The R-rated dark action comedy Pain and Gain led a lackluster box office weekend with $20 million. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson, the movie has been a dud with critics but should make Paramount a bit of money. Tom Cruise’s Oblivion came in second place with $17.4 million, a 53% drop from last weekend. Read more box office results here.
Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep are in talks to star in the upcoming Disney film adaptation of the classic Steven Sondheim musical Into the Woods, a comedy that follows up on classic fairy tales years later to see how the “happily ever afters” are holding up. Johnny Depp has done one Sondheim adaptation before – Sweeney Todd. Read more here.
James Franco will be directing and starring in Garden of Last Days, an adaptation of the book by Andre Dubus III. The film seems to have some of the elements that made his controversial Spring Breakers a success—strippers and criminals. Before the film begins shooting on July 7, Franco will be heading to Cannes. Read more here.
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a CEO’s income shrinking as his company’s stock price rockets. But that’s exactly what’s happening with Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. He made $5.5 million in 2012, down 40.3% from last year. Netflix’s share price has already risen 133% in 2013. Read more interesting details about the internal operations of Netflix here.
Django is being unchained in China. After the authorities mysteriously pulled the film from theaters last month, Sony Pictures and Chinese moviegoers were unsure they would ever get the film screened. But negotiations have wrapped up and the film will go up again on May 12. The reason the film was pulled have still not been officially announced. Read more here.
