Speed Racer Crashes & Burns

It’s not even June yet, and already the 2008 Summer Movie season has its first casualty.

Speed Racer, the Wachowski Brothers big budget adaptation of the popular cartoon was only able to bring in a little over $20 million dollars in its opening weekend – barely squeaking out a second place finish at the box office, and almost assuring studio Warner Bros. that they won’t recoup the estimated $100 to $120 million budget of the movie.

The film was ravished with almost universal harsh reviews, although a few online reviewers gave positive nods.

Meanwhile, Iron Man continued to impress, finishing in the top spot again with a $50.5 million take this past weekend. Its current take stands at $177 million domestically, and over $276 million worldwide.

"Nowhere Man" Creator Herzog Dies

If it wasn’t for the obituary in my latest issue of Variety, I wouldn’t even have known one of the entertainment industry’s best talents had passed away. And the truth of the matter is, sadly, most of you have never heard of Lawrence Hertzog.

But Lawrence was the mind behind one of TV’s best series (which most of you probably haven’t seen), Nowhere Man – a mix of action, science-fiction and paranoia that ranked right up there with The Prisoner and The Fugitive in terms of “watchablity”.

Herzog was also a writer for such shows as 24, Profiler, La Femme Nikita, and Hart To Hart, among others.

Lawrence died of cancer on April 19th. He may not have been well known among TV fans, but his talents will certainly be missed.

An Ironclad Weekend

Summer may not officially start until June 20th, but for millions of movie fans around the world, it started this past weekend as Iron Man raked in over $100 million at the U.S. box office, and over $200 million worldwide. In all, Iron Man proved to be the second biggest debut of a superhero franchise in history, falling short of only Spider-Man’s $114 million take back in 2002.

Iron Man received almost universally positive reviews, so it’s not known yet how much of an impact that had on the movie’s take. Speed Racer, which so far has gotten less-than-stellar reviews from those who have seen the film, opens this Friday. Its box office returns should put in perspective whether this will be a huge summer for Hollywood or if moviegoers are going to be more selective with how they spend their entertainment dollars.

Iron-fans can relax when it comes to wondering how long it will be before they see the hero on screen again – Marvel has already announced the sequel, due to hit screens in the Summer of 2010.

Snipes Headed For The Slammer

The taxman cometh for actor Wesley Snipes, and the outcome isn’t good.

After being found guilty back on February 1st of three counts of willingly failing to submit his income taxes, the judge threw the book at him – charging Snipes with the maximum sentence, which was one year behind bars on each charge. Snipes will have to serve the time consecutively – resulting in a sentence of three years in prison.

Although Snipes read a statement before he was charged stating “I’m very sorry for my mistakes,” at no time did the word “taxes” cross his lips. “I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," he added.

Snipes also owes and must pay $17 million in back taxes, $5 million of which he attempted to present to the court before his sentence was handed down. Although the judge could not take the money, an IRS representative was on hand to accept the payment.

Snipes legal team has stated they are planning to appeal. Wesley is currently free on bond until summoned to surrender to the authorities.

Del Toro To Helm "Hobbit" Movies

In a decision that is bound to have fan-boys all over the world drooling, Director Guillermo Del Toro has been named as the new director of the upcoming “Hobbit” movies.

Prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy (directed by Peter Jackson, who is Executive Producing the “Hobbit” films), the two movies will be shot back-to-back in New Zealand over the next four years. New Zealand also served as the location for the Lord of the Rings shoot.

Del Toro is the director of such popular genre films as Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade II, and this summer’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Charlton Heston (1924-2008)

Iconic actor Charlton Heston passed away last night at his home in Beverly Hills. Heston had been in the advance stages of Alzheimer’s disease, which he publicly announced he had been diagnosed with back in 2002.

Heston appeared in over 100 movies, including his Oscar-winning performance as the title character in the epic Ben-Hur. Heston was also well known for his portrayal of Moses in The Ten Commandments, as well as astronaut George Taylor in Planet of the Apes. Other notable Heston films include The Greatest Show On Earth, Touch of Evil, El Cid, Soylent Green and Earthquake.

Heston was also very involved in politics, with his most notable public role being named president of the National Rifle Association in 1998, and giving a widely scrutinized speech in 2000 about gun rights when he held a musket in the air and proclaimed “I’ll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands.”

Heston also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Heston is survived by his wife Lydia, whom he married in 1944, as well as a son and a daughter.

Charlton Heston was 83-years-old.

Seinfeld Okay After Crash

It was no joke as comedian Jerry Seinfeld lost control of his 1967 Fiat BTM when the brakes failed to function.

Seinfeld was driving alone back to his home in East Hampton, NY, when the brakes went out on him. To avoid zooming into a busy intersection, Seinfeld swerved the car out of the way, flipping it over in the process. Amazingly, he walked away from the accident without injury.

Humor still firmly attached, Seinfeld was quoted as saying "Because I know there are kids out there, I want to make sure they all know that driving without braking is not something I recommend, unless you have professional clown training or a comedy background, as I do."

Director Anthony Minghella Dies

Anthony Minghella, the Academy Award winning director of The English Patient, has died.

As of this writing, no cause of death has been released.

Minghella was also the director of such notable films as The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain. He was also one of the executive producers for this year’s Oscar nominated hit, Michael Clayton.

Anthony Minghella was 54-years-old.