‘Avatar’ Is The Most Pirated Movie Of All Time

by Eriq Gardner, Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Avatar, the 20th Century Fox blockbuster directed by James Cameron, is the most pirated film in Hollywood history, according to a study released by TorrentFreak. The film has been downloaded some 21 million times since it was released in 2009.

Famously, Cameron once touted 3D filmmaking as the entertainment industry’s best hope for combating piracy. Unfortunately, the 3D spectacle doesn’t seem to have helped his film escape the wrath of torrent sites, but the film has raked in nearly $2.8 billion in wordwide theatrical gross nonetheless.

Avatar’s 21 million downloads beat out 19 million downloads apiece for The Dark Knight and Transformers.

All of the films on the TorrentFreak’s all-time list of “most pirated movies” did quite well at the box office. Only Kick-Ass failed to crack the $100 million mark, although it came close at $96 million.

Of course, theatrical gross is merely part of the story. Some studio executives believe that online piracy does its most damage on ancillary income like DVDs and TV sales.

Webisode success leads to a big-screen Mortal Kombat reboot

By Krystal Clark, Source: Blastr.com

Warner Bros. is ready to produce the Mortal Kombat we’ve always wanted. The studio has given Mortal Kombat: Legacy’s Kevin Tancharoen the thumbs-up to direct a big-screen reboot. (In creepy MK announcer voice: Excellent!)

Who do we have to thank for Warner Bros.’ renewed interest in Mortal Kombat? It’s a mix of Kevin Tancharoen and the obsessive fans who tuned in each week to his webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Tancharoen’s vision of a less campy and more gritty MK world pleased viewers who were yearning for a darker adaptation. In other words, there was blood! Lots and lots of blood.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy raked in 15 million viewers after it debuted in April, which was music to the studio’s ears. So they bit the bullet and decided to reinvest in the ’90s property. The good news is Tancharoen will return for the reboot; the bad news is none of the actors from the webseries are involved and it will be based on a new story written by Oren Uziel.

The film is currently in development, so it’s too early to tell if any of the actors would even be open to reprising their roles. But if they do decide to tap into Legacy’s roster, Michael Jai White should be the first to return. He is a perfect Jax!

Are you excited to see Mortal Kombat in theaters again? Who would you like to return?

Jack Kirby Estate Vows to Appeal Loss in Marvel Copyright Lawsuit

by Matthew Belloni, Source The Hollywood Reporter

Marc Toberoff, the lawyer suing Marvel on behalf of the estate of comic book legend Jack Kirby, is vowing to appeal a U.S. District Court ruling Wenesday tossing major copyright claims against the studio.

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and intend to appeal this matter to the Second Circuit,” Toberoff tells us via email. ” Sometimes you have to lose in order to win.”

Warner Bros. to Pursue ‘Green Lantern’ Sequel

by Pamela McClintock, for the Hollywood Reporter

Warner Bros. is already planning a sequel to Ryan Reynolds’ superhero pic Green Lantern, despite the film’s soft performance at the box office.

Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is “somewhat disappointed” with Green Lantern’s result.

Over the weekend, Green Lantern fell a steep 66% at the domestic box office, grossing $18.4 million for a cume of $89.3 million. That’s a big decline.

Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said the movie is settling in, pointing out that fanboy pics often see a significant drop-off in their second weekends.

Read the full story here