The highly anticipated Man of Steel hit the box office this weekend to an impressive $125 million. That makes it the biggest June opening to date, and, if projections are right, the 18th largest opening ever. The Zack Snyder directed Superman film starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams made an additional $71 million overseas, opening in 24 international markets. The opening brought in more than double what Batman Begins made when it opened in 2005, as well as what the last Superman reboot, Superman Returns, made in 2006. Read more here.
Netflix is teaming up with DreamWorks to produce animated TV shows based on the characters in some of DreamWorks classic animated films—think Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar, and so on. This unprecedented partnership will also allow Netflix to feature characters from the Classic Media library, a portfolio of character brands that includes VeggieTales, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Gumby, which DreamWorks acquired last year. We're looking to see the first series air in 2014. Read more about the deal here.
Idris Elba (Prometheus, Thor) is reportedly in talks for the role of Dupont in Pierre Morel's The Gunman. Sean Penn and Javier Bardem are already cast in the action picture based on the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. In other casting news, Krysten Ritter (known for Breaking Bad) is reprising her role as Gia Goodman in the upcoming Veronica Mars movie, and Sam Riley (On the Road) has officially joined Suite Francaise, a World War II film based on the book by Irene Nemirovsky. Read more casting news here.
Russell Crowe is the recipient of the 59th Taormina Film Festival's Taormina Arte Award, putting his name on the wall alongside those of Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Michael Douglas, and Oliver Stone, among others. Crowe opened the festival on Saturday with the premier of Man of Steel, in which he plays Jor-El. "From A Beautiful Mind to Gladiator, from Master and Commander to Man of Steel," said the festival's artistic director Mario Sesti, "Russell Crowe has proved to everyone, spectators and critics alike, that to be a great actor you need both a great physical presence and a great mind." Read more here.
