Entertainment Today

The summer box office might as well have been titled Inception. That’s how hard it was to figure out. Ticket prices were sky high, but ticket sales were slightly off. Tom Cruise bombed, and then he didn’t. And so on and so odd.

It’s time to try to sort things out:

The Big Hits

1. Toy Story 3. Biggest movie of the summer, best reviews of the summer, most unexpected tearjerker of the summer. End of Story? Maybe not. 

2. Eclipse. Its midnight opening was a record-setting event. Once the howls died, the movie lived on long to become the franchise’s No. 1 domestic grosser.

3. Movies Not Based on Anything. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Inception, Steve Carell’s Despicable Me, Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups and Angelina Jolie’s Salt helped broaden the definition of the summer blockbuster beyond sequels, adaptations and remakes.

4. Sylvester Stallone. So, it turned out The A-Team was a hit, after all. The twist was it was called The Expendables. 

5. The Kids Are All Right. This low-key indie comedy-drama grossed nearly five times its $4 million budget, and reminded it’s never too early (or hot) for Oscar buzz. 

The Big Misses

1. 3-D. For every Toy Story 3, there was Cats & Dogs. And Step Up 3-D. And Piranha 3D. And even the Avatar rerelease. In the end, only four of the summer’s Top 10 grossers made audiences duck. 

2. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. You can talk about how Jennifer Aniston’s The Switch or Katherine Heigl’s Killers or Zac Efron’s Charlie St. Cloud didn’t have it—and they didn’t—but this Nicolas Cage film had it much, much worse. Reportedly eyed as the opening adventure in an all-new Pirates of the Caribbean-style franchise, the behemoth has struggled to clear its $150 million production budget worldwide. (Maybe we bury too soon? See No. 4 below.)   

3. Critics Who Did Everything Shy of Barricading Theater Doors to The Last Airbender. They tried. They failed. The film made $252 million worldwide. Director M. Night Shyamalan has scripts for two more installments ready to go.

4. Declaring a Movie a Bust Before Waiting to See if It Became a Hit. Cruise’s $117 million Knight and Day “flop[ped]” on the way to grossing $222 million worldwide. Jake Gyllenhaal’s $200 million Prince of Persia “disappoint[ed]” on the way to grossing $330 million worldwide. The $100 million Sex and the City 2 “[didn't] sell” on the way to grossing $290 million worldwide. We learned this lesson all the way back with Iron Man 2, which did just fine huge not becoming The Dark Knight. 

5. Comic-Con “Hits.” Scott Pilgrim, Fanboys could’ve told you San Diego is not the world.

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Who’s the King of Summer 2010? Who’s the Queen? You tell us.

Office boss Paul Lieberstein promises us fans that Steve Carell’s seriously sad departure from The Office is not the beginning of the end for the Dunder Mifflin empire.

In fact, the producers behind NBC’s hit comedy have all sorts of goodness planned before, during and after Michael Scott says goodbye, including (perhaps) a big-screen adventure.

Here’s what Lieberstein revealed to us about the show’s future and The Office: The Movie:

“There’s been no talk at any point of The Office ending,” Paul tells us exclusively. Turns out, the only folks talking about any such thing are reporters covering the show—ya hear that, fellow media hounds?

In fact, the show’s still going so strong that we might even see an Office flick a few years down the line. How awesome would that be?

“Maybe when the series is done we’d do an Office movie. I’d be up for that,” Paul teases. “But they’re all such big movie stars now, I don’t know if we could afford them on set.” (We can see it now—Ryan and Kelly are finally getting hitched, and Michael Scott returns to try and give away another bride. It’s perfect!)

Paul also urges fans to stick with The Office post-Steve Carell, promising the future is bright for the show.

“This will definitely change the dynamic [of the show],” he explains. “And we can’t just replace Steve because I think that would lead to failure. We have to do something different. This show is really about office life, which so many people live. And changing it up a little will be welcome to the fans. Steve feels he’s played almost everything he can with Michael Scott. There isn’t a lot of new territory for him to discover. And if he’s feeling that, fans must be, at a certain level, feeling that too—it’s an opportunity to reinvent The Office.”

And we can’t wait to see The Office reinvention in action!

Are you onboard for a Dunder Mifflin movie? Will you stick around through the Michael Scott-less transition period? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Review in a Hurry: A well-rounded cast of character actors (plus Paul Walker) tries to pull off a big robbery while obnoxious alcoholic cop Matt Dillon attempts to stop them. Very nearly a good little heist movie, Takers generates the occasional interesting plot twist but fails at the most basic level of creating characters worth caring about.

The Bigger Picture: The bank robbery that kicks off Takers delivers a few genuine surprises, not the least of which is that Hayden Christensen can capably fool people into thinking he’s someone other than who he is. And it’s cool to see a movie so color-blind in its casting that actors both black and white are equal-opportunity, elitist asskickers. Christensen’s A.J. sports the most prison-style tatts, while Michael Ealy’s Jake is the biggest Scotch snob.

It doesn’t spoil much to reveal that the initial heist goes down as smoothly as 10-year-old Macallan. But of course, the inevitable “one last job” rears its head as former team member Ghost (Tip “T.I.” Harris, giving his best ’90s-era Snoop Dogg snarl) gets out of prison, possessing a confidential armored car route he snagged from a Russian gangster. Though it violates the team’s usual sense of planning and discretion, they move fast to plan a smooth car-jacking in the next five days.

Meanwhile Dillon’s Detective Welles is busy trying to find clues to solve the first robbery, but it doesn’t help that he’s hugely unprofessional and yells at everybody. Partner Hatcher (Jay Hernandez) tries to mellow him out, but even this nice-guy cop has issues.

As does the script. It’s cool to see a movie that doesn’t feel the need to make everyone likable, but the four credited screenwriters here don’t manage to make anyone worthy of our sympathy, from the rub-it-in-our-faces-rich thieves to the corrupted cops who pursue them. Idris Elba’s Gordon Jennings is given a drug-addicted sister in lieu of character development; a brief cameo by Zoe Saldana suffices for both Ghost’s and Jake’s backstory. When we see toward the end that singer-turned-actor Chris Brown’s character is apparently an expert in parkour, one might wonder why this wasn’t established sooner.

Most hilarious about Takers is the way it goes out of its way to point out that what we’re watching takes place in Los Angeles. Characters gratuitously drop references to the La Brea Tar Pits, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Pershing Square, the Farmer’s Market and so on so often that you could easily make a drinking game out of it. Yet out of towners won’t care, and locals will probably shrug.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Considering there is no clear sympathetic protagonist, we will say this—the climax legitimately keeps you guessing as to who will prevail.

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Photos: Totally New Releases!

Lindsay Lohan’s out. Now what?

That’s what her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, the district attorney and the new (and LiLo would say improved) judge gathered together this morning to figure out.

So, what’d they come up with?

Plenty, as it turns out.

Lindsay herself was not present for the hearing, nor were any media cameras, as Judge Elden Fox had banned them from the courtroom.

But outside the courthouse was a different story, and Holley briefly and succinctly informed the waiting media scrum of the decisions.

First up: cancel that standing reservation at the Chateau. Lindsay was ordered to remain in California and reside at her West Hollywood home until her next court date on Nov. 1. (Lohan will not be required to attend that progress report hearing.)

At that point, should she obey the modified terms of her probation, she will be allowed to move out of state. But, judging by her track record, that could be a big if. Here’s what she’s got to do:

• Remain in California with L.A. her primary residence
• Undergo psychiatric treatment a minimum of four times a week
• Attend chemical dependency meetings (like A.A. or N.A.) at least five times a week as part of 12-step program
• Contact her chemical dependency counselor at least seven times a week
• Attend behavioral therapy twice a week
• Submit to random drug and alcohol testing two times per week
• Chapman must provide biweekly compliance reports to court

“She is not to miss any drug tests,” Fox said after confirming Lohan was released from the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at the UCLA Medical Center sometime after 8 p.m. last night.

“Her attorney must provide the court with biweekly statements that these requirements are being met. Any missed tests or violations will result in 30 days in jail.”

In other words, one strike and she’s out back in.

It’s not all bad news, though, as both under-the-influence drug counts Lindsay faced were dismissed.

“They were dismissed because she did all that she was supposed to do,” Holley said.

The star attorney also seemed sure both inside and out of the courthouse that Lindsay was now on the straight and narrow.

“She is very serious about her sobriety,” she said. “She looks forward to proving to the court that she is serious. She has learned her lesson and is going to move forward in a positive way.”

The first step in that positive direction: not attending tonight’s screening of Machete, in which LiLo costars.

“The screening is tonight and when I spoke with her last it was her intention not to do that,” she said. “She’s moving forward in a positive way and not necessarily going to something splashy. She has changed, she’s healthy, she’s clear-headed, she’s positive and she’s looking forward.”

When questioned on the veracity of this change in Lohan, Holley defended her client’s light-seeing ways.

“She has accepted responsibility. She went directly into treatment, did everything that was asked of her there.”

As for reports that Lohan was dismissed after the UCLA doctors determined that she had been misdiagnosed, Holley did not comment directly on her client’s medical history, but seemed to give the new batch of docs a glowing recommendation.

“I have no idea if there was a misdiagnosis. They started fresh. There was a fresh evaluation, they made their own diagnosis and recognized that there was no need for her to be there any longer.

“We’re happy with the court’s ruling today,” she added. “The past is dead.”

(Originally published Aug. 25, 2010, at 10 a.m. PT)

Catch up on the whole sordid Lindsay saga right here.

Meet Chris Brown, singer, actor and, don’t forget, risk taker.

That’s right, according to Brown, star of the upcoming heist flick Takers with Hayden Christensen and Idris Elba, he’s all about putting himself out there…and without a harness.

When it came to doing his own stunts for the movie, Brown told E! News, “It was fun. I’m a risk taker. On stage, I always wanna swing from one part of the arena and come to the other end with nothing on, no harness, no anything. Let me swing. I’ll land!” Not entirely sure what that means, but we say go for it, Chris.

Check out the video above for more from Brown and his Takers castmates. 

Follow @eonlineMovies on Twitter.

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PHOTOS: See what your fave stars are working on in the Casting Couch gallery!

Here’s a question: Why does Jennifer Aniston keep getting high-profile film gigs when her films (with very few exceptions, like Marley & Me) are stinkers?
—Freddie B., via Facebook

You clearly speak of The Switch, among other gems, but come now. Movies about misplaced semen are so fresh and unexplored, aren’t they? And nobody can deliver them with that special all-American-jilted-cheerleader glow of Aniston’s! Hater.

Anyway, I have the secret behind Jen’s seemingly unnatural lifespan in filmdom, and it only partially involves a satanic grimoire and the blood of 40 virgins:

The Switch was an official bomb: It made only $8.4 on its opening weekend. But apparently, Satan—or someone—keeps providing Aniston with just enough ticket buyers to keep her alive in Hollywood. Yes, there was Marley & Me, which made more than $242 million (worldwide), and yes, that is considered a hit.

But it hasn’t been Aniston’s only recent success—believe it, or not.

“The Switch isn’t going to earn Aniston any gold stars in Tinseltown,” Exhibitor Relations box office analyst Jeff Bock explains. “In fact, her solo rom-com career—where she has top billing over her male costar, like last year’s Love Happens, has always been a bit of a box office bust.

“However, when paired with a high profile [actor], such as Vince Vaughn, Jim Carrey or Owen Wilson, she shines.”

Proof? Sure: The Bounty Hunter, which costarred Gerard Butler, has grossed a global $136 million on a budget of $40 million.

How does that translate for Aniston’s future? Well, there are still plenty of studios that will bank on her. And that makes her, as the Hollywood Reporter recently put it, “second-tier, but reliably second-tier.”

“High-profile, high-concept films will always be her bread and butter, as she certainly fills a good-girl niche in Hollywood,” Bock says.

If that irks you, then do not read this next sentence: Aniston has a solid dozen movies in the works, at least three of which will be released in the next year or so.

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Photos: Angelina vs. Jennifer Style Showdown