Screenhead

Tom Cruise’s Hollywood mogul character Les Grossman was an awesome addition to the Tropic Thunder film, and the actor knows that too, as he told E! Online that he is going to do different videos with the character.

"I’ve started working with Ben [Stiller] on it, and we’ve kind of talked about different things to do,” said Cruise. “We were gonna do some in our free time, but we haven’t found the free time…yet."

Cruise scored a surprise Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in the film, which also stars Ben Stiller himself, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black.

Tropic Thunder is still number one in the box office weekly race. Babylon A.D. is second with The Dark Knight in third place.

August 29, 2008 - September 4, 2008(*millions)

No surprises for this week’s box office tally.  Tropic Thunder is first, then The House Bunny and Death Race. Quite a few movies are opening this weekend. To name a few: Traitor, Babylon A.D., Hamlet 2 and College.

August 22, 2008 - August 28, 2008(*millions)

Tropic Thunder bolted to the top of the box office this week with The Dark Knight and Star Wars: The Clone Wars right trailing behind.  What an awesome summer we are having in the movie business. More films are coming out as the summer ends. Which movie do you plan on seeing this weekend?  The choices and variety are unbelievable. We have as national releases Death Race, House Bunny and The Longshots.

Weekly

August 15, 2008 - August 21, 2008(*millions)

Tropic Thunder took the top box office draw this weekend taking in an estimated $26 million with a five-day opening total of $37 million. It’s an R-rated film, which means the bulk of the audience is over 25 – that’s quite a draw.

Batman sequel The Dark Knight became the second highest grossing movie of all time domestically, passing up the original Star Wars. The Batman movie took in an estimated $16.8 million with a total of $471.5 million in just 30 days.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which opened to an estimated $15.5 million, came in third.  

Mirrors being a horror film, the only one currently, took that market and the number four spot with $11.1 million.

Vicky Cristinia Barcelona opened in only 692 screens took the number ten spot with an estimated $3.7 million.

Tom Cruise wants a bigger role in the funnyland of comedy. It’s obvious he can take on a comedy role in a film such as Tropic Thunder, Risky Business and Jerry Maguire. He should do it more often.

The top man on campus is kind of attached to Food Fight, a warmhearted comedy about a snooty New York chef who is forced to cook meals at a school cafeteria, with Cruise playing the role of the chef.

Food Fight would place Cruise back in the comedic role. He’s proven himself recently with Tropic Thunder. He takes on an overweight, over-the-top studio exec in what advance word has billed as a movie-stealing performance.
However, it’s not a solid deal for the star. Just add it to his several projects in development as an actor and producer.

Cruise next stars in historical action film Valkyrie, in which he plays a very serious role: Klaus von Stauffenberg, the Nazi commander who plotted to kill Hitler.  I can’t wait to see it.  From sneak preview reports – it’s a must-see movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The ABC reports that there won’t be any cuts or changes to Tropic Thunder which Dreamworks is launching this week.

The movie came under fire by various advocacy groups including the Special Olympics, the Arc of the United States and the American Association of People with Disabilities, who met with studio executives last week to discuss the film. Apparently, it makes use of the word ‘retard’ several times in the film, specifically to a ‘movie within a movie’ character named Simple Jack who is played by Ben Stiller.

Stiller’s character is a small but pivotal element to not only the plot, but also the film’s stab at satirizing Hollywood actors; thus, a simple cut is not a workable option.

"Tropic Thunder is a … comedy that satirizes Hollywood and its excesses, and makes its point by featuring inappropriate and over-the-top characters in ridiculous situations,” said a Dreamworks spokesperson. “The film is in no way meant to disparage or harm the image of individuals with disabilities."

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/tSI15ltIacI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

"Tropic Thunder" looks like a funny movie. Just watch the trailer. Tom Cruise has a cameo appearance as a fat, bald film producer of some sort. It's all rumored, but should prove fruitful at the movie theaters.

"Thunder" stars Robert Downy, Jr., Ben Stiller, Nick Nolte and Jack Black.

The opening day is August 15th.