a homicide drama to be produced by Michael Mann and Michael Jaffee, and directed by Mann's daughter, Ami Canaan Mann. According to her IMDB page, Ami Mann (not to be confused with Amie Mann) has scarce directing experience—most notably one episode of Friday Night Lights. Fields marks one in about a million projects for Worthington, who's starring in the sci-fi flick The Last Days of American Crime, plus a remake of The Debt and the newly-3D Clash of the Titans. [Variety]
•Much of Avatar's success of course rests on its 3-dimensionality. Now everyone wants in on the 3D game—including Wheel of Fortune . On Friday, Sony screened a 3D clip of Wheel at the studio's new 3D Technology Center. How is this even a thing? We hate to imagine the pressures 3D technology will put on the Vanna Whites of the world. Now they'll have to be constantly running and jumping at the screen or throwing stuff, constantly engaged in three-dimensional behaviors. [THR]
•Valentine's Day is that ensemble comedy opening Friday which seems to have every romantic comedy-type actor in it: Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, etc. New Line Cinema is so confident in this shotgun approach it's moving forward with New Year's Eve, a spin-off to be directed by Valentine's Day director Garry Marshall. But who's left for him to cast? [Variety]
•The LA Times notes the dearth of movie spots in this year's Super Bowl. This year there were only ads for about seven movies by three studios: Notable spots included Leonardo DiCaprio inShutter Island, Johnny Depp as a Madonna impresonator in Alice in Wonderland and The Prince of Persia [LAT]
•Former The Shield star Michael Chiklis has signed on to star in the ABC pilot No Ordinary Family. No Ordinary Family focuses on a normal family that suddenly develops super powers. We have no jokes to make about this; it's a serious issue and everyone should text 90999 to "superpowers" to donate to help families that spontaneously develop superpowers. [Variety]
•The Fonz is back on TV. Henry Winkler will have a reoccurring role on USA's Royal Pains as the absentee father of Mark Feuerstein and Paulo Costanzo's characters. [Variety]