Who Wants to Win the Soundtrack to 'The Gambler' AND Get Free Passes?

You read that right, the good folks at Paramount decided it wasn't enough just to let you see the flick for free, they also wanted us to make sure you could jam out on the way home with the official soundtrack!

Soundtrack Album On Republic Records

Jim Bennett (Academy Award®-nominee Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker.  Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral.  Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Academy Award®-winner Jessica Lange) in his wake.  He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett’s future.  As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance…

We are going to be choosing six winners at random, this is a one-day contest that closes at 4PM today so get your entries in NOW! All you need to do is send your full name and preferred email address to punchdrunkcritics@gmail.com. 

Motion Picture Artwork, Photos ©2014 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This compilation ℗2014 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 1755 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Distributed by Universal Music Distribution. All rights reserved.

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Adam Sandler in the saddle for comedy western 'Ridiculous 6'

Yesterday we learned that Adam Sandler was leaving his usual home at Sony Pictures and venturing to Paramount for an upcoming untitled comedy. Sony has been going through some financial difficulties, so Sandler's Happy Madison production house made the jump. Now we're learning new details on the film, and it will be a comedy western titled Ridiculous 6.

While no plot details have been confirmed, the title is an obvious parody of The Magnificent Seven, so that would seem to be the route they're taking. Plus it'll give Sandler another chance to get paid to hang out with his buddies like Kevin James, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. Sandler will co-write the script with Tim Herlihy.

This sounds potentially terrible, but certainly it has to be better than Sandler's recent junk like That's My Boy and Jack & Jill, both of which have knocked a dent in his box office dependability. He scored his biggest hit in awhile with the animated Hotel Transylvania, which is rapidly approaching $200M globally.

Sandler has a pretty stable group of low-end directors he can pull from, so finding a guy to helm this thing shouldn't be an issue. The plan is to have Ridiculous 6 ready by Spring Break weekend 2014. [Deadline]

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Paramount's 'Ninja Turtles' reboot halted; release date pushed back

Cause for concern? Now that cooler heads have prevailed and "Turtle-Gate" is just a brief, disturbing, hilarious blink in movie news history, Paramount and Michael Bay have to actually get down to making Ninja Turtles a reality. And so far...it ain't goin' so well. Initially slated for release on Christmas 2013, Paramount has halted production and pushed the film back all the way to May 16th 2014. 

Sound familiar? Yeah, there's been a lot of that going on with Paramount lately, having bumped back the release of GI Joe: Retaliation, World War Z, and the lesser known franchise flick, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. The start date on Ninja Turtles has been pushed back a whopping 10 weeks, for what is apparently major problems with the script. Really? So maybe somebody is a little concerned about our beloved Turtles being a bunch of extraterrestrials after all? Furthermore, there's apparently a need to see the budget slashed in order to get down to about $125M(!!!). Seriously? Maybe they should ditch the motion capture CGI and go back to dudes in suits voiced by Corey Feldman? Seemed to work in the 90s.

Obviously, something is really wrong here, but the fact that Paramount bothered to set up another release date means they still have Ninja Turtles plans. Coincidentally, the May 16th 2014 release date would put the film head to head with whatever mystery flick Marvel is keeping under their hats. 

Sounds like it's back to the drawing board for writers Kevin Eastman, Josh Appelbaum, and Andre Nemec. Jonathan Liebesman(Battle: Los Angeles) is on board to direct, with Kid Cudi(!!?!) circling some sort of role.  [Deadline]

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'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' reshoots will feature more Channing Tatum

Paramount has had nothing but trouble with their G.I. Joe franchise so far. The 2010 film was directed by Stephen Sommers, and with the nostalgia craze in full swing, plus a big name star in Channing Tatum, it should have been a surefire hit. And yet it wasn't, despite making just over $300M. That's what happens when a franchise flick costs over $200M. With that one mostly going down the drain, they still eagerly jumped into a sequel, feeling confident in the direction of Jon Chu and the additions of Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson to help bring in the big bucks. With the film just a few weeks away from opening, the Internet cracked in half when Paramount announced suddenly that G.I. Joe: Retaliation was being bumped to March 29th 2013, with the reason given that they just wanted to a little 3D post-conversion.

Hey, it makes sense. The film would have been an afterthought in this crowded summer season, and 3D would certainly add the value of higher ticket prices. Johnson came out the next day and said that reshoots were definitely taking place, and now we're learning from Deadline that those scenes aren't just to take advantage of the technology, but to fix what test audiences say is a glaring weakness in the story.

Apparently, Paramount got a little worried when audiences noted that they wanted to see more of Tatum and Johnson on screen together, and is rushing back to fix that right now. Oh, and they also add that audiences wanted 3D, which to me sounds like hogwash. Whatever. Anyway, clearly it's a move that makes sense from a business perspective. It's been one of the worst kept secrets that Tatum's Duke character would be taking a dirt nap in the the first few minutes, which was a surprise considering his popularity. The combination of Johnson, Willis, and Tatum makes for a powerful trio with a lot of box office pull.

It's clear that Paramount has made some colossal missteps with the film, but they're going out of their way to fix that. They don't want to see another big budget flop like Battleship or John Carter. Fortunately, G.I. Joe isn't nearly as expensive as those films were. I expect that the sequel will be in a much better position to succeed when it finally opens next year.

The question now is how this will effect Tatum's character? Will he not be killed off now? Maybe he'll simply be captured or presumed dead only to return later? Surely they aren't going to completely write off the guy after he's had a pair of $100M+ grossing hits this year already, with another one potentially in Magic Mike?

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Iron Man 3 release date revealed; Disney to distribute it and The Avengers

With all the Marvel movies coming up in the next year I hadn't even begun to start thinking about Iron Man 3, but now it looks like I'll have no choice as Disney has already cemented a release date: May 3rd, 2013.All of the Iron Man flicks have dropped during the first week of May, so this isn't totally unexpected.

If you're wondering why in the hey Disney is making this announcement, it's because the Mouse House has paid a hefty $115M sum to be the global marketing and distributor for both Iron Man and The Avengers. Both were previously to be distrubed by Paramount, who retains the rights to Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, both due out next year.

So...how long before we start hearing casting rumors?

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The Megan Fox/Transformers 3 Fallout Begins

Paramount and director Michael Bay haven't wasted any time looking for Megan Fox's replacement since she got shit canned from Transformers 3(not according to her, but more on that later). Since they can't possibly move ahead without Shia LaBeouf having a hot chick next to him so that we don't notice how badly he's overacting, the casting has proceeded ahead in earnest. Rumors are that Gemma Arterton(Clash of the Titans) is at the top of Paramount's list to be scantily dressed and filmed running in slow motion as she's chased by giant robots. 

Arterton was the ONLY good thing about Quantum of Solace, and one of the few bright spots in Clash of the Titans. She's sexy as all hell, and she's got big movie cred already. It's a solid pick if it pans out. Others rumored to be on Paramount's shortlist are Brooklyn Decker(isn't that a vacuum cleaner?)Bar Rafaeli(famous for banging Leo Dicaprio), and Miranda Kerr(Ummm....). 

Aren't these all model chicks? Clearly, Bay and Paramount have decided that it was impossible to replace Fox's combination of beauty and acting prowess, so they figured on just getting pretty faces to stare blankly at the camera. Oh wait...

Meanwhile, Megan Fox is taking the disastrous news of her exit from the franchise and spinning it like a dreidel. Talking to People Magazine, her reps had this to say...

“Megan Fox will not be starring in Transformers 3," reps for the actress, 24, tell PEOPLE. "It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.”

Of course! Why would a marginally talented actress who's about a hair's breadth away from co-starring on a CBS sitcom pass up being the most recognizable face in one of the biggest action franchises on the entire planet? That's crazy talk! She's got Jonah Hex coming up which is obviously going to keep her in the public consciousness, right? Um, no. I get what she's doing, trying to save face and make it look like she hasn't been a shrew since Transformers first got off the ground. It's all spin, and not particularly convincing spin at that.

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Thor Hip Checks Spider-Man into the Boards

With filming on Spider-Man 4 delayed for an indefinite amount of time due to scripting issues, Paramount and Marvel have decided to push the release date of Thor up two weeks, usurping the coveted May 6, 2011 date from Sony's wallcrawler. That weekend is of particular importance since it marks the beginning of the summer movie season. Since studios are notoriously cowardly folks, Disney immediately slid Pirates of the Caribbean 4 into Thor's old date of May 20, 2011, hoping to capitalize on the lack of competition that weekend.

Sony has stated that it won't be giving up on the May 6th date, and if Spidey does managed to be completed in time it likely will revert back to that original date, which will then cause Thor to be pushed back again.

It's like a really silly game of musical chairs. I think Marvel, which has obvious interests in both films, is quietly positioning Thor to be their new tentpole anyway, what with Spider-Man struggling creatively. Plus, that franchise is already 3 movies deep, normally around the time when the box office starts to drop off.

You can read more on the recent Spidey/Thor developments thanks to Variety's coverage.

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