Rebecca Keegan writes about film for the LA Times and joins Take Two each Monday to discuss the latest in film for On the Lot.
Brad Pitt leads a cast of tough guys and a Sherman tank to the top of the box office this week.
"Fury" grabbed the top spot, and Rebecca Keegan talks about visiting the set last year. She says there were lots of manly-man things going on there, including sparring matches between the actors. And, she says, co-star Shia LaBeouf refused to shower during the filming, and slashed his own face for one scene. Method acting to the extreme?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGvZoIrXpg
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has announced a full slate of 10 films, all based on comic book characters, to be released over the next five years. Keegan says the studio is struggling and just announced a $200 million operating budget cut. Layoffs are expected to begin next month.
Another film opening this weekend is the work of a young man who grew up in Tijuana and San Diego and wondered why he never saw people who looked like him in the movies. Animator Jorge Gutierrez took a story about The Day of the Dead, and brought it to the screen in "The Book of Life." Keegan says the film is an indicator that Hollywood execs are beginning to understand just how big and powerful Latino audiences are - both here in the States and internationally.