"Kick-Ass" DVD Debuts @ Number 1

Lionsgate reports that the Toronto/UK-lensed feature "Kick-Ass" has debuted at number one on DVD sales charts. The Blu-ray combo pack of the film (three discs- including Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy), also debuted at number one.

In addition, the release came out of its first weekend as the top movie download on the iTunes store, Zune and Sony/Playstation and achieved the biggest digital week performance ever by a Lionsgate title.

"Kick-Ass", which grossed nearly $50 million in North America and $100 million worldwide during its theatrical run, also achieved the highest box office-to-DVD conversion rate for all major DVD releases this quarter, helping Lionsgate to maintain industry leadership in box office-to-DVD conversion.

"'Kick-Ass' is truly one of the most unique, entertaining, and action-packed movies of the year," said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate General Manager and Executive Vice President. "With its strong word-of-mouth, we felt confident that it would have a powerful home entertainment debut and are particularly pleased with the success of the Blu-ray combo pack, which accounted for 42% of week one sell-through revenue."

Co-written and directed by Matthew Vaughn, "Kick-Ass" stars Aaron Johnson ("Nowhere Boy"), Christopher Mintz-Plasse ("Superbad") and Mark Strong ("Sherlock Holmes"), along with Chloe Grace Moretz ("Let Me In") and Nicolas Cage ("National Treasure").

Based on the comic book series written by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr., the story follows 'Dave Lizewski' (Johnson), an ordinary teenager who goes unnoticed in high school until he dons a mask to become 'Kick-Ass', a costumed, vigilante crime fighter. Bruised and beaten and without any real super powers, he is saved by a father-daughter duo, 'Big Daddy' and 'Hit-Girl', who have been fighting their own battle against a vicious crime figure.After a firestorm of publicity, Kick-Ass becomes the target of the crime lord.

Meanwhile, the new "Hit-Girl" 12-inch action figure will be released September 2010, based on the 11-year old costumed vigilante character, starring in "Kick-Ass", the movie.

"...She may be cute, but she's got a filthy mouth! 'Hit-Girl', a.k.a. 'Mindy McCready' is an 11-year-old, pigtail-wearing waif with the fighting skills of a ninja. And the little superhero has proven that she has some real kick-ass skills! This highly detailed Hit Girl Action Figure stands approximately 12-inches tall, features multiple points of articulation, and includes her signature plaid cloth skirt, purple wig, and cape. Armed with a pair of butterfly knives and her double Gitano-bladed Mindy Stick, Hit-Girl is ready for action!

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Kick-Ass"...

Toronto Gets Under MTV's "Skins"

Further to our exclusive "Skins" casting call November 19, 2009, MTV reports that the new North American version of the sexy, UK teen soap series "Skins" will start lensing the first of 10 one-hour episodes in Toronto this month.

Created by father and son team Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Stormdog Films, "Skins" will feature an ensemble cast "...as they navigate complex relationships, the politics of friendship and difficulties of daily life in their formative years..."

In 2009, MTV secured the rights to create a North American version of the original UK "Skins" series, now in its 5th season, with 'unknown' teenagers cast in lead roles and 'real' teens contributing to the creative structure of each episode.

The UK series, airing on E4 won the 2009 'BAFTA Audience Award' and 'Best Drama Series' @ the 2008 Broadcast Awards.

"Skins" is co-produced by E1 Entertainment and Company Pictures, a division of ALL3MEDIA, the same company that produces the Channel 4 series in the UK. Elsley will Executive Produce the series, along with Laszlo Barna and Michael Rosenberg from E1 and Charlie Pattinson and George Faber of Company Pictures. Chris Clough served as an executive producer on the pilot for Company Pictures.

Click the images to enlarge...

UK's "Empire" Supports Toronto's "Scott Pilgrim"

Sneak Peek the latest cover of "Empire" Magazine, featuring actor Michael Cera, supporting the Toronto-lensed Universal monsters feature, "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World", based on the Oni Press comic book series by Bryan Lee O’Malley.

"...Get The Hot Girl. Defeat her Evil Exes. Hit Love Where It Hurts"

"...Meet charming and jobless 'Scott Pilgrim' (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for totally average garage band 'Sex Bob-omb', the 22-year-old has just met the girl of his dreams…literally. The only catch to winning 'Ramona Flowers' (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him.

"Scott has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass—and now is back in town—to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy.

"He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes control her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor. As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past—from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsome identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over..."

"Scott Pilgrim" is directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright with Michael Bacall.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World"

.

Toronto Rises For London's "Burning Daylight"

The Toronto-lensed feature "Burning Daylight", directed by Sanzhar Sultanov, is based on two short stories and one novel by author Jack London.

The 3-part anthology is set against the backdrop of 1920’s New York:

"...Part I depicts the lives of two low-life thieves enjoying a post-heist euphoria while developing a subtle rivalry. Part II is an intricate dance between a manipulative, wealthy woman and a seemingly inane, destitute thief. Part III features a duel between a legendary, self-made, Klondike Gold millionaire and the masterminds of a Wall Street scam..."

"Burning Daylight" stars Robert Knepper ("Heroes"), Paul Calderon ("Four Rooms"), Sultanov, Christopher DeMeo, and Adrian Cowan.

Click the image to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Burning Daylight"...

35th Toronto International Film Festival- September 9-19

This year, the 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) runs from Sept. 9-19.

Confirmed screenings, so far include:

Robert Redford's "The Conspirator"

Guillaume Canet's "Little White Lies"

Barry Blaustein's "Peep World"

Andy De Emmony's "West Is West"

Emilio Estevez' "The Way"

Steven Silver's "The Bang Bang Club"

George Hickenlooper's "Casino Jack"

David M. Rosenthal's "Janie Jones."

Richard J. Lewis' "Barney's Version"

Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan"

John Madden's "The Debt"

Im Sang-Soo's "The Housemaid"

Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech"

Francois Ozon's "Potiche"

Ben Affleck's "The Town."

Raul Ruiz' "Mysteries of Lisbon"

Mike Leigh's "Another Year"

Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Biutiful"

Julian Schnabel's "Miral"

Stephen Frears' "Tamara Drewe"

Sylvain Chomet's "The Illusionist"

Kim Jee-woon's "I Saw the Devil"

Andrew Lau's "The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen"

Tran Anh Hung's "Norwegian Wood"

Rachid Bouchareb's "Outside the Law"

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's "A Screaming Man"

Anurag Kashyap's "That Girl in Yellow Boots"

Mark Romanek's "Never Let Me Go"

Mike Mills' "Beginners"

John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole"

John Curran's "Stone"

Richard Ayoade's "Submarine"

Michael Winterbottom's "The Trip"

Nigel Cole's "Made In Dagenham"

Eric Lartigau's "The Big Picture"

Rowan Joffe's "Brighton Rock"

Tony Goldwyn's "Conviction"

Kiran Rao's "Dhobi Ghat"

Will Gluck's "Easy A"

Malcolm Venville's "Henry's Crime"

Ryan Fleck's/Anna Bolden's "It's Kind Of A Funny Story"

Pierre Thoretton's "L'Amour Fou"

Andrucha Waddington's "Lope"

David Schwimmer's "Trust."

Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Jack Goes Boating"

Danis Tanovic's "Cirkus Columbia"

Susanne Bier's "In a Better World"

Alain Corneau's "Love Crime"

Derek Cianfrance's "Blue Valentine"

Rodrigo Cortes' "Buried"

Michael McGowan's "Score: A Hockey Musical"

Stay Tuned for a whole lot more...

Jessica Paré Prepares To "Suck"

Sneak Peek more new pix from the upcoming Canadian rock 'n roll horror feature "Suck", the $3.5 million, Toronto-lensed movie, written, directed and starring Rob "Phil The Alien" Stefaniuk.

E1 Entertainment will manage distribution of "Suck" across various platforms including home video, VOD, digital/TV sales.

E1 will also partner with D& E Entertainment for a one-night-only US theatrical screening of the film in September, followed by home video and digital distribution prior to Halloween.

Filmed in Toronto, November 2008, "Suck" is jointly produced by Robin Crumley, VP of Capri Vision and Jeff Rogers, co-produced by Victoria Hirst for executive producers Jeff Sackman, Gabriella Martinelli, Terry Markus and Brad Peyton.

DP was D. Gregor Hagey, with editing by Michele Conroy. John "The Doughboys" Kastner composed the soundtrack, Jim Goodall provided production design, costume designer was Mario Davignon with key makeup by Jordan Samuel.

"...Seemingly doomed to road trip doldrums and dives, the band 'The Winners' breaks its slump when its female bass player (Jessica Paré) disappears one night with a hip vampire.

"She returns charged with sexual charisma that creates audience frenzy and eventually ensnares the rest of the band to trade their souls (literally) for fame and fortune..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Suck"...

Helen Mirren: A High Calibre Woman

Sneak Peek the new character poster of actress Helen Mirren supporting Summit Entertainment's Toronto-lensed comic book adaptation "Red", co-starring Bruce Willis and John Malkovich.

"Red" is an adaptation of DC Comics graphic novel of the same name by author Warren Ellis.

Cast also includes Mary-Louise Parker, Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, James Remar and Rebecca Pidgeon.

"...Red is the story of 'Frank Moses' (Willis), a former black-ops CIA agent, who is now living a quiet life. That is, until the day a hi-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him. With his identity compromised and the life of the woman he cares for, Sarah (Parker), endangered, Frank reassembles his old team (Freeman, Malkovich and Mirren) in a last ditch effort to survive..."

Directed by Robert Schwentke ("The Time Traveler's Wife") from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber ("Whiteout"), the film is produced by di Bonaventura Pictures' Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"). Executive producers are Jake Myers ("Hollywoodland"") and Gregory Noveck ("Jonah Hex"). Di Bonaventura Pictures' production exec David Ready is co-producer.

Red reunites Schwentke with DP Florian Ballhaus ("Marley & Me") and Oscar-winning film editor Thom Noble ("Thelma & Louise") .

"Red" is scheduled for release, October 15, 2010.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Red"...

Bruce Willis Is Very Well "Red"

Sneak Peek the new character poster of actor Bruce Willis supporting Summit Entertainment's Toronto-lensed comic book adaptation "Red", co-starring John Malkovich.

"Red" is an adaptation of DC Comics graphic novel of the same name by author Warren Ellis.

Cast also includes Mary-Louise Parker, Academy Award-winners Helen Mirren/Morgan Freeman, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, James Remar and Rebecca Pidgeon.

"...Red is the story of 'Frank Moses' (Willis), a former black-ops CIA agent, who is now living a quiet life. That is, until the day a hi-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him. With his identity compromised and the life of the woman he cares for, Sarah (Parker), endangered, Frank reassembles his old team (Freeman, Malkovich and Mirren) in a last ditch effort to survive..."

Directed by Robert Schwentke ("The Time Traveler's Wife") from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber ("Whiteout"), the film is produced by di Bonaventura Pictures' Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"). Executive producers are Jake Myers ("Hollywoodland"") and Gregory Noveck ("Jonah Hex"). Di Bonaventura Pictures' production exec David Ready is co-producer.

Red reunites Schwentke with DP Florian Ballhaus ("Marley & Me") and Oscar-winning film editor Thom Noble ("Thelma & Louise") .

"Red" is scheduled for release, October 15, 2010.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Red"...

ABC Greenlights More "Rookie Blue"

Canada's Canwest and the US ABC network report the renewal of Toronto-lensed cop series "Rookie Blue", greenlit for a second season, three weeks following the show's premiere on Global Television and ABC.

"Rookie Blue", originally titled "Copper", has hooked a combined weekly average of 8.5 million viewers on both sides of the border, with the second season gearing up for another start in Toronto before the end of the summer.

"We are so proud of Rookie Blue’s amazing success and are thrilled to announce its renewal alongside ABC," said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President of Content, Canwest Broadcasting.

In Canada, the series premiere garnered 2.1 million viewers on Global.

"We're very pleased that the show has connected with viewers, especially considering the challenge of finding an audience in the summer," said Quinn Taylor, Senior Vice-President, Movies, Miniseries and Acquisitions, ABC Entertainment Group.

"Rookie Blue" was developed by Thump Inc. and produced in partnership indie studio and distributor, E1 Entertainment, executive produced by Tassie Cameron ("Flashpoint"), Ilana Frank ("The Eleventh Hour"), Noreen Halpern ("Haven"), John Morayniss ("Haven") and David Wellington ("The Eleventh Hour").

"...'Rookie Blue' follows the lives of five inexperienced rookies thrown into the world of big city policing. The series examines the trials and triumphs, competition and camaraderie of this rookie family learning that no amount of training can prepare them for this job – or for life..."

Cast includes Missy Peregrym ("Heroes"), Gregory Smith ("Everwood"), Charlotte Sullivan ("M.V.P."), Enuka Okuma ("24"), Travis Milne ("My Green House"), Ben Bass ("Would Be Kings"), Eric Johnson ("Smallville"), Matt Gordon ("Rent-A-Goalie"), Noam Jenkins ("Flashpoint") and Melanie Nicholls King ("The Wire").

Click the images to enlarge...