'We Are the Nobles' Sequel in the Works (Exclusive)

Karla Souza and Luis Gerardo Mendez in "We are the Nobles."
MEXICO CITY – Writer-director Gary “Gaz” Alazraki is developing a sequel to the hit comedy We Are the Nobles, Mexico’s highest-grossing film.

Alazraki, a USC film school graduate, couldn’t have asked for a more successful directorial debut. We Are the Nobles (Nosotros los Nobles) has raked in about $26 million after 15 weeks in theaters, shattering the previous record of $13.5 million held by the Gael Garcia Bernal-starrer The Crime of Father Amaro.

Released by Warner Bros., Nobles centers on three spoiled children who are cut off from their family fortune and forced to do the unthinkable – get a job.

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It’s no accident that the film has performed so well. Alazraki comes from an advertising background (his family owns one of the most prestigious ad agencies in Mexico), and he went to great lengths to promote the film ahead of its March release.

“Many people were already familiar with the movie and its main characters before the release,” he said. “It was crucial to the success of the film.” The story had many folks talking about Mexico’s social class divide, a hot-button topic in a nation where more than half of the people live in poverty. “It’s all about how Mexico is trying to find an identity when there’s such a big division between the rich and the poor,” Alazraki said.

The follow-up, which Alazraki is penning with Nobles co-writer Adrian Zurita, also will focus on economic disparity in Mexican society.

Dumb and Dumber To: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels Returning for "Painfully Funny" Sequel

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are returning for the Dumb and Dumber sequel, Dumb and Dumber To, and Daniels calls the script "painfully funny." Credit: New Line Cinema/Getty

It's really official! Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are teaming back up to reprise their roles as not-so-sharp best friends, Lloyd and Harry, for the Dumb and Dumber sequel, titled Dumb and Dumber To.

After a lot of back and forth and false hopes, Daniels confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday, June 19, that the follow-up to the hilarious 1994 film is in the works -- thanks to Carrey finally agreeing to sign on with directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly.

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"Jim has been against all sequels, and you know, understandably so," Daniels, 58, explained. "But he turned 50 and that will mellow you out, and suddenly he's going, 'Let's have some fun. ... Come on,' and we're going, 'Great,' and so the Farrellys said, 'This isn't a money grab. Let's really write a great second movie that takes the original and then blows it up even further, and so I think they did that."

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Universal Pictures also confirmed the sequel after picking up the domestic distribution rights from Warner Bros. "We had a lot of 'no' for two years and finally 'yes,'" Daniels explained. "It's comin' around, and I think it's got a chance to be I hope better than the first one."

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In fact, Daniels called the script "painfully funny."

"We're middle-aged and still that stupid. Our IQ has not gone up one point combined," he shared. "So it's a frightening thing. You're gonna see the two of us standing there trying to put thoughts together and you want to put underneath, 'Kids don't do this at home.' It's that stupid."

Tell Us: Will go see Dumb and Dumber To?

 

Roland Emmerich: Will Smith Won't Be in 'Independence Day' Sequel

Fox may have announced plans to move forward with a sequel to its 1996 blockbuster Independence Day, but star Will Smith may not be returning for the second film.

While promoting his latest film White House Down, Independence Day director Roland Emmerich said Smith won't be in the sequel, which he's also set to helm.

"Will Smith can not come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name," said Emmerich told the New York Daily News. "It would be too much."

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"We have like maybe half of the people that you know would know from the first film and the other half people who are new," Emmerich added.

Independence Day was one of the movies that made Smith a star, and Emmerich once said a sequel wouldn't happen unless Smith was on board.

A Fox spokesperson declined to comment on Emmerich's remarks when contacted by The Hollywood Reporter.

THR has reached out to Smith's rep.

 

Stephen King's 'Shining' Sequel Gets Teaser Trailer

Stephen King fans are getting primed for one of the fall's hottest books.

Publisher Simon & Schuster released a teaser trailer for Doctor Sleep, the long-awaited sequel to 1977's The Shining, one of his most popular books.

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The book goes on sale September 24.

The hit novel spawned the classic 1980 movie that featured a memorable performance from Jack Nicholson.

The publisher has also released a short description of the novel:

"The now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival."His newest novelette, Joyland, a homage to pulp fiction, arrived June 4 and is already climbing bestseller lists. A CBS television adaptation of his bestselling novel Under the Dome premieres on June 24.And, of course, Doctor Sleep is up after that. See the teaser below.

 

Paramount, Brad Pitt Set Sights on 'World War Z' Sequel

Has Brad Pitt caught franchise fever?

With the successful $111.8 million worldwide debut of zombie extravaganza World War Z -- a passion project for the actor -- Paramount actively will turn to developing a sequel,  studio vice chairman Rob Moore tells The Hollywood Reporter. The tentpole earned $66 million in North America, the best opening for an original live-action tentpole since Avatar, and $45.8 million from its first 25 foreign markets.

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World War Z initially was envisioned as a trilogy, but those plans were shelved when the movie ran into trouble, requiring extensive reworking of the last act. Initially set to open in December 2012, the movie's release date was pushed back to June, prompting many in Hollywood to anticipate a blood bath.

But in a happy reversal of fortune, World War Z is off to a strong start, both in terms of its commercial and critical appeal. It will need to stay strong to make up for its $190 million budget, however. Paramount appears confident it will, judging by the fact that its reviving plans for further installments. It's the biggest debut of Pitt's career.

Skydance Productions co-financed World War Z, which also was made in association with Hemisphere Media Capital and GK Films. Pitt produced via his company Plan B, with Marc Forster directing.

Franchises are incredibly important to Hollywood studios and can likewise reap huge rewards for talent in terms of pay. And a World War Z series could mark a big win for Pitt in terms of his aspirations as a producer.

Pitt -- one of the world's most recognizable stars -- has spent much of his career pursuing prestige projects, versus more commercial event pics. Exceptions were Troy and the Ocean's Eleven franchise, although those were ensemble films.

His previous best box office opening, not accounting for inflation, was Mr. & Mrs. Smith in summer 2005 ($50.3 million). A year before, in May 2004, Troy opened to $46.9 million, now his third best debut.

Pitt has starred in a number of two-handers (Spy Game, Interview With a Vampire, The Devil's Own), as well having a relatively small -- but memorable role -- in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. His last two films were indie mob pic Killing Them Softly, which bombed, and the critically acclaimed Moneyball.

Pitt aggressively helped market World War Z, attending numerous screenings across the country, as well as turning up at industry events, such as CinemaCon, the annual convention of theater owners in Las Vegas. He also has jetted around the world to attend various premieres of the movie.

"The great thing about this process was that it showed what a great partner and producer Brad is," says Moore. "He made a true commitment."

Moore said that when the studio deemed that there problems with the movie, Pitt and Forster worked closely with Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman to "find the right movie. He stayed and worked when he could have gone off and shot another movie."

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The result -- World War Z drew a fairly even ratio of males (51 percent) and females (49), while 33 percent of those buying tickets were under the age of 25, and 67 percent were over.

In addition to Pitt's appeal, Moore says that females were drawn to the film's storyline. In World War Z, a U.N. worker who is torn between protecting his family and leaving to find a cure for a worldwide pandemic turning humans into zombies.

Last week, when attending the Moscow premiere, Pitt himself hinted at a sequel and said there is plenty of material left over from Max Brooks' novel, upon which the movie is based.

"I think the movie captured the public's imagination with something that is fresh and different," says Moore. "And certainly, Brad gave a superb performance."