Want to attend the Hollywood premiere of @Maleficent? Enter now for a chance to win! http://t.co/CbvuBFIul4 pic.twitter.com/pBHk0GFS8T
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 16, 2014

Disney’s MALEFICENT, the untold story of the villain from “Sleeping Beauty,” reveals the events that hardened Maleficent’s heart and drove her to curse the baby, Aurora. Before the movie hits theaters May 30, you could be a part of the premiere!

Enter the “Maleficent Premiere” Sweepstakes, presented by "Good Morning America," for a chance to win a trip for two to Hollywood, Calif., to attend the premiere.

Two Grand Prize winners will receive a 3-day, 2-night trip for two to Los Angeles, Calif., to attend the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures “Maleficent” on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, with travel provided by Virgin America. (No Purchase Necessary. Void Where Prohibited. Limitations and Restrictions apply. Click for official rules.)

Read the official rules and enter (at the site) for your chance to win.

You must be a registered member to continue.

On 4/17 from 6:30p-10p, APs are invited to see an extended trailer of "Maleficent" at Bug's Life Theater. Valid AP & park admission required
— Disneyland AP (@DisneylandAP) April 16, 2014

In esclusiva per Disney Store Francia, la statuetta da collezione di #Maleficent! Arriverà anche da noi? pic.twitter.com/gGIPJbFFED
— Impero Disney (@ImperoDisney) April 16, 2014

.@Maleficent at the @ElCapitanThtre to feature props and magic show http://t.co/Oduq5MZtgt
— LaughingPlace.com (@laughing_place) April 16, 2014

Hollywood’s legendary El Capitan Theatre presents a special engagement of Disney’s “Maleficent” in Dolby® Atmos™May 29 – July 17, 2014. Internationally acclaimed magician Greg Wilson will present an all-new magic show before every screening of the movie through July 6. Plus, El Capitan guests will have the chance to see an exclusive collection of props from the movie, including Aurora’s bedroom, Maleficent’s gown and horns and the model of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland during the entire El Capitan engagement.
“The El Capitan will kick off our special engagement of Disney’s ‘Maleficent’ in royal fashion,” said Lylle Breier, senior vice president of worldwide special events for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. “El Capitan Theatre guests will have the opportunity to see the movie in advance of its national opening with two special screenings on May 29 at 8 p.m. and Midnight. Both of these screenings will also feature raffle prizes and costume contests, adding to the excitement of this long anticipated film.”
Daily showtimes are 10 a.m., 1:10 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and special 10:35 p.m. show times opening weekend (May 30-June1) and Friday and Saturdaynights following. Tickets are on sale now, and available at the El Capitan Theatre (6838 Hollywood Blvd.), online at www.elcapitantickets.com, or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6. Special group rates for parties of 20 or more are available by calling 1-818-845-3110. Show times subject to change.

Wow! The impact of Angelina Jolie's announcement of her mastectomy has led to the "Jolie effect" report: http://t.co/8Wxn84Azr9 #health

— Yahoo Shine (@YahooShine) September 26, 2013

yahoo shine

Angelina Jolie's Honesty and Its Amazing Effect on Breast Cancer Inquiries

By Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff | Healthy Living – Wed, Sep 25, 2013 5:37 PM EDT

After Angelina Jolie announced that she’d had a mastectomy in an attempt to dodge cancer, calls from women wondering about the procedure rose sharply in the U.K., British breast cancer charities have reported.

The story, appearing in the Daily Mail on Wednesday, dubs the surge in queries the “Jolie effect,” noting that the number of calls to Cancer Research U.K.’s helpline have increased four-fold. Visits to the organization’s website made a similar jump following the celebrity’s revelation in May.

The 38-year-old's news that she’d tested positive for the BRCA-1 gene, which radically increases a woman's risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer, was made public via her New York Times Op-Ed piece “My Medical Choice.”

And, unsurprisingly, it’s had a similar influence on this side of the pond.

“The baseline of inquiries remains a little bit higher than it was pre-story,” Rebecca Nagy, cancer counselor and president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, tells Yahoo Shine. She notes that, while the rise in interest over BRCA gene testing has waned a bit since May, its effect has generally been lasting.

“Some of my colleagues have noticed that the volume [of inquiries] spiked and has not gone down since,” Nagy says. “Others say it spiked and then went down. It seems to be dependent on location.” But in her own practice, she adds, “I have seen a continuation of more low-risk women coming in just to talk, and I don’t think they would’ve come in had that story not broken. They wanted to know their risk — even women who weren’t touched by cancer in their family. I found that interesting.” The disease does, however, run in Jolie's family. Both her mother and maternal aunt died of breast cancer.

A report from the National Cancer Institute, focusing on the days immediately following Jolie’s story, showed a marked increase in women searching for related information. On the day of her announcement, page views of the organization's website, Cancer.gov (in English and Spanish), were 54 percent higher than on the same day during the previous week. And the website’s Preventative Mastectomy FactSheet,  which normally receives less than 200 page views per day, skyrocketed to more than 69,000 on May 14.

Also, in just the two and a half days after Jolie's piece was published, the Cancer Information Service saw a tenfold jump in phone, email, and Web-chat inquiries.

“The news of Angelina Jolie’s preventative mastectomy drove one of the largest increases in engagement with NCI digital resources seen since measurement began,” stated the report, “Angelina Jolie’s Preventative Mastectomy: Impact on NCI Resources.”

In August, Myriad Genetics, which performs the majority of BRCA-gene tests in the country, noted the impact of Jolie’s announcement on its latest fiscal year. A report by the company called the period of time, which saw year-over-year growth of 51 percent, “stand-out.” It concluded that the Jolie effect would not likely last, though.

“While the company received a benefit from the recent celebrity publicity around breast cancer, the duration of this publicity benefit is likely to be short term,” the public fact sheet noted.

Read the rest at yahoo shine

Very cool. More B.C. women getting cancer testing following Angelina Jolie mastectomy news. http://t.co/iIeWFLn0ou
— CTV Darcy (@darcynews) September 25, 2013

CTV British Columbia
Published Tuesday, September 24, 2013 5:00PM PDT

Hollywood star power may be behind a recent spike in cancer screenings in British Columbia.
The BC Cancer Agency says the number of people coming in for genetic testing to find out about their cancer risk has increased dramatically in the months after Angelina Jolie shared news of her double mastectomy this spring.










Daily Mail

The Jolie effect: Number of women asking about mastectomies quadruples since actress revealed she had her breasts removed to reduce cancer risk

By Sophie Borland
PUBLISHED: 22:05 GMT, 24 September 2013 | UPDATED: 22:57 GMT, 24 September 2013

Breast cancer charities have reported a four-fold surge in women enquiring about having their breasts removed since Angelina Jolie announced she’d had the operation to lessen her risk of developing the disease.
Figures from Cancer Research UK show the numbers of calls to its helpline have increased four-fold while there has been a similar rise in visits to its website.

Read the rest at Daily Mail

.

Screenings bits

From THR

Hollywood Shifts Late-Night Screenings From Midnight to 10 P.M.

9:00 AM PDT 10/25/2012 by Pamela McClintock 

With opening grosses as make-or-break as ever, some studios and theater owners are quietly trying to re-energize late-night business in the wake of the Aurora shooting by opening films the night before their official release date.

Midnight openings have long played a key role in boosting a movie's overall weekend debut. Midnight openings became commonplace in 1999 after Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace and reached an apex when the final Harry Potter film whipped up a record $43.5 million at 12:01 a.m. in July 2011. Even smaller films have benefited from a midnight start. For studio marketers, there was nothing better than rabid fans lining up at midnight to build buzz heading into opening weekend.


Then the bottom fell out with the July 20, 2012, theater shooting during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colo. Skittish moviegoers began choosing earlier viewing times (or staying home altogether). Most companies stopped reporting midnight grosses, and when they did, the results weren't impressive. Universal's The Bourne Legacy, opening Aug. 10, took in $540,000 in midnight runs, notably less than the $797,000 earned by The Bourne Ultimatum in 2009. (Legacy opened to $38.1 million for the weekend, well behind the previous two franchise pics.)
Then, during the Oct. 5-7 frame, late-night business came roaring back as 20th Century Fox and EuropaCorp's Taken 2 debuted to $49.5 million, the best opening since Dark Knight Rises ($160.9 million) and one of the top October numbers ever. One secret to its success? The Liam Neeson action sequel started at 10 p.m. on Thursday in what's quickly becoming a trend that's helping boost box-office traffic overall.
"We wanted to find out if opening at 10 p.m. would stimulate late-night business," says Chris Aronson, Fox president of domestic distribution. "In my estimation, it did."
Owners of theaters large and small are lobbying all the film companies to consider starting earlier on Thursday evenings. In exchange, they've agreed to treat Thursday night earnings as midnight numbers so that the money can be counted as part of a film's official weekend total. Taken 2 earned $1.5 million in "midnight" runs -- a strong number for a non-sci-fi action film -- and didn't break out the portion grossed between 10 p.m. and midnight.


A movie can live or die by its opening weekend -- perception means everything -- and studios and indie distributors obsess over every dollar.
The week after Taken 2, Summit opened horror pic Sinister at 10 p.m. (that film overperformed as well), while both Paranormal Activity 4 from Paramount and Summit's Alex Cross opened at 9 p.m. on the Thursday before their official Oct. 19 opening. Among the upcoming movies that will begin their journey before the midnight hour include Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (Oct. 26) from Open Road Films and Summit's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 (Nov. 16).
Like Taken 2, Sinister also benefited from rushing out of the starting gate at 10 p.m., grossing a much better than expected $1 million in what were reported as midnight grosses. Paranormal 4 grossed $4.5 million in late-night business, less than the previous two titles but still a strong number.
Pushing back the start time to the evening before a movie's official opening date certainly isn't unheard of; Paramount in particular has been aggressive in this arena. But when other studios kept complaining, Paramount reported the $5.5 million in Tuesday night shows for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which officially opened on Wednesday, June 29, 2011, separately from the film's first day.
But that was then.


"I don't like to open a film a day early, but if you are going to get the moviegoer who may shy away from a midnight screening, then I support it," says one studio distribution executive. "This is happening because late-night business was in the toilet."
Not all agree with the fledgling practice. An executive at another studio questions the fairness of reporting any Thursday night booty as part of the weekend, pointing out that if a movie claims to have broken a record, it won't be an apples-to-apples comparison. "You have to draw a line. We have a history of opening a film at 12:01 a.m. This isn't right," he says.
A rival executive counters: "Let me give you a baseball analogy. There used to be 154 games a year. It's now 162 games a year. When Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's record for most home runs, there used to be an asterisk explaining the difference. There's no asterisk anymore. It is what it is."
For exhibitors who have locations in smaller markets, the opportunity to play a new movie at 10 p.m. means they don't necessarily have to have a midnight show at all, depending on demand.


"We'll decide on a case-by-case basis," says Bruce J. Olson, president of Marcus Theatres, which operates 54 theaters throughout the Midwest. "A 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. show makes a lot of economic sense for an exhibitor in terms of staffing and utilities, and we can attract a larger audience, particularly in the fall and winter."
Veteran distribution executive Tom Sherak says it doesn't really matter if a movie starts at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. "It's not like it's breaking the Ten Commandments," he notes. "It could even become the new norm."

Private Screenings

 

Private Screening: How Hollywood Watches Its Work

by Susan Stamberg

Enlarge Cindy Carpien/NPR At the Charles Aidikoff Screening Room on Rodeo Drive, filmmakers can screen their works-in-progress for an invite-only audience in the small, 57-seat theater. The screening room is also rented to show films to members of the Academy and the press.

February 23, 2012
 

Before they made it to the Oscars, the nominated films — not to mention all the films that didn't make the cut — were viewed by some 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Many of those movies were shown in small, private, rented screening rooms all over Hollywood.
The studios have their own screening rooms, of course, but often directors want a more private place to screen works in progress — with no studio suits in sight.
Director-writer-producer Judd Apatow, whose films include Anchorman, 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, says it's essential to have the opportunity to show a film three or four times to an invite-only audience. It's a mistake to show a film to the studio too soon, he says, "because if they don't like it, then they want to tell you how to fix it. We always try to make the cut good enough, so by the time they see it, it's already good and they're like, 'Nice job.'"

Enlarge Thaddeus Bridwell/Charles Aidikoff Screening Room Charles Aidikoff, 97, learned the art of projection from his father, who ran silent movies in a Coney Island theater in the early 1900s. Aidikoff's grandson, Josh, carries on the family tradition — he became manager of the screening room at age 19.

So as part of the creative process, Apatow and other movie-makers rent small screening rooms somewhere in town to show a rough-cut — an unfinished version — to a trusted handful of friends and family. "I want them to tear me apart and tell me the truth," he says.
Apatow relied on these small screenings for his latest comedy, Bridesmaids. Before Bridesmaids became a blockbuster, the film's first, small audience gathered in the Charles Aidikoff Screening Room, a Rodeo Drive establishment that many movie-makers use. It rents for $300 to $500 per hour, and for that price, you also get Charles Aidikoff, who just turned 97.
At a recent screening for members of the Motion Picture Academy, Aidikoff grins as visitors grab handfuls of brightly wrapped candies en route to their seats.
"People say, 'Why don't you have popcorn?'" Aidikoff says with a laugh. "You know what I tell them? 'I'll get popcorn on one condition: That you stay after and you clean up.' Suddenly they don't want popcorn."

See The Aidikoffs' Wall Of Fame

Courtesy Charles Aidikoff Screening Room Filmmaker Judd Apatow (left) screened his film Bridesmaids at the Charles Aidikoff Screening Room to a group of family and friends, including actor Seth Rogen (right). Click here to see the Charles Aidikoff Screening Room Wall of Fame.

So instead he sets out little packages of Mars bars, Milky Ways and Red Vines. It costs $700 every two and a half weeks to keep this Hollywood/ Halloween bowl filled, Aidikoff says.
As the audience settles into their seats, Aidikoff offers an introduction — and a few ground rules. "OK folks, my name is Charles Aidikoff. This is my little establishment," he says. "This is what's known as a cell phone. It would all be very nice if you all could push the little button and turned it off."
Up in the projection booth, Charles Aidikoff's grandson Josh, who now manages the place, presides over a small dark room that could match Dr. Jekyll's lab. Two huge projectors hold the hefty 35-mm reels of film. Each reel contains 2,000 feet of film — 15 or 20 minutes' worth. Tonight's movie — a press screening of a Chinese film called The Flowers of War — has eight reels. Josh and his assistant push buttons and switches on the wall to change over from one reel to the next. Every now and then, young Aidikoff peers out through a small window to make sure everything's OK on the screen.
"I've had several instances where film has ended up on the floor," he admits. "... Trying to put it back together again in the right order — that was a problem."

Cindy Carpien/NPR Josh Aidikoff mastered the complicated business of running film projectors when he was still in his teens. Now, the Aidikoff Screening Room has a digital projector, too, and Josh predicts that in a few years he won't be handling film at all.

Four generations of Aidikoffs have been projectionists. A century ago, Charles' father, Max Aidikoff, ran silent movies in a theater in Coney Island. That's where his son Charles got the projection bug. At 97, Charles figures he's seen maybe 50,000 films. His son Greg worked in the booth for a while. Now, grandson Josh continues the dynasty. Josh learned it all from his "Pap" Charles.
"I was 12 and half when I ran my first film for him," Josh says. At 15, he started running the films professionally — he still remembers Madonna's Evita — all 10 reels of it.
In this age of DVDs and instant streaming, one wonders about the future of screening rooms. The Aidikoffs have a big digital projector, too, but they think filmmakers will always want a safe place where they can show unfinished work to friends, and finished films to the press under perfect conditions. (You can rock in these seats without a single squeak.)
If it's up to Apatow, the Charles Aidikoff Screening Room will be around for quite some time.
"It's one of the great places; it's like a great deli," he says. "Sometimes you just love a deli [because of] that guy that greets you at the deli." He says Aidkioff's screening room reminds him of the deli his uncle owned in Bayside Queens — only at Aidkoff's, he gets a movie instead of a hotdog.
With 57 seats, the Aidikoff Screening Room is like a miniature movie theater — but one where the people who make, review, star in, and vote on movies can find a home in the dark, for a few quiet hours.

Major F-up

Someone at FD or DDPR may be looking for an new job even as they must be working frantically to soothe feathers. If there's anything positive here it's that Gabe immediated deflected that the negative reactions pertained to the movie itself. Like I've said earlier, I believe other members of the team have already seen it.

joy says ...

They already screened "In the Land of Blood and Honey" for some NY press and NBR last tuesday, the reaction I'm told was not good...

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

Yeah, that's probably because they left press waiting a goddamned hour before starting the movie. Apparently I just missed the beginning - after one full hour I just said, "Fuck this" and left. No offense to whomever fucked that up, but some people have lives. I was not the only critic to bail on that one.

Screenings Insiders

The people Matt Mazur would place at the top of the invite list for any screening. 

Matt_Mazur Matt Mazur

#ff @filmystic @DarkEyeSocket @FreshandFrowsy @ExtAngel @AltScreen @altfilmguide @henderstu @josekicksass @ropeofsilicon @LivingInCinema

@MarkHarrisNYC @TempleDrake @CarrieRickey @AlbertBrooks @sonyclassics @DDPRLLC @nathanielr @AddisonDeTwitt @katebornstein @HitFixGregory

@thehighsign @FilmFatale_NYC @ReelTalker @octaviaspencer @missjudygreer @davidkbalzer @hardtoturnoff @jennimiller76 @andohehir

@AwardsDaily @winterjessica @wozerina @racheldodes @rosmance @GuyLodge @ScottFeinberg @thelmadams @ThePlaylist @peterknegt @mimbale


Given that Matt has been relentlessly promoting A Dangerous Method this week,  Blood & Honey's promo probably won't start until after Thanksgiving.  

I had assumed that B&H started screening for critics simultaneously in L.A. and NY last Nov. 7 because David Ehrenstein is based in L.A. and there were reports of screenings in NY.  But it now seems they just had sneak screenings for select individuals in L.A. The critics' screenings are being held only in NY first to accommodate the NYFCC and the NBR's earlier voting dates.  That explains why Scott Feinberg wrote that he hadn't seen it but hoped to catch it after he goes back to NY this week (reportedly on Tues, Nov. 22).  Also in NY is Dave Karger who is normally based in L.A.  

While B&H is now appearing on their radar, the biggest blip is Dragon Tattoo which won't screen before Nov. 28 -- so they're a bit early.  And by process of elimination, the film Karger saw that he considers a sure BP nominee must be either War Horse or Extremely Loud.  

If the Pitts' plane stopped by or refueled in Singapore, they were headed west, not back to U.S.  If their destination takes them in or across the Indian Ocean, they will be entering the U.S. from the East which makes NY their likely port of entry.  They should be in NY by early Dec. in time for Angelina to do press.  Among others, she will be appearing on Anderson with Anderson Cooper.

Karger and Anthony Breznican both write for EW and both have interviewed Angelina in the past but she knows Breznican better so he will likely be the one to interview her for the magazine.  Feinberg will probably interview her for THR.  Most if not all of the journos in Matt's list will likely get their turn as well.  

Screenings for the Critics

West Coast screenings of Blood & Honey should get started by tomorrow as they'll probably want to squeeze them in before the AFI Fest in L.A. gets into high gear.  The fest officially opens on Nov. 3 with the 7PM gala premiere of J. Edgar.  It's a tight window as some writers are just arriving in L.A. from the Savannah Film Fest.  East Coast and other screenings will of course not be affected by the AFI schedule. 

While most of the AFI films have already publicly screened at other fests,  Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar and to a lesser extent, The Adventures of Tin Tin from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are highly anticipated and most major critics and movie writers will want to be there.

The screenings calendar is very busy.   The Muppets, Rampart, War Horse and Young Adult all had screenings today in various parts of the country.  In the absence of any word from a B&H screening, I assume they have not taken place yet. 

10/28/2011 by Scott Feinberg

5:20

	I just got an email with screening dates today -- it will be screening in the first week of November, and Angelina will be going around doing press for it too, so I think they do have faith in it... it's just a small movie from a small studio, so you may not hear as much about it as certain other awrads hopefuls.

AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch - Galas & Specials

Hollywood's AFI Fest 2011 kicks off Thursday November 3rd and we've got a three-part 10 to Watch preview series for you in preparation. Part one takes a look at the big galas and special screenings that the studios use to launch their awards season campaigns. 

Blood and Honey screenings and promotion

Awards season is in high gear and as noted earlier, the move by the NYFCC to advance their schedule by two weeks puts pressure on all the end-of-the year films.   The most notable early stops in the awards circuit are the Independent Spirit Awards which announces its nominees on Nov. 29 and the New York Film Critics Circle which announces on Nov. 28.  All films hoping to be nominated must screen by mid-November to be considered.

Critical acknowledgement may have just a marginal effect on the fortunes of big-budget commercial films like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but for small indies like Blood and Honey it can spell the difference in their ability to make back their budgets.  This is of course besides the satisfaction and prestige that comes with being honored as one of the year's best.

Word comes today via Scott Feinberg that Blood and Honey will be screening in early November -- so the entire family should be leaving Budapest within the next few days if they haven't already done so.  I would guess they would be headed for L.A. although there is also that mystery film being prepped in NY that she may have to attend to.  This has been Brad's year so far as he's been working nonstop from Cogan's Trade to WWZ, but Angelina's turn is about to start. 

5:19	Comment From AJ  Why they are not screening - or sending for festivals - "In The land of Blood and Honey"? The studio has no faith in it?

5:20

I just got an email with screening dates today -- it will be screening in the first week of November, and Angelina will be going around doing press for it too, so I think they do have faith in it... it's just a small movie from a small studio, so you may not hear as much about it as certain other awrads hopefuls.