"Fast Five" has become this year's first bonafide global hit. It even over-performed.

This does not surprise me.

Here's the details from WENN:

"Four months into 2011, the movie business finally has the year's first huge global hit. Universal's 'Fast Five' debuted to an estimated $83.6 million domestically this weekend, more than doubling up on the year's previous best start ($39.2 million for Fox's 'Rio') and shattering Universal's previous best opening ($72.1 million for 'The Lost World: Jurasic Park').

"The movie overperformed pre-release estimates in the $60 million to $70 million range, while leading the previously ice-cold domestic box office to a 54 percent uptick over the same weekend last year. With $45.3 million playing at 3,211 international playdates this weekend, 'Fast Five' now has a cumulative worldwide total of $165 million. The film was shot for $125 million after tax breaks.

"The success of 'Fast Five' overshadowed two other disappointing debuts from smaller films: Disney's "'Prom' opened to only $5 million, widely missing projections closer to $10 million; and Weinstein's long-gestating 3D kiddie film 'Hoodwinked Too!' endured a similar fate, grossing just $4.1 million.

"But it was all about 'Fast Five' this weekend, which opened up at 3,644 locations -- all of them showing the movie in the traditional 2D format -- while garnering an A grade from movie-customer satisfaction survey firm Cinemascore."

 

This is exciting news. Quentin Tarantino has completed his newest screenplay, a Spaghetti Western titled "Django Unchained," and it's a no brainer that the picture will be ready to begin shooting soon.

Here's more from the Huffington Post:

"After taking on Nazi Germany with the Brad Pitt-led band of "'Inglourious Basterds,' WME, Tarantino's agency, confirmed that he's finished writing the script for 'Django Unchained,' a Spaghetti Western that, according to Tarantino Archives (via Indiewire), will pay homage to Italian director Sergio Corbucci's original 'Django' and Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike's 'Sukiyaki Western Django.'

"Tarantino actually appeared in 'Sukiyaki,' making a cameo as a character named Ringo.

"'Django,' it seems, will be the eighth film of his career, which, in an interview at the Morelia International Film Festival in 2009, he promised to release before coming out with 'Kill Bill: Vol. 3' in 2014. According to HitFix, he was also pondering producing a '30s-style gangster film, which would certainly fit his penchant for violence-filled movies."
 

I didn't stay up to watch The Royal Wedding. Not because I'm one of those thinking that by not watching it, I'm really sticking it to the stupid masses. Wow, you're really making a statement to ... Americans. John Lydon would be so proud.

If you want to watch a Royal Wedding live, then go ahead and enjoy it. My goodness.

So with that, I did look at some of the highlights this morning, and I realized that one of the reasons, or perhaps the biggest reason, I loved Kate Middleton's gown was because it looked a lot like another famous Princess -- Princess Grace.


Has there ever been a Princess lovelier than Grace Kelly?
 

I guess when the real life Joe Buck (Channing Tatum) approaches you about making a stripper movie -- with Channing Tatum as the title stripper -- you drop everything and forget that whole "I'm retiring from filmmaking" business.

Here's more from WENN:

"Channing Tatum is returning to his days as a stripper for a racy new film.

"'The Eagle' star has teamed up with moviemaker Steven Soderbergh to develop a new project about the sleazy world of male strip clubs.

"Channing was a stripper in Florida before his acting career took off.

"He says, 'This was a wild and pivotal time in my life and I couldn't be more thrilled to go down the rabbit hole with Steven.'

"Tatum will co-produce the project, which is tentatively titled 'Magic Mike.'

"He'll play a mentor to a young dancer in the film, according to Variety.

"Earlier this year, Soderbergh announced he would retire from filmmaking after completing two final projects, but he's signed on to direct 'Magic Mike.'

 

I loathe the term "meh," I love Steve McQueen and I like Jeremy Renner. And yet, with all of this, the below news made my mind immediately say "meh."

From WENN:

"'The Hurt Locker' star Jeremy Renner is developing a biopic about movie legend Steve McQueen.

"The actor and his producing partner, Don Handfield, have formed a production company and are interested in bringing 'The Great Escape' star's life to the big screen.

"Music video director Ivan Zacharias will make his feature debut behind the camera for the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and Renner is expected to play McQueen in the film."

 

If the sunny weather and depressing economy is making you yearn for a big, dumb, super explosive, super high speed, super ... Vin Diesel, super ... Dwayne Johnson, super, I-need-to-take-a-bre​ak-from-my-life-and-​not-take-care-of-mys​elf-in-the appropriate-manner, super I-hate-my-boss-and-I​-want-a-new-car, super I-need-a-big-dumb-bo​x-of-extra-buttered-​popcorn movie, it looks like "Fast Five" is the one for you.

The above statement reads like I'm being cute, but I think I'm being serious because according to critics, the newest "Fast and the Furious" installment is all of the above. And at over two hours long.

Here's some raves:

"Like a proper action sequel, it's bigger, louder, and sillier than its predecessors, but it's more streamlined, too, smartly dumping the tired underground racing angle in favor of a crisp, hugely satisfying "Ocean's Eleven"-style heist movie." -- Scott Tobias, The Onion AV Club

"Blissfully, brainlessly satisfying." -- Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer 

"The sheer audacity of Fast Five is kind of breathtaking in a metal-twisting, death-defying, mission-implausible,​ B-movie-on-steroids kind of way. Not complaining, just saying." -- Betsy Sharkey, The Los Angeles Times

--Absurdly long, absurdly over the top and absurdly absurd, Five Five - still manages to be more fun than any movie with its outrageous carbon footprint has any right to be. -- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

 

This just in: Actress Elizabeth Banks has confirmed that she will be playing Effie in the upcoming big screen adaptation of "The Hunger Games."

Here's more from EW:

"About an hour ago, the actress coyly asked Twitter followers to name the origin of the quote “I’m smiling at you even though you’re aggravating me,” which, we know, is a line from none other than that effervescent escort to extinction, Ms. Trinket. The actress then retweeted the correct answer along with “Yes! And I can now confirm I’m EFFIE TRINKET in @TheHungerGames. So excited!”, confirming that she would indeed be reteaming with her 'Seabiscuit' director Gary Ross to play the character in his big-screen version of the bestselling YA novel.

"Banks was reported to be in discussions for the role last week. She’ll join Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Paula Malcomson, Willow Shields, and the slew of other actors in the smaller tribute roles that have already been cast."

 

Michael Fassbender talks to the LA Times about "X-Men: First Class" --  getting viewers excited for the upcoming movie and the more complicated stories to be unveiled. 

Fassbender plays Magneto to James McAvoy's Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X. The roles were earlier played in their older forms by Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, respectively.

Here's more:

"How’s this for unexpected territory in a superhero film: 'X-Men: First Class' not only uses the Kennedy years, the Civil Rights movement and the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop for its retro tale, the movie’s story of two massively powerful mutants who struggle against bitter prejudice was directly informed by the complicated lives of Malcolm X and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"'It came up early on in the rehearsal period and that was the path we took,' says Michael Fassbender, who stars as the emotionally scarred Erik Lehnsherr, who will become the militant mutant known as Magneto. 'These two brilliant minds coming together and their views aren’t that different on some key things. As you watch them you know that if their understanding, ability and intelligence could somehow come together it would be really special. But the split is what makes them even more interesting and tragic.'"