Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" Caps Biggest Game-Based Film Franchise

Writer, director, producer and franchise veteran Paul W.S. Anderson returns to helm Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the sixth and final installment in the most successful video game film franchise ever.

The improbable beginning of Paul W.S. Anderson’s fantastically successful, franchised motion picture adaptation of the Resident Evil video game reads like a Hollywood ending. Producer, Jeremy Bolt, who has worked with Anderson for 25 years and including all the Resident Evil editions, recalls, “Back in 2002 we had just made a movie for Warner Bros. called Soldiers, which did not perform as well as we’d hoped. So I went back to England and made a couple of small films, and Paul holed up in his house in Venice Beach where he played video games for 6 months. Out of the blue he called to say ‘I’ve been playing the game Resident Evil and we have got to get the film rights.”

REEL DEAL: Real Life Groomsman Fiasco Inspires "THE WEDDING RINGER"

The genesis for the premise of Columbia Pictures' new comedy “The Wedding Ringer” can be traced all the way back to a random phone call director Jeremy Garelick received from a high school classmate.

"A person I knew in high school called me out of nowhere many years later and said 'Rebecca and I are getting married,' recalls director Garelick. I said 'Congratulations' and in my mind I am thinking 'Who's Rebecca and why are you calling me?' He asked me to save the date, but I'm thinking why would I even go to this wedding? I wasn't really friends with this guy in high school, but a month later he called again and said 'Rebecca and I would be honored if you would be in our wedding party as one of my groomsman.' I was caught off guard and didn't know what to do, so I said yes and after I hung up the phone, I thought, 'What did I just agree to'? Now I have to fly from Los Angeles all the way back east for this wedding with people I don't even know."

REEL DEAL: Production Starts For Futuristic Thriller "THE 5TH WAVE"

Principal photography has commenced on the highly anticipated motion picture “The 5th Wave,” Columbia Pictures’ adaptation of the bestselling young adult novel.  The action-adventure film is directed by J Blakeson, with a screenplay by Susannah Grant, based on the book by Rick Yancey.  The producers are Tobey Maguire, Graham King, Lynn Harris, and Matthew Plouffe.  Denis O’Sullivan and Richard Middleton are the executive producers. 

“The 5th Wave” stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Cassie, Nick Robinson as Ben Parish aka “Zombie,” Ron Livingston as Dad/Oliver, Maggie Siff as Mom/Lisa, Alex Roe as Evan Walker, Maika Monroe as Ringer, Zackary Arthur as Sam, and Liev Schreiber as Vosch.

In “The 5th Wave,” set in the present day, four waves of increasingly deadly attacks have left most of Earth decimated.  Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, 16-year-old Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother.  As she prepares for the inevitable and lethal 5th wave, Cassie meets a young man who may become her final hope.

REEL DEAL: “INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3” Conjures First Trailer

Columbia Pictures has just unveiled the teaser trailer of its upcoming supernatural thriller, "Insidious: Chapter 3,” the newest instalment in the terrifying horror series is written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell.

The trailer may be viewed here at http://youtu.be/ZUFFCV99bDs.

Produced by Oren Peli (“Paranormal Activity”), James Wan (“The Conjuring”) and Whannell, “Insidious: Chapter 3” stars Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell.

This chilling prequel, set before the haunting of the Lambert family, reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.

Opening soon across the Philippines on May 2015, “Insidious: Chapter 3” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

REEL DEAL: Gritty, Realistic Action Pay Off In “THE EQUALIZER”

To realize the action of Columbia Pictures’ new action-thriller “The Equalizer,” the conversations began between director Antoine Fuqua, Denzel Washington, and Keith Woulard, one of the film’s stunt coordinators.  “There’s a tendency in shooting action to shake the camera and move things around – the audience can’t tell what’s happening,” says Fuqua.  That’s just what they didn’t want to do.  “My goal was to take acting and make it action,” says Fuqua. 

Fuqua’s inspiration for the way he would shoot the action scenes with McCall, Denzel’s character, was inspired by his interaction with real-life boxers.  “I happen to have a very good friend who’s a great boxer – Sugar Ray Leonard,” he notes.  “He’ll tell stories, and you’ll realize how smart a boxer can be.  Sometimes they’ll touch you – hey, how you doin’ today? – and that’s their way of checking you out, seeing if you’re in shape, if they think you’re a threat.  Or they’re watching you a certain way, to see how you move, how your body language is, what your strengths and weaknesses are.  They can pick you apart.  McCall is trained that way, too – he notices these things and uses them to his advantage.  We had to show that.”

REEL DEAL: “THE EQUALIZER” Releases Extended Clip

Columbia Pictures has just released a five-minute extended clip from its upcoming action thriller “The Equalizer” which may be viewed at http://youtu.be/rg5HCaXlvJ8.

From Antoine Fuqua, director of “Training Day” and “Olympus Has Fallen” comes “The Equalizer” starring Denzel Washington.

In the film, Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him to lead a quiet life in peace. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

REEL DEAL: Robert Zemeckis' New Thriller “THE WALK” Wraps Production

Principal photography has wrapped on the inaugural film from Tom Rothman's TriStar Productions, now officially titled “The Walk.”

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film is a true story based on Philippe Petit's book "To Reach the Clouds," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young dreamer who dared the impossible: an illegal wire walk between the World Trade Center towers. Zemeckis wrote the screenplay with Christopher Browne. Producers are Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, and Jack Rapke.

REEL DEAL: Classic Video Game Characters Unite In Upcoming Film "PIXELS"

Sony Pictures Entertainment announced today that the studio has brought together an extraordinary number of iconic video game companies, whose classic characters – including PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, Centipede®, Galaga, Frogger, Q*bert, and Space Invaders – will be featured in the highly-anticipated action comedy “Pixels,” starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, and Brian Cox, and directed by Chris Columbus. The film will be released on May 15, 2015.

REEL DEAL:L “THE EQUALIZER” Serves Up New Images

The main poster art and new stills from Columbia Pictures' upcoming gritty crime thriller “The Equalizer” has just been released. The film stars Denzel Washington and Chloe Grace Moretz, under the direction of Antoine Fuqua (“Olympus Has Fallen”).

In “The Equalizer,” Washington plays McCall, a former black ops commando who has faked his death to live a quiet life in Boston. When he comes out of his self-imposed retirement to rescue a young girl, Teri (Moretz), he finds himself face to face with ultra-violent Russian gangsters. As he serves vengeance against those who brutalize the helpless, McCall’s desire for justice is reawakened. If someone has a problem, the odds are stacked against them, and they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

An adaptation of the 1980s TV show of the same name, “The Equalizer” also stars Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman, Haley Bennett and Marton Cskokas.

REEL DEAL: Subject of “DELIVER US FROM EVIL” Frightens Eric Bana

One of filmdom's most engaging actors, Eric Bana (“Star Trek,” “Lone Survivor”) stars in Columbia Pictures' supernatural thriller “Deliver Us from Evil” as real-life New York police officer Ralph Sarchie who joins forces with an unconventional priest schooled in the rituals of exorcism, to combat the frightening and demonic possessions that are terrorizing their city.

Bana was drawn to the role of Ralph Sarchie in because he saw something in director Scott Derrickson’s previous work which transcended the horror genre. “Scott’s movies, like `The Exorcism of Emily Rose' and `Sinister,' are really incredibly written and performed character films that are set in genres. And when I met with him, I felt that I just had to do the film. He has total respect for the genre, knows more about it than anyone I’ve ever met, but understands the importance of character and story.

REEL DEAL: Edgar Ramirez, The Renegade Exorcist In “DELIVER US FROM EVIL”

He had already staked out a hugely versatile career, first in his native Venezuela and South America, then around the world. Now, Edgar Ramirez (“Wrath of the Titans,” “Zero Dark Thirty”) stars in Columbia Pictures' horror thriller “Deliver Us From Evil” as Joe Mendoza, an unorthodox priest who has battled his own inner demons. He enters into a partnership with New York police officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) at first uncertain and then bonded by the recognition of the evil which they are facing.