Post by ebnpresident on Jan 19, 2009 13:38:54 GMT -5
January 9
Eye Witness Budget: 40 million Theaters: 3,100
One murder. Three very different eye witnesses with three very different stories. After the shooting of a beloved but controversial African-American senator, a young detective (Benjamin McKenzie) is assigned to the case. As riots heighten and speculation grows, the detective must study the three eye witnesses before time runs out or before he is reassigned. The senator’s mistress (Naomi Watts), his campaign advisor with a sorted history (Robert Downey Jr.), and his competitor (Aaron Eckhart) are the three eye witnesses. Can he put the pieces together and the very different information from the three eye-witnesses to figure out who the killer is?
January 30
The McAdams Women Budget: 35 million Theaters: 2,800
Stacey McAdams (Meg Ryan) is a divorced mother of two who made a choice a long time ago to choose her career over family, a decision that left her successful but lonely. Before her two opposite daughters, September (Jessica Stroup) and Shayna (Blake Lively), leave for college, Stacey decides to take them on a trip to Europe. Besides getting to be with her daughters, Stacey wants to meet the father (Hal Halbrook) she never knew who sent her a letter several months earlier. September is the less popular sister who has more of an edge and is unsure about college in the fall, while Shayna is more popular and intelligent, but never truly discovered herself. Both girls grew closer to their stepmom than Stacey and neither look forward to the beautiful trip, but all the women discover something new. September discovers a college freshmen (Chace Crawford) and football star who is exactly what September would usually hate but she see’s it as a fun Europe romp, that might be something more. Shayna has her fair share of rowdy college students but while in Europe she discovers a love for painting and a certain European guy. Stacey discovers the daughters she thought she lost, a tough relationship with the father she never knew, and a summer none of the McAdams women will ever forget.
February 13
The Fading Budget: 45 million Theaters: 2,700
Taking place during the great depression, The Fading is about Rose (Renee Zellweger) a woman living in a nearly deserted mansion far from the outskirts of town. Rose lives in the house with her daughters (Sofia Vassilieva and Elle Fanning). Two years prior, Rose’s husband (David Duchovny) left her, or at least that’s what Rose believed. When Rose’s sister comes to visit (Michelle Williams) she convinces Rose that something strange is happening, this proves especially true after several servants go missing. Before Rose can move out, there is a terrible storm and fog surrounds the house. Leaving the four in the house to try to survive, and keep from being the next to fade into the darkness.
February 27
Something Blue Budget: 40 million Theaters: 2,900
Darcy Rhone (Reese Withersthingy) thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma. But Darcy's neat, perfect world turns upside down when she as a fling in the Hamptons with a young guy (Chris Carmack) and her best friend, Rachel, the plain-Jane steals her fiancé Dex, while Darcy finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life…with a baby on the way. Darcy tries to recover, fleeing to her childhood friend living in London and resorting to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. She crashes at her friends Ethan’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) house in England who tries to make Darcy grow up. As Darcy tries to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent she finds out new things about life and a new love. Sometimes you wonder if the last thing you want is really the one thing you need.
March 20
The Film Club Budget: 25 million Theaters: 2,300
The true story about David Gilmour (John Cusack), an unemployed movie critic and single father of two, who makes the tough decision to let his 15-year-old son Jesse (Dustin Milligan), an aspiring musician, drop out of high school on the condition that the boy agrees to watch three films a week with him. The film examines how three pivotal years changed both their lives and the films they watched inspire them. As they age they both learn about love as the father struggles to support both of his children and the son struggles with romance and his wild lifestyle.
April 3
Repentance Budget: 50 million Theaters: 3,500
Five years ago Eric Mills (Mark Wahlberg), a mild-mannered English teacher with two kids, was convicted of murdering a 16 year old female student. When the charges came out Eric’s wife left him and gained full custody of the children, and he was made a villain in the media. The evidence was there, but not definitive, in the end it came down to the powerful testimony of the girl’s mother, Kennedy DeMarco (Michelle Pfeiffer). The California mother’s testimony helped the case become a nationwide story and put Eric on death row, making it the fastest execution in California history. Kennedy has replayed these moments in her head for the last five years, despite the begging of her husband (Michael Keaton) to stop and move on. Finally Kennedy becomes convinced that something went wrong in the case and begins meeting with Eric to try to uncover the true story, and they form a fascinating and troubling bond. As execution nears, Kennedy is after the truth for Eric in this action filled thriller, and will stop at nothing for repentance.
April 24
Reality Check Budget: 18 million Theaters: 1900
Jeff (Paul Rudd) a slacker pot-head accountant is entered by his best friends Tim (Logan Marshall Greene) and Leon (Russell Brand) to be on a reality dating show called True Love, filming in Hawaii. When the network head (Kristen Wiig) finds Jeff charming she surprisingly selects him and gives him a makeover. Along with 19 other bachelors Jeff travels to Hawaii to find true love, yet by the end he is unexpectedly chosen by Elle (Mila Kunis) to be the one. This leads to basically an arranged tv marriage, yet when the cameras stop rolling Jeff realizes Elle is a psycho, and must deal with the fact that he is married to a mentally unstable nutcase, who expects him to work for her father (Dennis Hopper) and stop hanging with his friends. Yet Jeff finds rescue in the most unexpected place, Elle’s older sister, a divorced single mom, Summer (Leslie Mann). From the man who brought you “Knocked Up” comes a new comedy about what happens when the camera turns off, and the tv masks fade away.
May 15
The Invisible Man 2 Budget: 130 million Theaters:4,100
Ryan, The Invisible Man (Ryan Gosling), is back and continues to take down crime in New York City. The legend of the Invisible Man seems like an old tabloid story now in New York, as Ryan has learned to more quietly take care of crime in the city, yet despite her initial doubt in the existence of the Invisible Man, Detective Mason Reilly (Natalie Portman) now is the biggest believer in such a person causing her to be the laughing force of the FBI. Officer Phillipes (Samuel L. Jackson), tips Ryan off about the biggest crime syndicate in the city, Albert Vertrosky (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who may not have any powers, yet has the strength of unlimited strength of the mafia. He is ruthless and powerful, and this one’s personal for Ryan as he believes that Albert may have been a part of the shooting that killed his best friend (Justin Hartley), an undercover cop. Despite the warning of his Aunt (Kelly Rowan) not to make it all about revenge, this one is undoubtedly fueled by revenge. Forcing the Invisible Man to come out of the shadows and reveal himself to be more than a myth, The Invisible Man 2 blurs the line between hero and villain, right and wrong, and justice and revenge.
June 12
Vigilante Origin Budget: 145 million Theaters: 3,900
In Los Angeles there is no bigger socialite than Renee Westfelt (Rachel McAdams), the daughter of famed entrepreneur Daniel Westfelt (Alfred Molina). After the death of her mother when she was 16, Renee’s life spiraled out of control and now all that remains ten years later is a broken girl who is smarter than she acts. Her boyfriend (Charlie Hunnam) is also wealthy, yet shady. The one person who truly cares for her is her best friend since childhood Marissa (Kristen Bell) who keeps Renee from completing self-destructing. Everything about her life changes when she is kidnapped at an event in South America and held for ransom. During the 100 days she is starved and pushed to a near mental breakdown, with her only help coming from a man who was held ransom with her named Jean(Patrick Stewart), who trains her. Once the South Americans find out who Renee is, they order 35 million dollars be paid, which is paid yet she they still plan to kill her before Jean defends her with his own life while she escapes
Once back in the city, Renee pulls out of her socialite life and focuses on stopping crime. Her lifelong nanny/assistant Barbara (Judi Dench) is the only one who knows that at nights Renee is a vigilante, helping to stop crime in the city, as Marissa doesn’t even know. Renee also begins a casual relationship with a reporter Emmett (Chris Evans) from a small art publication who interviews Renee about her work with a charity reluctantly, yet Emmett is coming dangerously close to the truth about Renee’s secret identity. She is forced to balance her life in the spotlight in the day and as a vigilante at night. When faced with the truth about her father’s corporation to international crime, her own kidnapping, her mother’s death and how her family became wealthy forces the Vigilante to go after her own father. Gripping and dark, The Vigilante takes on crime and uses a modern-day super-hero, without powers but with a need for truth and meaning, in this smart and gritty take on the super-hero genre.
July 1
Pushing 40 Budget: 55 million Theaters: 2,600
Calista, Alexandria, Audrey, Damon and Emerson; they were the best of friends, living trendy lives in the fashion industry of the mid-90’s in New York. 15 years later these best friends are nearing middle aged, all still striving for what they truly want. Calista (Uma Thurman), remains the queen of Boho-chic New York culture, with a trendy boutique, and still trying to defy her wealthy mother. She still fears commitment, yet can’t be alone, and still strives for that child she has always wanted. Alexandria (Amanda Peete) is still as hard-edged as ever with her in your face style, yet now she works as a successful executive in Los Angeles, whose life is her career, with her best friendships remaining the ones from her modeling days in London. Audrey (Cate Blanchett) lives the life she never wanted, complete with 3 kids she loves to death, and a husband who she is aware is cheating on her. Always the uptight and rigid one, she misses the days of being a model and helping Calista plan renegade fashion shows. Being a NY soccer mom continuously proves disastrous for Audrey. Damon (Jason Lewis) remains a model who lives in New York with Audrey and him still best friends, yet as he ages his career is getting harder and his relationships with his boyfriends remains as shallow as ever, yet his relationships with his friends remain rock solid. He’s desperate to prove himself more than just a pretty face. Emerson (Minnie Driver), who is all heart and soul while rarely thinking things through and is a single mom who still falls madly in love quick, yet has never learned to be independent or to keep a job or a city longer than a year.
For her 39th birthday, Calista decides to get together all her friends from fashion in London again. This reunion brings about an agreement in which all of them change their lives before the hit 40, no matter what that may entail. Call it a mid-life crisis, but these 5 best friends are chasing their dreams a little later than most and finding it more challenging than it was 15 years ago. Calista leaves New York and her boutique for a while to attempt to escape her mother and the city to which she is almost a landmark now, and begins designing dresses again not just selling them in London, while working on finding a committed relationship. Alexandria gives up her job for a year to travel and find her passions again in life, while Audrey finally leaves her husband forcing her to share custody of her kids and function as a single football mom. Damon tries to prove he’s more than just a pretty face by working a low-paying position at a fashion magazine, pursuing his true passion writing. He may have the most thankless job in the city, yet could true love be around the corner? Emerson decides to finally buy a house and focus on her daughter and not romance, but that may be harder for her than she thought. With one year to change their lives and help from each other, middle-aged might not be that scary, in this sharp and witty comedy about the fear of aging and figuring out what you truly want from your life.
July 24
Atlantis Budget: 200 million Theaters: 4,300
New Yorker Dr. Robert Davies (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose wife and son died five years ago in a car crash, is an archaeologist who has studied the famed “forgotten empire” of Atlantis since he was a young child when his father would tell him stories of Atlantis. Although most dismiss Atlantis as a myth, Dr. Davies is convinced from his studies of the existence of the ancient civilization buried beneath the sea. The federal government commissions Dr. Davies to take a crew using modern technology and find the lost empire. Military Colonel Rand West (Robert DuVall) has the approximate location, but needs Dr. Davies help to find a way into the empire. Dr. Davies crew includes scientist Edmund Knight (Morgan Freeman) who has long been considered crazy by the scientific community, Dr. Makenna Spencer (Keri Russell) a language expert who studied the ancient scrolls of the Atlantis people, as well as Dr. Davies renegade younger brother Brent (Benjamin McKenzie) who was a soldier in Iraq and military Sgt. Gregg Swan (Peter Sarsgaard). Together the team faces the tough task of fighting the tough seas on their way in a submarine to find the lost empire. When the team does reach the lost empire, they are amazed by its beauty but taken hostage by the natives of the land. Atlantis follows the team as they search for the lost empire and form bonds with the natives of the land who are at civil war with one another. Dr. Davies begins to bond again with his rebellious brother as they try to stop civil war in Atlantis.
August 14
Secret Agent Man Budget: 95 million Theaters: 3,500
When film’s top action star Stone Fox (Ben Stiller), a vein and hot-shot actor, is shadowing CIA Agent Dominic West(Antonio Sabato) for his next role in another action movie. When the head of the CIA (Alec Baldwin) lets him go on a simple routine mission that is purely for display to Russia with Agent West and Agent Johnson (Mandy Moore), who believes letting movie stars shadows actual CIA agents is ridiculous and unprofessional. Stone thinks that Agent Johnson digs him, yet she is clearly repulsed by his fake Hollywood muscle and lame attempts at being macho. Yet this routine check-up in Russia, leads to the kidnap of Agent West, and forces Stone Fox to take part in a mission with Agent Johnson to stop another world war. He may just be a secret agent on film, but Stone Fox will be forced to act like a real agent in matters of life and death, as long as he doesn’t get too dirty.
September 4
High School Chronicles Budget: 10 million Theaters: 1,900
High School Chronicles is an edgy, fun, rock-influenced, dramatic and often humorous look at life in public high school through the eyes of eight students all taking different paths.
180 school days to make the most and to decide the rest of their lives. Katee (Emma Stone) is the intelligent, always well-liked yet moody art student who is head of the senior video committee, which makes the video for senior graduation. Justin (Alex Pettyfer) is her gay best friend who is the yearbooks main photographer, complete with an art scholarship to Brown next year, who is co-chairing the committee with her. Despite no interest in making videos whatsoever Roxie (Willa Holland), the perpetual wild child, is on the committee for the sole purpose of hanging out with Katee and Justin, her closest friends. Chace (Adam Gregory), the football star whose dad already has his college picked out, is the high school everything: with countless extracurricular and a 4.4 GPA and chooses to work on senior video committee after dropping yearbook because his ex-girlfriend was in that class. Charlie (John Patrick Amedori), the rebellious burn-out is forced onto the committee instead of detention, with the threat of no graduation unless he helps finish the video. By adding the comedic Landon (Tristan Wilds), quirky but overbearing cheerleader Sarah (Olivia Thirlby) and despised know-it-all Julianne (Shannon Marie Woodward), you have the senior video committee.
But through filming and making a more artistic and edgy look at what it’s like being a teen in modern day America, these 8 teens go beyond making a senior video. The video they film is much more brutally honest and touchingly realistic. Through their 180 days together they form a bond, and begin to see through each others eyes and look at high school in a new light. Yet the relationships that are formed while working on the video prove to change their entire futures. Chace, the indecisive football star begins a relationship with Justin, which no doubt could cost Chace his friendships and would destroy his dad, yet for the first time Chace feels free in his life to pursue more than football and school. For Katee the unexpected comes in the form of stoner Charlie who for the first time shows her what love is, yet she is embarrassed of him. Roxie’s life changes when she see’s a video filmed by Landon of her at one of the many parties (all caught on film) of senior year. It gives her insight into her own life and what she looks like to the rest of the world, forcing her to face the demons of her past. 180 days to decide their future, face their pasts, and decide the rest of their lives, yet everything can change in 180 days, in this charming dramedy about high school, parties and what the future holds.
September 18
Paint It Black Budget: 25 million Theaters: 2,000
Josie Tyrell (Rachel Bilson) is a teenage runaway, an artist's model, charmingly self-aware, plucky and an habitué of the '80s LA punk rock scene. She is a white trash escapee from Bakersfield, having left a going nowhere life there. Now, sex, drugs and rock n' roll inform her days and nights.
Josie meets Michael Faraday (James McAvoy), son of empty and manipulative concert pianist Meredith Loewy (Meg Ryan) and writer Calvin Faraday (Timothy Hutton), long divorced. He is everything that she is not: refined, wealthy, well-traveled, brilliant by fits and starts. He is also a Harvard dropout, leaving school so he can paint; his new obsession. He refuses help from his mother living in a bleak world of privilege, who is furious about his decision to leave school, but it doesn't bother him to have Josie working three jobs to support them. He is given to black moods, frozen in amber by his perfectionism, contemptuous of those who do not agree with him about art and life. Josie adores him. One day much like any other, he leaves their house, saying that he is going to his mother's so that he can paint in solitude. Instead, he goes to a motel in 29 Palms and shoots himself in the head.
What follows is Josie’s further descent into grief from his death, drugs and booze. How could her one love kill himself? Was she not enough? Meredith calls her and says, "Why are you alive? What is the excuse for Josie Tyrell? I ask you." Ultimately, they form a tenuous relationship, because all that is left of Michael lives in the two women. Josie even lives with Meredith for a while. Before their relationship can continue, Josie must figure out her one love Michael, and learn what pushed him over the edge. As dangerous and volatile as Michael’s death, these two women’s relationship forces them to take a look at their own lives and the effect it had on the death of their one true love.
October 2
I Banged the Presidents Daughter Budget: 22 million Theaters: 2,100
Wild, rebellious, caring and vegetarian – Autumn Jennings (Kristen Stewart) is the last thing you’d want from a republican senator’s daughter, especially if the senator is running for president, like Senator James Jennings (Julian McMahon). Autumn is decidedly the black sheep of her parents four ivy-league worthy children, although her mother (Lisa Edelstein) projects a far different image of her daughter to the world. Autumn thinks her parents, who love hunting and Jesus, are complete idiots and their attempts to act folksy to the world are just stupid, yet many seem to be captivated by them. Autumn further infuriates her parents by her friends – Jay (Ravi Gavron), the gay Jewish lead singer of an emo band, and Kaitlyn (Ashley Greene) who is just as wild as Autumn and leads the schools club Hippies for Ending War, which has 4 members.
The week before her dad announces his run for President, in one of her usual drunken nights, Autumn sleeps with the virginal, but well-liked Stevey (Michael Cera), much to her disgust. Autumn barely remembers the night before, but Stevey is madly in love with Autumn. When her mom finds out about Autumn’s pregnancy, the day her dad announces his candidacy for president, she makes Autumn’s boyfriend from one week of sophomore year Slater (Kellan Lutz) act as the father, while Autumn tells Stevey just to move on. Although she is now in the spotlight as the pregnant daughter of the republican candidate for president, Autumn’s friends Jay and Kaitlyn attempt to rescue her from the spotlight, while Stevey and Autumn continue to develop an awkward, but poignant relationship. I Banged the President’s Daughter is a charming, quirky and laugh-out-loud hilarious film that brilliantly satirizes American politics, while focusing on the romance between two young teens, who find love after a few drunken nights.
October 23
Forgotten Law Budget: 50 million Theaters: 2,700
Jackson Dawes (Matt Damon), a passionate and divorced southern lawyer for the state takes on the case of a murdered latino boy and his living mother Anita (Kate del Castillo) who has identified the killer who were illegal immigrants only to discover the legal complications of the case. Despite all the evidence points to a local farmer, the opposing lawyer (Gary Oldman) is far more well-equipped than Jackson and is not afraid to dig up Anita’s shady and illegal past. The case makes national attention when an ambitious reporter (Kate Beckinsale) makes a story out of the racism faced by the boy and his mother. A film about those the law usually forget about and the hardships faced by illegal immigrants every day, Forgotten Law transcends politics and law to become a very human story of struggle and triumph in modern-day America
November 6
Conditions of Justice Theaters: 3,200 Budget: 60 million
A 16 year old Kentucky boy is tragically killed and hung naked on top of the schools flagpole. The boy’s mother Angela (Uma Thurman), a junior high school teacher, and father (Mark Ruffalo), a firefighter, are having a hard enough time with his death when it is suggested by a classmate he was killed because he was gay. Angela becomes consumed by her pain and blames herself for taking him to such a conservative church, believing he was never comfortable with her knowing the truth. With the trial nearing the boys who were believed to murder her son get Grant Jameson (Alan Alda), a heartless conservative bulldog of a lawyer. Angela contacts liberal journalist Michelle Emmerich (Neve Campbell) who writes a story about hate-crimes that brings the case loads of media coverage. Hot-shot gay San Francisco lawyer Ben Lein (Benjamin Mackenzie) has a sorted past and wants to help Angela get justice for her son. He convinces Angela and Michelle that it will be an uphill battle to get maximum sentences for the teens who killed her sons, especially in a conservative state like Kentucky, with stone-tight alibis and against a lawyer like Grant Jameson. They must attempt to prove that the boys murdered her son and did it out of prejudice.
For Angela this is a story of redemption for the death of her son, yet through the case and the pro-gay and anti-gay protests surrounding it, Angela becomes an unlikely gay advocate. Angela sees pain and oppression, and fights for the rights of all, not just for redemption for her own son. As Ben Jackie and Miranda take on the very public case of her son, they form a sort of very personal connection and become the center of media attention. Through all this Miranda’s marriage is falling apart, as she becomes a stronger and smarter than she ever knew she could be. Conditions of Justice is a fictional story about very real-life issues, and how one-mother’s love turned into a legal case brought to national attention.
November 23
Alexander the Great Budget: 155 million Theaters: 4,300
Alexander the Great (James Franco) had conquered most of the well-known world by the time he was 32, and was one of the most successful military commanders of all time, going undefeated in battle. He arguably defined what a great ruler is making Macedonia a great power, yet his true story is so much more than the history books tell. His mother, Olympias (Nicole Kidman), was a passionate and headstrong woman who had the largest influence on his life. Olympias was the fourth wife of Phillip II (Russell Crowe) and their marriage was often abusive and dangerous, ending in divorce, yet Olympias had trouble moving on and Alexander was bitter towards his father because of his father’s treatment of his mother. As a child Alexander was taught by Aristotle (Ian McKellen) and began fighting in wars at just 16. His loveless but passion filled relationship with his wife Roxane (Emily Blunt) was just a mask to his true love, his relationship with Hephaistion (Chris Pine), his best friend and fellow warrior. No matter how many lovers Alexander took or how wrong his relationship was perceived to be, Alexander could never let go of his love with Hephaistion. From growing up with dangerous yet powerful parents, his close relationship with his mother, his conquering of India and Persia, his love and eventual mysterious poisoning, Alexander the Great defied the rules to be the greastest ruler history has ever known, as predicted by his mother. From Academy Award Winning Director Baz Luhrmann of The Queen of Egypt comes the story of the man who knew no boundaries, who never found a war too big or a problem too hard, the story of Alexander is one of power, love, strength, war and death, all told colorfully and emotionally by Baz Luhrmann.
December 11
Instinct Budget: 35 million Theaters: 3,000
Do you ever get the feeling that someone’s there? Watching, waiting, stalking, preying, yet it is nothing more than a feeling or instinct. When Elsa (Halle Berry) went blind from a fateful car accident five years ago her life was turned upside down, yet her relationship with her new boyfriend (Giovani Ribis) is going well. That is, until Elsa becomes convinced that she is being watched. From moving a key to feeling a touch in the night, Elsa is driven to a breaking point and insanity by the feeling that there is always someone around, near her, yet no one believes her because she can’t see it. Even with the help of a police officer (Justin Chambers), her instincts can’t be proven. Can she stop her stalker from hurting her? Can she even prove that she is being watched and stalked? This tense psychological horror thriller takes on one’s instincts and will make you think again when you tell yourself that it was just a bad feeling.
December 25
My Robot Budget: 80 million Theaters: 3,000
Every family has a robot, to clean the house, to help with homework and to do the dishes, yet Tina’s robot is different, as he was one from a time when they were implanted with a heart and could talk. She named him Futter and he’s her best friend, but one day while she’s at school her parents send Futter to the junkyard for a newer model robot, forcing Flutter on a perilous journey in which he meets RoboTech200, a malfunctioning junkyard robot with a hard made of literal gold and Jottu a forgetful and loud robot whose family didn’t love her. This animated adventure follows Futter and his friends as they fights off the newer heartless model robots and trash compacters while he is trying to make his way back to his owner.
Eye Witness Budget: 40 million Theaters: 3,100
One murder. Three very different eye witnesses with three very different stories. After the shooting of a beloved but controversial African-American senator, a young detective (Benjamin McKenzie) is assigned to the case. As riots heighten and speculation grows, the detective must study the three eye witnesses before time runs out or before he is reassigned. The senator’s mistress (Naomi Watts), his campaign advisor with a sorted history (Robert Downey Jr.), and his competitor (Aaron Eckhart) are the three eye witnesses. Can he put the pieces together and the very different information from the three eye-witnesses to figure out who the killer is?
January 30
The McAdams Women Budget: 35 million Theaters: 2,800
Stacey McAdams (Meg Ryan) is a divorced mother of two who made a choice a long time ago to choose her career over family, a decision that left her successful but lonely. Before her two opposite daughters, September (Jessica Stroup) and Shayna (Blake Lively), leave for college, Stacey decides to take them on a trip to Europe. Besides getting to be with her daughters, Stacey wants to meet the father (Hal Halbrook) she never knew who sent her a letter several months earlier. September is the less popular sister who has more of an edge and is unsure about college in the fall, while Shayna is more popular and intelligent, but never truly discovered herself. Both girls grew closer to their stepmom than Stacey and neither look forward to the beautiful trip, but all the women discover something new. September discovers a college freshmen (Chace Crawford) and football star who is exactly what September would usually hate but she see’s it as a fun Europe romp, that might be something more. Shayna has her fair share of rowdy college students but while in Europe she discovers a love for painting and a certain European guy. Stacey discovers the daughters she thought she lost, a tough relationship with the father she never knew, and a summer none of the McAdams women will ever forget.
February 13
The Fading Budget: 45 million Theaters: 2,700
Taking place during the great depression, The Fading is about Rose (Renee Zellweger) a woman living in a nearly deserted mansion far from the outskirts of town. Rose lives in the house with her daughters (Sofia Vassilieva and Elle Fanning). Two years prior, Rose’s husband (David Duchovny) left her, or at least that’s what Rose believed. When Rose’s sister comes to visit (Michelle Williams) she convinces Rose that something strange is happening, this proves especially true after several servants go missing. Before Rose can move out, there is a terrible storm and fog surrounds the house. Leaving the four in the house to try to survive, and keep from being the next to fade into the darkness.
February 27
Something Blue Budget: 40 million Theaters: 2,900
Darcy Rhone (Reese Withersthingy) thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma. But Darcy's neat, perfect world turns upside down when she as a fling in the Hamptons with a young guy (Chris Carmack) and her best friend, Rachel, the plain-Jane steals her fiancé Dex, while Darcy finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life…with a baby on the way. Darcy tries to recover, fleeing to her childhood friend living in London and resorting to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. She crashes at her friends Ethan’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) house in England who tries to make Darcy grow up. As Darcy tries to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent she finds out new things about life and a new love. Sometimes you wonder if the last thing you want is really the one thing you need.
March 20
The Film Club Budget: 25 million Theaters: 2,300
The true story about David Gilmour (John Cusack), an unemployed movie critic and single father of two, who makes the tough decision to let his 15-year-old son Jesse (Dustin Milligan), an aspiring musician, drop out of high school on the condition that the boy agrees to watch three films a week with him. The film examines how three pivotal years changed both their lives and the films they watched inspire them. As they age they both learn about love as the father struggles to support both of his children and the son struggles with romance and his wild lifestyle.
April 3
Repentance Budget: 50 million Theaters: 3,500
Five years ago Eric Mills (Mark Wahlberg), a mild-mannered English teacher with two kids, was convicted of murdering a 16 year old female student. When the charges came out Eric’s wife left him and gained full custody of the children, and he was made a villain in the media. The evidence was there, but not definitive, in the end it came down to the powerful testimony of the girl’s mother, Kennedy DeMarco (Michelle Pfeiffer). The California mother’s testimony helped the case become a nationwide story and put Eric on death row, making it the fastest execution in California history. Kennedy has replayed these moments in her head for the last five years, despite the begging of her husband (Michael Keaton) to stop and move on. Finally Kennedy becomes convinced that something went wrong in the case and begins meeting with Eric to try to uncover the true story, and they form a fascinating and troubling bond. As execution nears, Kennedy is after the truth for Eric in this action filled thriller, and will stop at nothing for repentance.
April 24
Reality Check Budget: 18 million Theaters: 1900
Jeff (Paul Rudd) a slacker pot-head accountant is entered by his best friends Tim (Logan Marshall Greene) and Leon (Russell Brand) to be on a reality dating show called True Love, filming in Hawaii. When the network head (Kristen Wiig) finds Jeff charming she surprisingly selects him and gives him a makeover. Along with 19 other bachelors Jeff travels to Hawaii to find true love, yet by the end he is unexpectedly chosen by Elle (Mila Kunis) to be the one. This leads to basically an arranged tv marriage, yet when the cameras stop rolling Jeff realizes Elle is a psycho, and must deal with the fact that he is married to a mentally unstable nutcase, who expects him to work for her father (Dennis Hopper) and stop hanging with his friends. Yet Jeff finds rescue in the most unexpected place, Elle’s older sister, a divorced single mom, Summer (Leslie Mann). From the man who brought you “Knocked Up” comes a new comedy about what happens when the camera turns off, and the tv masks fade away.
May 15
The Invisible Man 2 Budget: 130 million Theaters:4,100
Ryan, The Invisible Man (Ryan Gosling), is back and continues to take down crime in New York City. The legend of the Invisible Man seems like an old tabloid story now in New York, as Ryan has learned to more quietly take care of crime in the city, yet despite her initial doubt in the existence of the Invisible Man, Detective Mason Reilly (Natalie Portman) now is the biggest believer in such a person causing her to be the laughing force of the FBI. Officer Phillipes (Samuel L. Jackson), tips Ryan off about the biggest crime syndicate in the city, Albert Vertrosky (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who may not have any powers, yet has the strength of unlimited strength of the mafia. He is ruthless and powerful, and this one’s personal for Ryan as he believes that Albert may have been a part of the shooting that killed his best friend (Justin Hartley), an undercover cop. Despite the warning of his Aunt (Kelly Rowan) not to make it all about revenge, this one is undoubtedly fueled by revenge. Forcing the Invisible Man to come out of the shadows and reveal himself to be more than a myth, The Invisible Man 2 blurs the line between hero and villain, right and wrong, and justice and revenge.
June 12
Vigilante Origin Budget: 145 million Theaters: 3,900
In Los Angeles there is no bigger socialite than Renee Westfelt (Rachel McAdams), the daughter of famed entrepreneur Daniel Westfelt (Alfred Molina). After the death of her mother when she was 16, Renee’s life spiraled out of control and now all that remains ten years later is a broken girl who is smarter than she acts. Her boyfriend (Charlie Hunnam) is also wealthy, yet shady. The one person who truly cares for her is her best friend since childhood Marissa (Kristen Bell) who keeps Renee from completing self-destructing. Everything about her life changes when she is kidnapped at an event in South America and held for ransom. During the 100 days she is starved and pushed to a near mental breakdown, with her only help coming from a man who was held ransom with her named Jean(Patrick Stewart), who trains her. Once the South Americans find out who Renee is, they order 35 million dollars be paid, which is paid yet she they still plan to kill her before Jean defends her with his own life while she escapes
Once back in the city, Renee pulls out of her socialite life and focuses on stopping crime. Her lifelong nanny/assistant Barbara (Judi Dench) is the only one who knows that at nights Renee is a vigilante, helping to stop crime in the city, as Marissa doesn’t even know. Renee also begins a casual relationship with a reporter Emmett (Chris Evans) from a small art publication who interviews Renee about her work with a charity reluctantly, yet Emmett is coming dangerously close to the truth about Renee’s secret identity. She is forced to balance her life in the spotlight in the day and as a vigilante at night. When faced with the truth about her father’s corporation to international crime, her own kidnapping, her mother’s death and how her family became wealthy forces the Vigilante to go after her own father. Gripping and dark, The Vigilante takes on crime and uses a modern-day super-hero, without powers but with a need for truth and meaning, in this smart and gritty take on the super-hero genre.
July 1
Pushing 40 Budget: 55 million Theaters: 2,600
Calista, Alexandria, Audrey, Damon and Emerson; they were the best of friends, living trendy lives in the fashion industry of the mid-90’s in New York. 15 years later these best friends are nearing middle aged, all still striving for what they truly want. Calista (Uma Thurman), remains the queen of Boho-chic New York culture, with a trendy boutique, and still trying to defy her wealthy mother. She still fears commitment, yet can’t be alone, and still strives for that child she has always wanted. Alexandria (Amanda Peete) is still as hard-edged as ever with her in your face style, yet now she works as a successful executive in Los Angeles, whose life is her career, with her best friendships remaining the ones from her modeling days in London. Audrey (Cate Blanchett) lives the life she never wanted, complete with 3 kids she loves to death, and a husband who she is aware is cheating on her. Always the uptight and rigid one, she misses the days of being a model and helping Calista plan renegade fashion shows. Being a NY soccer mom continuously proves disastrous for Audrey. Damon (Jason Lewis) remains a model who lives in New York with Audrey and him still best friends, yet as he ages his career is getting harder and his relationships with his boyfriends remains as shallow as ever, yet his relationships with his friends remain rock solid. He’s desperate to prove himself more than just a pretty face. Emerson (Minnie Driver), who is all heart and soul while rarely thinking things through and is a single mom who still falls madly in love quick, yet has never learned to be independent or to keep a job or a city longer than a year.
For her 39th birthday, Calista decides to get together all her friends from fashion in London again. This reunion brings about an agreement in which all of them change their lives before the hit 40, no matter what that may entail. Call it a mid-life crisis, but these 5 best friends are chasing their dreams a little later than most and finding it more challenging than it was 15 years ago. Calista leaves New York and her boutique for a while to attempt to escape her mother and the city to which she is almost a landmark now, and begins designing dresses again not just selling them in London, while working on finding a committed relationship. Alexandria gives up her job for a year to travel and find her passions again in life, while Audrey finally leaves her husband forcing her to share custody of her kids and function as a single football mom. Damon tries to prove he’s more than just a pretty face by working a low-paying position at a fashion magazine, pursuing his true passion writing. He may have the most thankless job in the city, yet could true love be around the corner? Emerson decides to finally buy a house and focus on her daughter and not romance, but that may be harder for her than she thought. With one year to change their lives and help from each other, middle-aged might not be that scary, in this sharp and witty comedy about the fear of aging and figuring out what you truly want from your life.
July 24
Atlantis Budget: 200 million Theaters: 4,300
New Yorker Dr. Robert Davies (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose wife and son died five years ago in a car crash, is an archaeologist who has studied the famed “forgotten empire” of Atlantis since he was a young child when his father would tell him stories of Atlantis. Although most dismiss Atlantis as a myth, Dr. Davies is convinced from his studies of the existence of the ancient civilization buried beneath the sea. The federal government commissions Dr. Davies to take a crew using modern technology and find the lost empire. Military Colonel Rand West (Robert DuVall) has the approximate location, but needs Dr. Davies help to find a way into the empire. Dr. Davies crew includes scientist Edmund Knight (Morgan Freeman) who has long been considered crazy by the scientific community, Dr. Makenna Spencer (Keri Russell) a language expert who studied the ancient scrolls of the Atlantis people, as well as Dr. Davies renegade younger brother Brent (Benjamin McKenzie) who was a soldier in Iraq and military Sgt. Gregg Swan (Peter Sarsgaard). Together the team faces the tough task of fighting the tough seas on their way in a submarine to find the lost empire. When the team does reach the lost empire, they are amazed by its beauty but taken hostage by the natives of the land. Atlantis follows the team as they search for the lost empire and form bonds with the natives of the land who are at civil war with one another. Dr. Davies begins to bond again with his rebellious brother as they try to stop civil war in Atlantis.
August 14
Secret Agent Man Budget: 95 million Theaters: 3,500
When film’s top action star Stone Fox (Ben Stiller), a vein and hot-shot actor, is shadowing CIA Agent Dominic West(Antonio Sabato) for his next role in another action movie. When the head of the CIA (Alec Baldwin) lets him go on a simple routine mission that is purely for display to Russia with Agent West and Agent Johnson (Mandy Moore), who believes letting movie stars shadows actual CIA agents is ridiculous and unprofessional. Stone thinks that Agent Johnson digs him, yet she is clearly repulsed by his fake Hollywood muscle and lame attempts at being macho. Yet this routine check-up in Russia, leads to the kidnap of Agent West, and forces Stone Fox to take part in a mission with Agent Johnson to stop another world war. He may just be a secret agent on film, but Stone Fox will be forced to act like a real agent in matters of life and death, as long as he doesn’t get too dirty.
September 4
High School Chronicles Budget: 10 million Theaters: 1,900
High School Chronicles is an edgy, fun, rock-influenced, dramatic and often humorous look at life in public high school through the eyes of eight students all taking different paths.
180 school days to make the most and to decide the rest of their lives. Katee (Emma Stone) is the intelligent, always well-liked yet moody art student who is head of the senior video committee, which makes the video for senior graduation. Justin (Alex Pettyfer) is her gay best friend who is the yearbooks main photographer, complete with an art scholarship to Brown next year, who is co-chairing the committee with her. Despite no interest in making videos whatsoever Roxie (Willa Holland), the perpetual wild child, is on the committee for the sole purpose of hanging out with Katee and Justin, her closest friends. Chace (Adam Gregory), the football star whose dad already has his college picked out, is the high school everything: with countless extracurricular and a 4.4 GPA and chooses to work on senior video committee after dropping yearbook because his ex-girlfriend was in that class. Charlie (John Patrick Amedori), the rebellious burn-out is forced onto the committee instead of detention, with the threat of no graduation unless he helps finish the video. By adding the comedic Landon (Tristan Wilds), quirky but overbearing cheerleader Sarah (Olivia Thirlby) and despised know-it-all Julianne (Shannon Marie Woodward), you have the senior video committee.
But through filming and making a more artistic and edgy look at what it’s like being a teen in modern day America, these 8 teens go beyond making a senior video. The video they film is much more brutally honest and touchingly realistic. Through their 180 days together they form a bond, and begin to see through each others eyes and look at high school in a new light. Yet the relationships that are formed while working on the video prove to change their entire futures. Chace, the indecisive football star begins a relationship with Justin, which no doubt could cost Chace his friendships and would destroy his dad, yet for the first time Chace feels free in his life to pursue more than football and school. For Katee the unexpected comes in the form of stoner Charlie who for the first time shows her what love is, yet she is embarrassed of him. Roxie’s life changes when she see’s a video filmed by Landon of her at one of the many parties (all caught on film) of senior year. It gives her insight into her own life and what she looks like to the rest of the world, forcing her to face the demons of her past. 180 days to decide their future, face their pasts, and decide the rest of their lives, yet everything can change in 180 days, in this charming dramedy about high school, parties and what the future holds.
September 18
Paint It Black Budget: 25 million Theaters: 2,000
Josie Tyrell (Rachel Bilson) is a teenage runaway, an artist's model, charmingly self-aware, plucky and an habitué of the '80s LA punk rock scene. She is a white trash escapee from Bakersfield, having left a going nowhere life there. Now, sex, drugs and rock n' roll inform her days and nights.
Josie meets Michael Faraday (James McAvoy), son of empty and manipulative concert pianist Meredith Loewy (Meg Ryan) and writer Calvin Faraday (Timothy Hutton), long divorced. He is everything that she is not: refined, wealthy, well-traveled, brilliant by fits and starts. He is also a Harvard dropout, leaving school so he can paint; his new obsession. He refuses help from his mother living in a bleak world of privilege, who is furious about his decision to leave school, but it doesn't bother him to have Josie working three jobs to support them. He is given to black moods, frozen in amber by his perfectionism, contemptuous of those who do not agree with him about art and life. Josie adores him. One day much like any other, he leaves their house, saying that he is going to his mother's so that he can paint in solitude. Instead, he goes to a motel in 29 Palms and shoots himself in the head.
What follows is Josie’s further descent into grief from his death, drugs and booze. How could her one love kill himself? Was she not enough? Meredith calls her and says, "Why are you alive? What is the excuse for Josie Tyrell? I ask you." Ultimately, they form a tenuous relationship, because all that is left of Michael lives in the two women. Josie even lives with Meredith for a while. Before their relationship can continue, Josie must figure out her one love Michael, and learn what pushed him over the edge. As dangerous and volatile as Michael’s death, these two women’s relationship forces them to take a look at their own lives and the effect it had on the death of their one true love.
October 2
I Banged the Presidents Daughter Budget: 22 million Theaters: 2,100
Wild, rebellious, caring and vegetarian – Autumn Jennings (Kristen Stewart) is the last thing you’d want from a republican senator’s daughter, especially if the senator is running for president, like Senator James Jennings (Julian McMahon). Autumn is decidedly the black sheep of her parents four ivy-league worthy children, although her mother (Lisa Edelstein) projects a far different image of her daughter to the world. Autumn thinks her parents, who love hunting and Jesus, are complete idiots and their attempts to act folksy to the world are just stupid, yet many seem to be captivated by them. Autumn further infuriates her parents by her friends – Jay (Ravi Gavron), the gay Jewish lead singer of an emo band, and Kaitlyn (Ashley Greene) who is just as wild as Autumn and leads the schools club Hippies for Ending War, which has 4 members.
The week before her dad announces his run for President, in one of her usual drunken nights, Autumn sleeps with the virginal, but well-liked Stevey (Michael Cera), much to her disgust. Autumn barely remembers the night before, but Stevey is madly in love with Autumn. When her mom finds out about Autumn’s pregnancy, the day her dad announces his candidacy for president, she makes Autumn’s boyfriend from one week of sophomore year Slater (Kellan Lutz) act as the father, while Autumn tells Stevey just to move on. Although she is now in the spotlight as the pregnant daughter of the republican candidate for president, Autumn’s friends Jay and Kaitlyn attempt to rescue her from the spotlight, while Stevey and Autumn continue to develop an awkward, but poignant relationship. I Banged the President’s Daughter is a charming, quirky and laugh-out-loud hilarious film that brilliantly satirizes American politics, while focusing on the romance between two young teens, who find love after a few drunken nights.
October 23
Forgotten Law Budget: 50 million Theaters: 2,700
Jackson Dawes (Matt Damon), a passionate and divorced southern lawyer for the state takes on the case of a murdered latino boy and his living mother Anita (Kate del Castillo) who has identified the killer who were illegal immigrants only to discover the legal complications of the case. Despite all the evidence points to a local farmer, the opposing lawyer (Gary Oldman) is far more well-equipped than Jackson and is not afraid to dig up Anita’s shady and illegal past. The case makes national attention when an ambitious reporter (Kate Beckinsale) makes a story out of the racism faced by the boy and his mother. A film about those the law usually forget about and the hardships faced by illegal immigrants every day, Forgotten Law transcends politics and law to become a very human story of struggle and triumph in modern-day America
November 6
Conditions of Justice Theaters: 3,200 Budget: 60 million
A 16 year old Kentucky boy is tragically killed and hung naked on top of the schools flagpole. The boy’s mother Angela (Uma Thurman), a junior high school teacher, and father (Mark Ruffalo), a firefighter, are having a hard enough time with his death when it is suggested by a classmate he was killed because he was gay. Angela becomes consumed by her pain and blames herself for taking him to such a conservative church, believing he was never comfortable with her knowing the truth. With the trial nearing the boys who were believed to murder her son get Grant Jameson (Alan Alda), a heartless conservative bulldog of a lawyer. Angela contacts liberal journalist Michelle Emmerich (Neve Campbell) who writes a story about hate-crimes that brings the case loads of media coverage. Hot-shot gay San Francisco lawyer Ben Lein (Benjamin Mackenzie) has a sorted past and wants to help Angela get justice for her son. He convinces Angela and Michelle that it will be an uphill battle to get maximum sentences for the teens who killed her sons, especially in a conservative state like Kentucky, with stone-tight alibis and against a lawyer like Grant Jameson. They must attempt to prove that the boys murdered her son and did it out of prejudice.
For Angela this is a story of redemption for the death of her son, yet through the case and the pro-gay and anti-gay protests surrounding it, Angela becomes an unlikely gay advocate. Angela sees pain and oppression, and fights for the rights of all, not just for redemption for her own son. As Ben Jackie and Miranda take on the very public case of her son, they form a sort of very personal connection and become the center of media attention. Through all this Miranda’s marriage is falling apart, as she becomes a stronger and smarter than she ever knew she could be. Conditions of Justice is a fictional story about very real-life issues, and how one-mother’s love turned into a legal case brought to national attention.
November 23
Alexander the Great Budget: 155 million Theaters: 4,300
Alexander the Great (James Franco) had conquered most of the well-known world by the time he was 32, and was one of the most successful military commanders of all time, going undefeated in battle. He arguably defined what a great ruler is making Macedonia a great power, yet his true story is so much more than the history books tell. His mother, Olympias (Nicole Kidman), was a passionate and headstrong woman who had the largest influence on his life. Olympias was the fourth wife of Phillip II (Russell Crowe) and their marriage was often abusive and dangerous, ending in divorce, yet Olympias had trouble moving on and Alexander was bitter towards his father because of his father’s treatment of his mother. As a child Alexander was taught by Aristotle (Ian McKellen) and began fighting in wars at just 16. His loveless but passion filled relationship with his wife Roxane (Emily Blunt) was just a mask to his true love, his relationship with Hephaistion (Chris Pine), his best friend and fellow warrior. No matter how many lovers Alexander took or how wrong his relationship was perceived to be, Alexander could never let go of his love with Hephaistion. From growing up with dangerous yet powerful parents, his close relationship with his mother, his conquering of India and Persia, his love and eventual mysterious poisoning, Alexander the Great defied the rules to be the greastest ruler history has ever known, as predicted by his mother. From Academy Award Winning Director Baz Luhrmann of The Queen of Egypt comes the story of the man who knew no boundaries, who never found a war too big or a problem too hard, the story of Alexander is one of power, love, strength, war and death, all told colorfully and emotionally by Baz Luhrmann.
December 11
Instinct Budget: 35 million Theaters: 3,000
Do you ever get the feeling that someone’s there? Watching, waiting, stalking, preying, yet it is nothing more than a feeling or instinct. When Elsa (Halle Berry) went blind from a fateful car accident five years ago her life was turned upside down, yet her relationship with her new boyfriend (Giovani Ribis) is going well. That is, until Elsa becomes convinced that she is being watched. From moving a key to feeling a touch in the night, Elsa is driven to a breaking point and insanity by the feeling that there is always someone around, near her, yet no one believes her because she can’t see it. Even with the help of a police officer (Justin Chambers), her instincts can’t be proven. Can she stop her stalker from hurting her? Can she even prove that she is being watched and stalked? This tense psychological horror thriller takes on one’s instincts and will make you think again when you tell yourself that it was just a bad feeling.
December 25
My Robot Budget: 80 million Theaters: 3,000
Every family has a robot, to clean the house, to help with homework and to do the dishes, yet Tina’s robot is different, as he was one from a time when they were implanted with a heart and could talk. She named him Futter and he’s her best friend, but one day while she’s at school her parents send Futter to the junkyard for a newer model robot, forcing Flutter on a perilous journey in which he meets RoboTech200, a malfunctioning junkyard robot with a hard made of literal gold and Jottu a forgetful and loud robot whose family didn’t love her. This animated adventure follows Futter and his friends as they fights off the newer heartless model robots and trash compacters while he is trying to make his way back to his owner.