Screen It Sunday

I’m frequently sent information on upcoming television, DVD/Blu-ray and movie news. I’ll be compiling and sharing the best and most interesting news with you here each week.

Hop – Own It March 23, 2012 on Blu-ray™ and DVD Combo Packs

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment – Featuring an All-New Mini Movie, Extensive Bonus Features, Digital Copy and UltraViolet™

Universal City, CA January 9, 2012 – The Easter Bunny’s hare apparent leaves his ancestral home on Easter Island to pursue pop superstardom in the hilarious comedy HOP, coming to Blu-ray™ and DVD on March 23, 2012, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Blending state-of-the-art CGI animation with live action, HOP is a non-stop, rockin’ adventure packed with humor and hijinks as rebellious young rabbit E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), strikes up an unlikely friendship with Los Angeles underachiever Fred (James Marsden) en route to becoming a rock star drummer.

The perfect Easter gift, the HOP Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Packs deliver perfect hi-def picture andperfect hi-def sound and include an all-new, never-before-seen, music-filled mini-movie, extensive bonus features and interactive games, adding hours of entertaining fun for parents and children alike. The Combo Packs also contain a Digital Copy of the film for a limited time, compatible with iTunes?, iPad?, iPhone?, iPod™ touch, Android or online retail partners. Also included is an UltraViolet™ copy, the revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and TV shows by storing them in the cloud to instantly stream and download to computers, tablets and smart phones. Consumers can now truly enjoy their movies anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice.

Directed by Tim Hill (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and produced by Chris Meledandri (Despicable Me), HOP features hilarious performances by James Marsden (X-Men, Enchanted), Russell Brand (Despicable Me, Get Him to the Greek), Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory), Hugh Laurie (House), Gary Cole (Talladega Nights), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds) and David Hasselhoff (America’s Got Talent).

View the trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGQmY4cPjBw

Visit www.hopmovie.com for additional information

Join in the fun of awards season and cast your votes with the Redbox Movie Awards Game!

Redbox kicked off awards season with its first annual 2011 Movie Awards presented by Redbox and Redbox Movie Awards Game! Now’s your chance to get in on the action and vote for who will take home this year’s most coveted awards. Whether it’s the Golden Globes, SAG or Oscars, movie fans can now share their votes on www.facebook.com/redbox and celebrate the fun of movies biggest season! Sharing the fun challenge with your Facebook friends is easy with this interactive game AND those who predict accurately can win free Redbox rentals for 1 month, 2 years or 3 years!

ROB MARSHALL SET TO DEVELOP “INTO THE WOODS” FEATURE FILM WITH DISNEY

LUCAMAR Productions Inks Multi-Year First-Look Deal With The Walt Disney Studios

Rob Marshall is set to direct a film adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway musical “Into the Woods,” featuring Stephen Sondheim’s original music, for The Walt Disney Studios, to be produced by Marshall and John DeLuca through their production company LUCAMAR Productions. James Lapine, who wrote the stage musical with Stephen Sondheim, will adapt for the screen.

The project is in development under a new multi-year producing deal between Disney and LUCAMAR.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine on this extraordinary and inspiring work,” said Rob Marshall and John DeLuca. “We are greatly looking forward to continuing our creative and rewarding relationship with Rich Ross, Sean Bailey and the ever supportive team at Disney.”

“Rob Marshall brought his signature flair to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ with tremendous results and he is the perfect person to bring ‘Into the Woods’ to the screen,” Studio Chairman Rich Ross and President of Production Sean Bailey said in a statement. “We’ve loved working with Rob, and this is a great start to our collaboration with LUCAMAR.”

Rob Marshall most recently directed Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” which earned over $1 billion at the global box office and is the #8 highest grossing film of all time, the #3 film of 2011, and Disney’s biggest overseas release ever. It was the first “Pirates” film to be shot in 3D and the first major production at any studio to be shot in 3D on location. Marshall’s critically acclaimed stage musical adaptation “Chicago” (2002) grossed over $300 million worldwide and was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, winning six including best picture, with Marshall earning a nomination for best director. It also won the Golden Globe for best comedy/musical. His other feature films include “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005), winner of three Academy Awards, and “Nine” (2009), which was nominated for four Academy Awards and five Golden Globes. Marshall is a four-time Emmy Award winner and a six-time Tony Award nominee, including choreographing and co-directing the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret.”

“Into the Woods” weaves together the story of several of the most beloved fairytales (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel) into the original story of a Baker and his wife who try to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child, exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests and their desire for “happily ever after.” With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book and direction by James Lapine, “Into the Woods” earned 10 nominations at the 1988 Tony Awards, winning three including best score and best book of a musical. The 2002 Broadway revival won a Tony for best revival of a musical.

Sondheim and Lapine’s other collaborations include 1984’s Tony-winning “Sunday in the Park With George,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and 1994’s “Passion,” winner of four Tonys including best musical. Sondheim has won eight Tony Awards, more than any other composer, as well as several Grammy Awards and an Academy Award, while Lapine has earned seven Tony nominations for direction and is a three-time winner (out of four nominations) for best book of a musical.

LUCAMAR most recently produced the film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Nine,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, and Marion Cotillard, which was nominated for four Academy Awards and five Golden Globes. LUCAMAR also produced the star-studded, NBC television event “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” which won seven Emmy Awards, the most of any nominated show that season. The company is headed by co-presidents Rob Marshall and John DeLuca, with Michael Zimmer serving as director of development.

Marshall and DeLuca are represented by Kevin Huvane and Brian Siberell at CAA and Michael Gendler of Gendler & Kelly.

Top Redbox Rentals and a Chance to Win Free Rentals for 3 Years!

Redbox kicked off awards season with its first annual 2011 Movie Awards presented by Redbox and Redbox Movie Awards Game! Now’s your chance to get in on the action and vote for who will take home this year’s most coveted awards. Whether it’s the Golden Globes, SAG or Oscars, movie fans can now share their votes on www.facebook.com/redbox and celebrate the fun of movies biggest season! Sharing the fun challenge with your Facebook friends is easy with this interactive game AND those who predict accurately can win free Redbox rentals for 1 month, 2 years or 3 years!

Make sure to check out our top rented family movies this weekend including, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Smurfs.

Below, are the top rented family movies from 1/2-1/8. Find your nearest Redbox location by visiting www.redbox.com or via the Redbox iPhone® or Android mobile apps.

Digging Up Adventure, The Buddies Find Themselves Treasure Hunting in Egypt

All-New Movie Premiering On Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital on January 31, 2012

Burbank, Calif., November 4, 2011 – On January 31, 2012, The Walt Disney Studios proudly unleashes Treasure Buddies, an all-new live action feature for the whole family on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital. The 6th film in the Buddies franchise stars everyone’s favorite talking canine superstars Rosebud, B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha and Mudbud, as the pup pack journeys to mysterious Egypt in search of the greatest treasure known to animalkind, the legendary Cat’s Eye jewel, from the lost treasure of Cleocatra! Danger lurks around every secret sphinx, cryptic crypt and puzzling pyramid as Ubasti, a devious cat, schemes to possess the mystical jewel and use its powerful energy to rid the planet of all dogs! With help from new lovable friends Cammy, a baby camel – and a mischievous monkey named Babi – the gang and their new friends avoid booby traps, solve puzzles and explore a mysterious tomb in their most exciting and challenging adventure yet.

Producer/director Robert Vince, the imaginative force behind the popular worldwide hits Air Buddies, Snow Buddies, Space Buddies, Santa Buddies and Spooky Buddies, creates his most fetching adventure yet with Treasure Buddies. Starring Mudbud (voice by Ty Panitz – Santa Buddies, Spooky Buddies, How to Eat Fried Worms), Rosebud (voice by G. Hannelius – Space Buddies, Snow Buddies), B-Dawg (voice by Skyler Gisondo – Santa Buddies, Space Buddies, Spooky Buddies), Budderball (voice by Nico Ghisi – Santa Buddies, Space Buddies) and Buddha (voice by Field Cate – Santa Buddies, Space Buddies), the film also stars Richard Riehlel as Thomas Howard, Mason Cook as Pete Howard, Edward Herrmann as Philip Wellington, Adam Alexi-Malle as Amir, Mo Gallini as Tarik, Christopher Maleki as Seti and Anna Primiani as Cleopatra.

Treasure Buddies tail wagging adventure debuts across North America as an all-new 2-Disc Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD), 1-Disc DVD and Standard Definition and High Definition Digital on January 31, 2012.

Stay connected with the latest news and information on Treasure Buddies.

· “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheDisneyBuddies

· View exciting trailers, games, video clips and more at www.disney.com/TreasureBuddies

Tags: Hop, Redbox, Screen It Sunday, Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Category: Announcements