News

Exclusive: Orange Is The New Black star Jackie Cruz has replaced Stephanie Beatriz as co-lead in horror-thriller movie History Of Evil, which has just wrapped.

The Vampire Diaries actor Paul Wesley co-stars in the feature, which as we reported earlier this year was pre-bought by AMC’s genre streamer Shudder for North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

We’re told Brooklyn Nine-Nine and In the Heights star Beatriz had to switch out before the film’s early May start due to scheduling conflicts.

Written and directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Bo Mirhosseni, the film is being produced by genre specialists XYZ Films, Under the Shadow outfit Two & Two Pictures and Jake Siegel.

In History Of Evil, a family on the run from a corrupt state takes refuge in a safe house with an evil past — a terrifying last stop on a near-future Underground Railroad.

The movie is...

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has cast Paul Wesley in the iconic role of James T. Kirk for the Paramount Plus show’s upcoming second season.

“Strange New Worlds” is due to premiere on Paramount Plus on May 5. It was renewed for a second season back in January, with that season already in production.

The show follows the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike prior to Kirk becoming captain of the Enterprise. Wesley will appear as a young version of Kirk. He is now the third actor to play the character in a live-action project. Most famously, William Shatner played Kirk in the original “Star Trek” series as well as in multiple films. Chris Pine has played Kirk in three “Star Trek” films to date, with a fourth on the way.

“Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show,” said “Strange New Worlds...

Maz Jobrani has an energy that permeates everything he does, says, and creates. It's a dynamic energy that equips him with the multi-tasking skills needed in a successful host, comedian, and producer.

Whether you know him from his stand-up comedy specials, his many appearances on talk shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Late Late Show with James Corden, or his numerous television roles, you know that he fills a room.

His most recent comedy special, Pandemic Warrior, is streaming on Peacock and beautifully illustrates his ability to adapt a project to suit the changing context of the world.

Speaking to TV Fanatic by phone from Los Angeles, Jobrani explains how this special, like many projects these days, needed its timeline (and its title!) to become flexible with the impact of the pandemic.

"We shot it in 2019 in Dubai. The idea was to finish the editing and...

Hailed as a trailblazer, film and TV producer Steve Golin, who died late Sunday night after a battle with cancer, helped start the careers of a slew of writers and directors through the two companies he launched, Anonymous Content and Propaganda Films.

One of them was Nic Pizzolatto. He was a novelist who had just left academia in 2010 to pursue writing full-time when he was signed by Anonymous Content. The company, run by Golin, encouraged him to write backup scripts for a noir drama spec he had penned titled True Detective. They helped bring on board Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as stars and Cary Fukunaga to direct, and the project landed at HBO with a straight-to-series order. True Detective became an instant pop culture phenom, catapulted Pizzolatto into the top showrunner echelon and ushered in a wave of limited/anthology series headlined by movie stars.

Golin executive produced True Detective,...

When news broke this morning that "Jeepers Creepers 3" was ramping up production 12 years after the second film hit theaters, my thoughts almost immediately drifted to director Victor Salva, who helmed the first two "Jeepers" films and is also, as a number of tweeters have already pointed out, a convicted child molester. The crime in question occurred during the shooting of Salva's 1989 feature debut "Clownhouse," when the then-29-year-old director filmed himself having oral sex with the film's 12-year-old star, Nathan Forrest Winters. After the tape was discovered during a police raid (Winters had informed his mother of the abuse), Salva was jailed and served 15 months of a 3 year prison term before being released on parole. He is now (and will forever be) a registered sex offender in Los Angeles County. Those are the facts; and despite them Salva has continued to work in the industry, helming a total of eight...

Just in time to showcase the film's presence at Cannes, Lightning Entertainment has unveiled the sales art for the Chupacabra flick Indigenous. It's heavy on atmosphere but a bit light on goat sucker. Now there's something you don't hear everyday, huh?

From the Press Release

As demand for commercial horror/thriller fare continues to rise in the global marketplace, Lightning Entertainment has bolstered its offerings in the space, acquiring international sales rights to two highly sought-after titles, “Indigenous” and “Dark House,” which will debut in Cannes. The announcement was made today by Lightning Entertainment’s Evp & General Manager Ken DuBow.

“It is clear that movies in the horror/thriller genre continue to elicit the most enthusiasm among movie going audiences worldwide and it’s our job to help meet the needs of distributors looking to build a pipeline of strong commercial offerings,” said Lightning sales and acquisitions consultant Richard S. Guardian.

We’re back with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes DVD release details for Compound Fracture, trailers for Altergeist and Aftermath, first details on Danger Word, the Stage Fright call for submissions, and the lineup from Sci Fest in Los Angeles, a review of the second season of Holliston, and much more:

Compound Fracture DVD Release Details: “Level 33 Entertainment announced today the release of the highly anticipated horror feature film Compound Fracture coming to DVD and VOD on May 13, 2014. Bringing together three iconic figures in the horror pantheon, Compound Fracture stars Tyler Mane (Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s Hallowee), Muse Watson (Ben Willis in I Know What You Did Last Summer), and Derek Mears (Jason Voorhees in the new Friday The 13th). The movie will be available at all major retail and rental outlets including Walmart,...

Lightning Entertainment is taking the Chupacabra flick Indigenous to Cannes (along with Victor Salva's Dark House which is currently available here Stateside) and they let us know by sending over a press release and a new still! Dig it!

From the Press Release

As demand for commercial horror/thriller fare continues to rise in the global marketplace, Lightning Entertainment has bolstered its offerings in the space, acquiring international sales rights to two highly sought-after titles, “Indigenous” and “Dark House,” which will debut in Cannes. The announcement was made today by Lightning Entertainment’s Evp & General Manager Ken DuBow.

“It is clear that movies in the horror/thriller genre continue to elicit the most enthusiasm among movie going audiences worldwide and it’s our job to help meet the needs of distributors looking to build a pipeline of strong commercial offerings,” said Lightning sales and acquisitions consultant Richard S. Guardian.

Lightning Entertainment has boosted its Croisette credentials with two news titles, Indigenous and Dark House.

Victor Salva of Jeepers Creepers and Peaceful Warrior fame directs Dark House, about a young man who must confront a horrifying force to unravel the mystery of his psychic gift.

Tobin Bell from the Saw franchise stars alongside Luke Kleintank and Zack Ward. Dark House will screen in the Cannes market.

Alastair Orr directed Tribeca premiere Indigenous (pictured) starring Pierson Fode, Lindsey McKeon, Sofia Pernas and Jaime Anderson.

The monster film shot in Panama and follows a group of holidaymakers who defy local warnings as they go in search of a waterfall.

Lightning svp Joseph Dickstein negotiated the deal for Dark House with Paradigm’s Meghan Oliver and for Indigenous with Xyz’s Nick Bolton.

Lightning Entertainment’s evp and general manager Ken DuBow made the announcement.

Our dear friend Illuminate Founder and Executive Director Danette Wolpert has such a great idea here for this new and exciting Festival in beautiful Sedona Arizona.

1st Mind-Body-Spirit Film Fest Offers World Premieres, View & Do Experiences, Healing Village, Workshops.

The inaugural Illuminate Film Festival will blend 22 transformative films, 15 enlightening speakers and workshops, a healing village and an innovative “view and do” experience for moviegoers to more deeply process and integrate what they see on screen while surrounded by Sedona’s stunning backdrop and transformative, healing qualities, May 29-June 1.

The first-of-its-kind mind-body-spirit film festival “is at the forefront of an exploding global conscious movement connecting the film industry to a growing, identifiable, interconnected community of conscious consumers,” said Illuminate Founder and Executive Director Danette Wolpert, who spent five years as Miami International Film Festival Associate Director. “While industry festivals currently exist for most niche genres, one, surprisingly, does not exist for mind-body-spirit. With conscious cinema on the verge of exploding, the time is now and the opportunity is unparalleled.”

Illuminate showcases paradigm-busting, consciousness-expanding narrative features, documentaries and shorts including inspirational human journey stories and themes related to wellness, self-discovery, consciousness, body-mind science, yoga, meditation, spirituality, organic and plant-based food movements and sustainable living.

The full selection of films, guests, events and workshop speakers will be announced in early April.

Among the confirmed commitments:

• The World Premiere of Death Makes Life Possible, presented by world-renowned author, speaker and executive producer Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Marilyn Schlitz, former President and CEO of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, the film’s co-director. This exceptional documentary explores ‘the inevitable’ and appeals to anyone with questions about life, death and what’s next.

• The Festival World Premiere of On Meditation, a fascinating portrait series that offers a rare glimpse into how meditation has transformed the personal and professional lives of notable figures including: director David Lynch, a longtime practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (Tm); film and television actor Giancarlo Esposito, (Do the Right Thing , The Usual Suspects, King of New York, and drug kingpin Gustavo "Gus" Fring on the AMC series Breaking Bad); three-time National Book Award-winner and prominent environmental activist Peter Matthiessen; six-term Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, author of A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit; and esteemed Hatha Yoga master Elena Bower.

• The Sedona Premiere of When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen Ra & the Theremin, followed by a soul-shifting performance/sound journey by Ra, the legendary Iranian-Armenian musician. Known for both his exceptional artistry and his eccentric theatrical appeal, Ra has performed in esteemed venues including the United Nations and Lincoln Center, and has appeared on CNN, HBO, MTV, VH1 and in Vogue, The New York Times, The New York Post, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone and Glamour. The film took home Best Film and Best Documentary awards at the Byron Bay International Film Festival.

• The world’s first Conscious Filmmaker Convergence, a half-day film industry program for notable and aspiring mind-body-spirit filmmakers featuring workshops and panels with Betsy Chasse, director of What the Bleep Do We Know?; Illuminate board member Nicole Guillemet, former Co-Director of the Sundance Film Festival and 360 Degree Communications, a leading boutique marketing firm whose projects include What Dreams May Come , The Way, Peaceful Warrior, The Cove ,Fuel , Finding Joe and The Celestine Prophecy .

Among others expected to make appearances or presentations at the Festival are Dr. Chopra, Armen Ra and Parashakti, founder of the Dance Liberation movement.

Additional festival features include:

• View & Do: A New Concept in Movie-Going: to enrich the movie-going experience and enable audiences to process what they witness on screen, the "Reel Healing Series" will include a comprehensive "View and Do" experience for participants to enjoy a hand-selected, soul-inspiring movie coupled with an immersive workshop by a skilled practitioner for a deeper integration of the movie's message.

• Healing Village: offering samplings and services of the region’s best health and wellness practitioners including massage therapists, meditation guides, Reiki specialists, sound healers, Ayurvedic consultants, astrologers and more. Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old system of traditional natural healing with origins in India.

Board of Advisors Brings Key Industry Experience

The Illuminate Board of Advisors includes highly experienced film-festival and film-industry professionals and experts including: • Nancy Schafer , former executive director, Tribeca Film Festival • Nicole Guillemet, former co-director, Sundance Film Festival and former director, Miami International Film Festival • Sarah McLean, founding director, McLean Meditation Institute • Steven C. Beer, entertainment and sports attorney • Bill Stankey, president, Westport Entertainment Associates representing clients including Joy Behar, Gayle King, Ty Pennington and Bob Greene.

Illuminate films will be screened at Sedona’s state-of-the-art Mary D Fisher Theater, Creative Life Center and the Sedona Performing Arts Center.

For more information, visit www.illuminatefilmfestival.com.

The Tribeca Film Festival announced its jurors for this year’s event, which runs from April 16-27. The list includes Toni Collette, Lake Bell, Whoopi Goldberg, Catherine Hardwicke, Heather Graham, Anton Yelchin, Paul Wesley and 26 other leaders of the filmmaking community.

In addition to the Festival’s main competition juries in seven categories, Tribeca named Delia Ephron, Natasha Lyonne, and Gary Ross to select the second annual Nora Ephron Prize, which awards $25,000 to a female writer or director.

Click below for the entire list of jurors, with biographical information courtesy of the Tribeca festival:

World Competition Categories

The jurors for...

Here is the latest celeb gossip about the following topic from one of the freelance news writers at Green Celebrity Network. With actors Nick Nolte and Dustin Hoffman taking lead roles, it seems hard to imagine that the new HBO series Luck already lost backing, but it has. Nolte is well-known for his work on films like The Prince Of Tides and The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior. He also starred with Eddie Murphy in the funny cop movies 48 Hours and Another 48 Hours. Hoffman had hits ranging from dressing in drag for the movie Tootsie to playing fictional character Captain James Hook in the modern interpretation of Peter Pan Hook starring Robin Williams. He also played in all the film sequels to Meet The Fockers with Ben Stiller and Baarbra Streisand. Keep reading...

This weekend, Contagion spreads onto over 3,700 screens at 3,222 locations (including 257 IMAX venues) and is poised to end The Help's reign. Warrior trains to be a slow-burning crowd pleaser on close to 2,100 screens at 1,869 locations, while Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star and Creature should be contenders for the worst opening title, hitting 1,500 and 1,507 single-screen locations, respectively. With a rash of familiar faces (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, etc.) and deadly disease thriller storyline, Contagion recalls Outbreak, only with a darker, grittier, more global bent. Back in 1995, Outbreak debuted to $13.4 million or the equivalent of nearly $25 million adjusted for ticket price inflation. Contagion's infection and potential end-of-humanity angles also echo the recent zombie craze, and the movie's even opening in the same mid-September slot that the Resident Evil franchise is known for. Contagion's diffuseness, though, may not make it a threat to September's record books.

Back in 2006, Nick Nolte co-starred in a small sports drama called Peaceful Warrior (not to be confused with the upcoming sports drama Warrior), as a mysterious trainer/gas station attendant named Socrates. It was not a strong film. Or a strong performance. It was, in fact, the end of a near half-decade’s string of not-strong performances in not-strong films.

This was nothing new. The man had slumped quite similarly in the mid-90s (watch the awful Mulholland Falls for proof). Then, after reviving his career in the late 90s with winning turns in both Paul Schrader’s superb Affliction (which earned him an Oscar nod) and Terrence Malick’s masterful The Thin Red Line, the actor got arrested in late 2002 for driving while intoxicated. To add insult to injury, there was a beautiful mugshot that came with the arrest, something that’ll never be erased from the Internet. To...

Paul Wesley, the actor of Polish origin known for his roles as Stefan Salvatore in The CW TV series The Vampire Diaries and as Aaron Corbett in the ABC Family miniseries Fallen has been offered the part of Count Paris opposite Douglas Booth who portrays Romeo and Hailee Steinfeld as Juliet in the latest film adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, directed by Carlo Carlei.

Co-starring cast includes Holly Hunter as Juliet’s Nurse, Ed Westwick and Kodi Smit-McPhee as cousins of Romeo and Juliet – Tybalt and Benvolio respectively with production planned for this September.

Julian Fellowes penned the script and is also producing alongside Amber Entertainment’s Ileen Maisel and Lawrence Elman.

All we need is a few adults to play Lord and Lady Capulet along Lord and Lady Montague and one of the greatest and most famous tragedies for the stage is set in motion again.

Wesley plays the...

The filmmaker shed some light on his upcoming thriller starring Rose McGowan as a radio show psychiatrist who is targeted by a young sociopath paperboy; Plus Salva reveals more on the delayed Jeepers Creepers horror franchise. Victor Salva (Powder, Peaceful Warrior) is notorious for spawning one of the most acclaimed movie monsters of all time, the terrifying Creeper. Despite the third Jeepers Creepers flick still awaiting some funding, Salva is preparing to unleash a new horror movie called Rosewood Lane. Doctor Sonny Blake (Rose McGowan) is a radio talk show psychiatrist who moves back to her childhood home after her alcoholic father dies. Once back in her old neighborhood she discovers the local paperboy is a frightening and cunning young sociopath that targeted her father and now...

Principal Photography Commences this Week on Dark Comedy

Starring Katee Sackhoff, Seth Green, Michelle Trachtenberg,Billy Baldwin, and Harold Perrineau Jr.

Seth Green, Michelle Trachtenberg, Billy Baldwin, and Harold Perrineau Jr. have joined Katee Sackhoff to round out the cast for Sobini Films. dark comedy Sexy Evil Genius. Shawn Piller is making his feature directorial debut on the project which was written by Scott Lew, a scribe diagnosed with Als (Lou Gehrig.s Disease) and who can only communicate via the written word.

Lloyd Segan of Piller/Segan/Shepherd and David W. Higgins (Hard Candy) of Launchpad Productions are producing along with Sobini Films. Mark Amin. Cami Winikoff of Sobini and Scott Shepherd are executive producers. Sackhoff, Todd Ulman, and Nellie Nugiel are co-producers.

Piller is a veteran of episodic television and has directed and served as executive producer on shows Dead Zone, Haven, Wildfire, and Greek.

Amin commented, “I...

Beginning production this month in Los Angeles is director Victor Salva's Rosewood Lane, which follows a talk show psychiatrist (Rose McGowan) who returns to her hometown following the death of her father and becomes the target of the malicious neighborhood paperboy who stalked and murdered him. The film, which will also star Jeepers Creepers vet Ray Wise, has been a pet project of Salva's for several years now, and it will be the director's first feature effort since 2006's Peaceful Warrior, as well as his first horror film since Jeepers Creepers 2 in 2003. B-d recently chatted with Salva to get more details on the project, in addition to asking the burning question: will we ever see Jeepers Creepers 3, currently in limbo due to distributor MGM's recent financial difficulties?...

South African-born director and writer Wayne Kramer ("Running Scared") will direct the crime thriller “Pretty Boy Floyd" for Myriad Pictures which Myriad CEO Kirk D’Amico is producing. Screenplay comes from Kevin Bernhardt ("Peaceful Warrior") based on the notorious gangster and bank robber (full name Charles Arthur Floyd). “Pretty Boy” died in 1934 at age 30. He had committed numerous robberies around Kansas City and the Midwest during the late 1920s and '30s, picking up the nickname “The Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills” along the way. Kramer's approach will also focus on the love in Floyd's life (Ruby Hardgrave), whom he married in 1924. Kramer says “My approach is to bring 21st century style and energy to Kevin Bernhardt’s meticulously researched screenplay without sacrificing the verisimilitude of the period or over-sensationalizing the characters themselves. At the heart of ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’...

Actor Hayden Christensen has landed the lead role in Myriad Pictures' upcoming thriller The Genesis Code, based on John Case's book of the same name. The screenplay was written by Kevin Bernhardt (Peaceful Warrior) and David R. Ellis (The Final Destination) will direct.

The announcement was accompanied by an official synopsis of the movie.

Next Showing:

Link | Posted 5/13/2010 by BrentJS

Hayden Christensen | Kevin Bernhardt | Kirk D'Amico | The Genesis Code...

Hayden Christensen is set to star in the film adaptation of John Case’s thriller The Genesis Code. The film will be helmed by David R. Ellis, who you may know from his hilariously varied resume, including Final Destination 2 and Snakes On A Plane. The script has been adapted from the book by Kevin Bernhardt (The Peaceful Warrior, which lives on a dusty Blockbuster shelf at your local shop).

Read more on Hayden Christensen to star in The Genesis Code…...

Hayden Christensen has signed on to star in Snakes of a Plane/Cellular/The Final Destination director David R. Ellis' big screen adaptation of John Case's thriller novel The Genesis Code. Kevin Bernhardt, who wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film Peaceful Warrior, penned the adaptation. The story follows a former national security expert, played by Christensen, who, while investigating the murder of his only sister and her young son, discovers that a religious sect called The Shadow of the Cross may be involved. With the help of his sister’s friend Ana, they follow the clues to a clinic in the mountains of Italy, where a terrifying secret experiment has been conducted – successfully. The results are so threatening to the foundation of the Church that they will do anything to keep it from being revealed. Read the full press release after the jump. Hayden Christensen To Star In...

Washington State used to be a hotbed of superhero activity. Walla Walla, Washington was the birthplace of Batman’s Adam West. In the 1980s, DC Comics’ Green Arrow hunted serial killers in and about Seattle’s Pioneer Square. In the ’90s, Marvel’s Iron Man moved his base of operations to West Seattle and even saved the Space Needle from Fin Fang Foom! On TV, Jessica Alba’s Dark Angel protected a post-nuclear Seattle from mutants and mercenaries. However, since Dark Angel’s cancellation, the Pacific Northwest has been largely superhero-free. That’s about to change. Film composer Mateo Messina, responsible for the catchy Juno soundtrack and the quirky The Ex List TV show, is returning to his hometown Seattle on Friday, November 6 to present his “Symphony for a Superhero.” It will take place at Benaroya Hall, with proceeds to benefit the Seattle Children’s Hospital. Messina will also be...

Patrick Swayze: 1952-2009

By

Alex Simon

All films buffs have guilty pleasures. You know, those movies that high-minded cineastes love to turn their noses up at, especially critics for The New York Times, people with MFAs in some sort of film-related field, or just plain snobs who refuse to acknowledge anything released on celluloid that doesn’t have English subtitles and at least one reference to death, either as a character or a metaphor (and oftentimes both). Patrick Swayze was the undisputed King of the Guilty Pleasure. From his screen debut in Skatetown, USA in 1979, to his final appearance on television’s "The Beast" as a take-no-prisoners cop, Swayze was an unapologetic good ol’ boy who happened to be a classically-trained dancer, student of martial arts and Eastern philosophy, and possessor of an Iq that was nothing to sneeze at. In fact, he closely resembled Dalton, his character in...

Inferno Entertainment — the production company behind Just Friends, Peaceful Warrior, and The Air I Breathe — has acquired the rights to Bad Girls, formerly in development at MTV Films under the title Lost Girls.

It's based on a MTV-Pocket Books novel by Alex McAulay, who is attached to write the screen adaptation of his book. Bad Girls, described as "a cross between Lord of the Flies and Heathers," tells the story of a rebellious teenager who is sent to reform school on a remote island and ends up embroiled with killers and drug dealers.

Other upcoming movies from Inferno include The Experiment, starring Elijah Wood, Forest Whitaker, and Adrien Brody, which began filming this month, and The Killer Elite, an action flick based on the best-selling true story by Sir Ranulph Fiennes and starring Jason Statham.

Next Showing:

Link | Posted 7/17/2009 by BrentJS

Bad Girls...

The Ordway Center For Performing Arts Announces their upcoming events for February and March 2009 February Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 4pm VocalEssence Witness Celebrating the 90th anniversary of his birth, the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a concert dedicated to music inspired by his life and vision. Influenced by Dr. King, jazz legend Dr. Billy Taylor will perform his composition Peaceful Warrior, written for chorus, orchestra and jazz trio. Join us for this inspirational tribute to one of the greatest leaders of all time.

Trick Candle Productions and Dolger Films announced that Amy Smart will star in West Coast Swing dance film Love N' Dancing.

Robert Iscove will direct the film, which is scheduled to go into production July 16 in Albuquerque, with second unit work being shot in Philadelphia.

Smart joins Tom Malloy and a cast of swing dancers, in a film written by Malloy and produced by Robert Royston and Sylvia Caminer.

Smart will play Jessica, an English teacher who meets West Coast Swing dancer Jack (Malloy). The pair teams up for competition.

Smart's credits include Just Friends and Crank; she was most recently seen in Peaceful Warrior. Tom Malloy, who brings his passion for West Coast Swing to the project, appeared in Gravesend and will be seen in the upcoming film The Alphabet Killer.

Will Ferrell in tights toppled Walt Disney Pictures' latest 3-D effort, but none of the weekend's new releases came anywhere near last year's behemoth opener on the comparable weekend, 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: The Meltdown", which bowed to $68 million. Still, "Blades of Glory" was able to pull in an estimated $33 million to win the weekend for the Paramount Pictures release of the DreamWorks/MTV Films co-production. And Disney's animated tale "Meet the Robinsons" drew in an estimated $25.1 million for the frame to land at No. 2.

Miramax Films' "The Lookout", the weekend's other new wide release, bowed in 955 theaters to a dismal $2 million, not enough to crack the top 10. Overall, the top 12 films at the boxoffice were down an estimated 14% compared with last year at this time.

Universal Pictures experimented with the rerelease of Sobini Films' "Peaceful Warrior". Bowing in 615 theaters through a giveaway program with Best Buy retail stores, the film grossed what Universal is estimating to be $2.1 million in boxoffice receipts.

The holdovers from last frame had a hard time maintaining audiences, a factor many in the industry attributed to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which played its Final Four games Saturday night.

Warner Bros. Pictures' "TMNT", which occupied the top spot the previous weekend, dropped a steep 62% in its sophomore session to an estimated $9.2 million. Facing competition from both "Robinsons" and "Blades", the film has grossed $38.4 million in 10 days. Warners is confident, though, that the film will make up its deficit with the majority of school-aged children on spring break this week.

New Line Cinema's "The Last Mimzy" also wobbled in its second weekend; the PG family film dropped a steep 60% to $4 million. From director Robert Shaye, the movie's 10-day cume is $16.4 million.

Fox Atomic's "The Hills Have Eyes 2" fell 59% in its second weekend in theaters. The R-rated horror film earned an estimated $3.9 million to put its 10-day gross at $15.8 million -- the number to which last year's "The Hills Have Eyes" opened.

• In the Pipeline presents: Victor Salva’s Peaceful Warrior [Ed's note: A big thank you to Marc-Andre Rouleau for once again delivering us the cool little doodle above for our fav. Wednesday read! Cheers!] Whether cinema can inspire people to change their lives rather then just saying they will for a couple of hours after a screening is debatable. Nevertheless, the hope of such seems to be driving the upcoming film Peaceful Warrior, an adaptation of Dan Millman’s ‘inspirational’ novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. The film follows Dan, an athletic success who can’t help feeling that there is something missing from his life. In a chance encounter with “Socrates”, Dan is sent on a spiritual journey to enlightenment and the true meaning of winning. For the viewers, hopefully there is something meaningful for them as well. The adaptation of Dan Millman’s novel is the latest project from director Victor Salva. Salva has made a name for himself for directing narratives in a somewhat fantastical world. With Socrates a character,

...

NEW YORK -- Lionsgate has acquired all U.S. distribution rights from Sobini Films to Victor Salva's drama Peaceful Warrior. Much like its protagonist, the film has taken a long and winding journey from its origin as Dan Millman's 1980 best-seller Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Producer David Welch nabbed the rights but found the tale of a college gymnast on a spiritual journey difficult to bring to the screen. In 1996, then-Trimark owner Mark Amin was "on a spiritual retreat at a difficult time in my life," he said. "I found this book lying on a table, picked it up, and soon I was hooked." He tracked down Welch and obtained rights to the project within a few years.

Nick Nolte is joining the cast of Peaceful Warrior, the adaptation of Dan Millman's Way of the Peaceful Warrior. The project begins filming this week in Los Angeles for Sobini Films and Blockbuster subsidiary DEJ Prods. with Inferno Distribution retaining international rights. Victor Salva, whose credits include the Jeepers Creepers movies, is directing the film from a screenplay by Kevin Bernhardt, Anthony DiPietro and Bob Dolman. Sobini's Mark Amin, Robin Schorr and Cami Winikoff are producing the film along with David Welch.