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Tag: Rio 2

  • ‘Heaven is For Real’ Crushes It at Box Office

    Faith-based film Heaven Is for Real crushed it at the Easter weekend box office, earning $21.5 million from 2,417 theaters to destroy big-budget sci-fic epic Transcendence, which earned an unimpressive $11.5 million from 3,455 locations.

    Heaven Is for Real, from Sony’s TriStar label, opened Wednesday and earned $28.5 million in its first five days and placed third overall for the weekend.

    Christian-based movies seem to be making a huge impact of late and Heaven is for Real is the latest Christian film to exceed expectations.

    The movie is based on the real-lfe story of Nebraska pastor Todd Burpo, whose young son Colton said he visited Heaven during an emergency surgery. The film is adapted from the pastor’s book about Colton’s near-death experience, co-written by Lynn Vincent.

    The film stars Greg Kinnear and was produced by well-known pastor T. D. Jakes, director Randall Wallace and Hollywood veteran Joe Roth.

    Not surprising, the drama did its biggest business in the country’s Bible Belt, but appealed to mainstream audiences as well.

    “It’s really a terrific result,” said Sony’s distribution chief Rory Bruer. “And Easter was certainly a date that was in the wheelhouse of the film.”

    Currently there are three Bible-themed films in the top 10 chart.

    In addition to Heaven is for Real, Noah placed No. 9 with $5 million for a domestic total of $93.2 million. God’s Not Dead came in No. 10 with $4.8 million, adding to its total of $48.2 million.

    It came as a big surprise that the $12 million Heaven Is for Real beat Johnny Depp’s Transcendence, which cost $100 million to produce.

    Transcendence is the fourth big-budget bomb in a row for Johnny Depp after The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.

    In terms of Depp’s openings, Transcendence came in lower than The Tourist, which debuted to $16.5 million in 2010.

    Captain America: The Winter Soldier enjoyed its third week in the top spot, followed by Rio 2.

    Here’s the real life Colton Burpo who claimed to have visited Heaven.

    Image via YouTube

  • Anne Hathaway Has a Moment With a Parrot

    Anne Hathaway Has a Moment With a Parrot

    It seems like just about everyone wants to give Anne Hathaway a little peck, and parrots are no exception.

    The star received a little more than she bargained for when she posed with a blue parrot on her shoulder at the Walk of Fame inauguration event in Miami on Friday.

    Instead of smiling pretty for pictures, the parrot began to nibble on the brunette actress’ hair and scalp. Ever the professional, Hathaway took it all in stride and maintained a smile during the encounter.

    Of course, Hathaway is familiar with working with birds, or at least lending them her voice, as she plays Jewel in the animated franchise Rio. Jewel is a blue macaw who lives in Rio de Janeiro and meets her future partner Blu, a fellow blue macaw, voiced by Jesse Eisenberg.

    Jamie Foxx, Kristen Chenoworth, and Jemaine Clement, who star in Rio 2 with Hathaway, were also at the event. They looked on as the parrot was removed and replaced with a white anteater, who caused the Les Miserables star to shriek with delight as it began nuzzling her ear.

    Apparently Hathaway takes her work quite seriously and is willing to do whatever it takes to become one with the characters.

    Image via YouTube

  • Bruno Mars To Lend His Voice To “Rio 2”

    Bruno Mars To Lend His Voice To “Rio 2”

    Rio 2 director Carlos Saldanha has added a new voice to the mix, in the sequel of the popular animated movie Rio.

    Bruno Mars, the pop superstar who rocked the stage during this year’s Super Bowl, will be joining the cast of Rio 2 as a macaw bird named Roberto.

    Saldanha first became interested in casting Mars for a voiceover after seeing him host Saturday Night Live in October 2012. Despite having to make a few revisions to the character, Saldanha felt that Mars was a perfect fit for the role.

    “He pushed it in a way that said ‘this is the character’ and we felt we could push it,” Saldanha said.

    Not only will Mars be taking on a role in the film, he will also be contributing some songs to the soundtrack that will be released on April 11th, the same day that the film will open in theaters. Another pop star, Janelle Monáe, will be lending some songs to the soundtrack as well.

    The music in Rio 2 will be a little different from the first movie. The 12 songs on the soundtrack will be traditional folk songs rooted in Brazil.

    “It’s a different kind of music from the first one, which was mostly samba,” Saldanha said. “It’s multicultural and represents Brazil and the USA. We looked at folk dancing and folk songs of the region. Sergio and Carlos have great ears and they make sure everything is done (rhythmically) the way it’s done in Brazil.”

    While there may be a few new voices joining the cast, original cast members Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, and Jamie Foxx will be reprising their roles.

    What the official trailer for Rio 2 below:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons