JUNE 2010
June 29, 2010 - Takers Screening Tickets Giveaway - Will Packer and Rain Forest Films will be giving away tickets to a special screening of Takers at the Essence Music Festival happening in New Orleans July 2-4, 2010. If you want to win you'll need a Twitter account and be able to re-tweet Mr. Packers post about the tickets. Idris Elba, Michael Ealy and T.I. will be hosting the screening. Click on Rain Forest Films below to go to Twitter to be able to re-tweet for a chance to win.
Will Power Packer - Twitter - (willpowerpacker) I'm giving away a pair of tickets to 2 followers each day this week for the Private Screening of TAKERS at the Essence Music Fest.
Rain Forest Films - To win tix to the private screening at Essence Fest RT the following:
Rain Forest Films - I want to win tix to the private screening at Essence hosted by TI, Idris & Mike Ealy! TAKERS in theaters Aug. 27th! (RT 2 win) Essence Music Festival
June 28, 2010 - The Cold Website - Hayden is listed on IMDb and on Worldview Entertainment's Facebook and Twitter as starring in the upcoming movie The Cold. Worldview Entertainment has a new production site with a little information about The Cold. The film which is in development lists the cast "to be determined" with Daniel Calparsoro as director.
Worldview Entertainment - The Cold
June 28, 2010 - Takers Movie on MySpace - Check out the new MySpace page for Takers.
June 27, 2010 - Takers Update Television Appearances - T.I., one of the cast of Takers, is scheduled to be on the Chelsea Lately Show on E!, June 28, Monday night at 10:00 p.m. Check your local listings. He may just be promoting his new album but hopefully we'll get another look at Takers.
June 27, 2010 - Takers First Look on BET Awards - The BET Awards airs live tonight at 7:00 p.m. CT/ 8:00 p.m. ET. T.I. will be performing "Yeah Ya Know" and will introduce a "first look" at the movie Takers. The pre-show is on right now so tune into the BET Channel to catch a clip of Takers starring Hayden, T.I., Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana. (Thanks to Marcy for the info.)
TakersMovie - Twitter - TUNE IN to see T.I. (@Tip) perform and introduce a first look at @TakersMovie this Sunday, June 27th at 8pm at the 2010 Bet Awards #Takers
June 25, 2010 - Vanishing on 7th Street and Genesis Code News in Brief
Leguizamo a 'Klass' act in one-man show
Q: Any other future projects?
A: I'm in this movie called "Vanishing on 7th Street" [due out later this year], with Thandie Newton and Hayden Christensen and I think it's going to be pretty incredible. Brad Anderson directed it and he did "The Machinist," which was wild. This is another really weird, incredible and intellectual horror film. Source
"Pretty Boy" Floyd for Myriad Pictures
Kevin Bernhardt wrote the screenplay based on the notorious gangster and bank robber, whose full name was Charles Arthur Floyd.
Repped by Anonymous Content, Bernhardt wrote the screenplays for "Peaceful Warrior" and "The Immortals." He also has the original thriller "The Genesis Code" set up at Myriad with Hayden Christensen starring. Source
June 24, 2010 - Takers Poster Update - Larger poster has been added. Click on poster from June 23 news for new larger image.
June 24, 2010 - Takers "Blazin Amazin" at ABFF - Takers seems to have been a hit with the crowd at the American Black Film Festival. Producer Will Pack, actor Idris Elba and screenwriter Gabriel Casseus were on hand to open the film festival with a special screening of Takers courtesy of Screen Gems and Sony Pictures. The film stars Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Tip T.I. Harris, Hayden Christensen, Zoe Saldana, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown and Jay Hernandez.
Here are some tweets from last night's film festival attendees:
@ShaylaCowan - ABFF opened last night with a screening of TAKERS !! All I will say is it's def worth the wait !! 2 thumbs up !! @RainforestFilms
xoxo_meli - Just saw "Takers" at the American Black Film Festival Best movie of the year. No joke.
O_da_supastarr - Omg Takers was amazing! Chris Brown did okay...but Idris and Michael Ealey were freaking amazing and TI smashed!
TheLadiesRoomTV - #ABFF ROCKS! Takers screening was BLAZIN AMAZIN!!!!!
MarlonGreen - @ReaganGomez The abff is getting off to a great start. TAKERS was excellent.
ClearView_DM - Just saw Takers w/ Idris Elba, T.I., Chris Brown and an allstar cast. The movie was screened @ABFF. A must see on August 27, 2010. Hotfiya!
JZthefilmmaker - Hey GM @SheriRiley. Wish you could have been here w/ us. The audience responded well at the Takers screening! #ABFF started off great.
June 23, 2010 - New Takers Poster Featuring Hayden Christensen - Here's the new Takers poster featuring Hayden, T.I. Tip Harris, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez. Really cool poster. Waiting for news about the American Black Film Festival screening of Takers in Miami which is taking place right now. Takers new release date is August 27, 2010.
[EDIT: Poster Update - Larger poster has been added. Click below for extra large poster.]
June 23, 2010 - Hayden Christensen to Star in The Cold - According to Worldview Entertainment's Facebook, Hayden will star in the upcoming project from the producers of the Oscar nominated "Frozen River". The story is a mix of drama and horror, blending Native American folklore and campfire stories and the personal drama surrounding seven men on their annual hunting trip. (Thanks to JumpingforJoy for posting.)
Find complete details about the movie below in June 12 news.
Synopsis - A group of friends head into the wilderness for their annual hunting trip only to confront their war torn past and a devilish secret.
Worldview Entertainment - Hayden Christensen to star in Worldview's horror thriller, "The Cold."
June 22, 2010 - Vanishing on 7th Street on the Calendar in Argentina - Distribution Company of Argentina is showing a listing for Hayden's upcoming Vanishing on 7th Street for December 16, 2010. Recently Ultracine of Argentina added Vanishing to it's calendar for December 16, 2010 in addition to the earlier listing for December 2, 2010.
June 21, 2010 - New Takers Poster and Online Game - Hayden co-stars in Takers as part of a heist crew who takes bank robbery to the next level, not to mention they aren't so bad to look at when they don't have ski masks over their heads. The American Black Film Festival in Miami will host a gala screening of Takers this Wednesday so stay tuned. Until then, there's a brand new poster (pictured below) with a nice picture of Hayden.
If you want to play "cops and robbers" you can visit the Official Takers website for two new online games. One is called "The Take" and the other is "The Escape". Be careful and don't shoot Hayden's character when he pops up. The games also include scenes from the movie and maybe some that will have you wondering if everyone survives or who is taken hostage.
June 20, 2010 - Latest Takers Screencaps - Screen caps of Hayden from the latest promo video for Takers to be released August 27, 2010.
Click for Larger Image
June 20, 2010 - Happy Father's Day - I hope you all have a wonderful Father's Day today surrounded by family and friends and all good things.
June 19, 2010 - New Takers Preview Clip with Hayden - You can view a new Takers preview on Takers Movie - Facebook The new clip also announces the new release date which has been updated on the official movie pages and social networking sites. Takers will be in theaters August 27, 2010. Watch close for another glimpse of Hayden at the piano in this clip.
June 17, 2010 - New Release Date for Takers - An email update today from Sony to announce T.I.'s music video "Yeah Ya Know" also showed a new release date for Takers as August 27, 2010. These things happen. Hayden stars in the very anticipated Takers with a popular cast including Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker and T.I. Tip Harris. The heist film about a group of sophisticated bank robbers premieres next week (June 23rd) at the American Black Film Festival.
You can find the HD music video HERE
June 14, 2010 - Takers Movie Premiere - According to PlanetChrisBrown.com the movie premiere for Takers will be August 4, 2010 in Los Angeles. Takers staring Hayden Christensen, Chris Brown, Michael Ealy, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, T.I. Tip Harris and Zoe Saldana will be in theaters August 20, 2010. (Thanks Marcy at the SA forum.) Source
June 15, 2010 - Takers First in Box Office Futures Trading - Federal regulators have approved an investment plan to allow the trading of box-office futures based on how films perform when opening in theaters. Hayden's upcoming film Takers would be the first movie contracted for investment. The Veriana proposed contract and investment plan will first need the approval of the US Congress for trading on Takers to begin.
L.A. Times - Box-office Futures Trading"
"The idea of betting on future box-office receipts has faced vociferous opposition from the movie industry, led by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which has said the contracts would be vulnerable to manipulation and could even hurt how movies perform in theaters."
...."Veriana hoped to launch the first contract this summer. In its application to the commission, Veriana proposed a contract for "Takers," a thriller from Sony Pictures set to be released Aug. 20 starring Zoe Saldana and Hayden Christensen. A contract on the Trend Exchange would begin trading four weeks before opening day and would close out after the opening weekend based on the box-office returns reported by Rentrak."
June 14, 2010 - ABFF Movie Tickets for Takers - If you're in the Miami area, the ticket information for the Black American Film Festival and 9:00 p.m. Screening 2 of Takers and other films is now posted on the film festival website for the ABFF, June 23. (Thanks Sophie)
Takers opens the film festival and is produced by Will Packer, Tip "T.I." Harris and Jason Geter, and directed by John Luessenhop, and stars Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, and T.I. with Chris Brown & Hayden Christensen.
Go to the main page and click Film Festival Box Office where you'll find information on festival passes and then in the menu you'll see "Movie Tickets". Please note that some events require a festival pass and if you plan to attend and have any questions I would suggest using the contact information on the festival site.
TicketMasters - 2010 Abff Opening Night Takers (Encore Screening)
UPDATED Festival Schedule
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
11:00 am - 8:00 pm Festival Registration Center
Ritz Carlton/Salon 2 Pass pick-up, Information Desk and Box Office.
Beverages courtesy of Gold Peak Tea.
4:45 pm - 5:45 pm Cocktail Hour
Segafredo Cafe courtesy of Grey Goose
Exclusively for festival passholders
5:00 pm - 5:30 pm Pre-Seating for Opening Night Film
Colony Theater Sponsors and Prestige passholders only
5:15 pm - 5:45 pm Red Carpet Arrivals
Colony Theater
6:00 pm - 8:15 pm Welcome Remarks & Opening Night Film: TAKERS (screening 1)
Colony Theater courtesy of Screen Gems & Rainforest Films
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm Opening Night Film: TAKERS (screening 2)
Colony Theatre courtesy of Screen Gems & Rainforest Films
10:30 pm - 3:30 am Opening Night Party
Klutch sponsored by BET Networks
June 12, 2010 - A New Project "The Cold" for Hayden? - When Hayden was in Brazil he mentioned that he had a couple of films he was developing, one of which would be going into production soon. Then he began talking about Shadow Chaser (aka Genesis Code) being directed by David Ellis which we now know will start filming in the fall in Spain. So what was the other film he talked about? It was a mystery but we now have a possible answer that we'll have to keep an eye on. (Thanks to the girls at the IMDb forums for the heads up.)
IMDb has added another project to Hayden's database. The movie is called "The Cold" being produced by Iron Circle Pictures where you can find a more detailed synopsis. Directed by Daniel Calparsoro the film also involves the Native American legends of the Wendigo.
Synopsis - Seven friends head off into the wilderness to begin their annual hunting trip. As a snow storm gathers the big white out begins. Snowed in, cold and isolated, the men begin to question their friendship and loyalties. Soon they are terrorized by an unseen beast, what is stalking them? Is it the cold, starvation or has The Wendigo come to hunt them down?
June 11, 2010 - American Black Film Festival Opens with Takers - As posted earlier this week, Takers is officially on the schedule to open the festival in Miami on June 23. Check out the official festival page HERE.
The 14th Annual American Black Film Festival Announces It's Festival Line-Up And Screening of Takers As Opening Night Selections (READ MORE....)
New York, NY - June 10, 2010 - The 14th Annual American Black Film Festival, taking place in Miami, June 23rd - 26th, today announced its festival film slate with, Takers (Screen Gems) as the opening night film selection. Produced by Will Packer, Tip "T.I." Harris and Jason Geter, and Directed by John Luessenhop, Takers stars Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, and T.I. with Chris Brown & Hayden Christensen.
June 11, 2010 - Genesis Code Filming Set - Last we heard Genesis Code was in line behind two other David R. Ellis' directed films waiting to go into production. (Read June 6, 2010 news item further down this page.) How fast things change. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Hayden's next movie The Genesis Code will begin filming this fall in Spain. The deal put together by Myriad's CEO Kirk D'Amico was accomplished "because the country's subsidies and tax credits translated into about 30 percent of the movie's budget."
The Genesis Code stars Hayden Christensen in a thriller about a former national security expert who finds himself unraveling an international conspiracy involving the Catholic Church while investigating the gruesome deaths of his only sister and her son. The story takes place in numerous international cities as well as the US but it looks like Spain will be filling in for most or all of them. Hayden's Forest Park Pictures with Producer Tove Christensen are also involved in the production. No other casting has yet been announced.
Indie film mantra: Travel the world, save money
In the world of independent film financing, it's all about location, location, location. Hayden Christensen's new thriller, "The Genesis Code," is scheduled to begin filming in the fall in Spain, in large part because the country's subsidies and tax credits translated into about 30 percent of the movie's budget.
"Location is a huge factor," says Myriad Films CEO Kirk D'Amico, who put together the deal for "The Genesis Code." "Most countries see film as a clean, green industry. You come in, you make the movie, your film crew may have a drink after work but they're not going to mess up your environment, and they spend money. That's one reason these incentives have been put in place. Countries want to attract the kind of spending that comes with a film production."
Location-based incentives, yoked with private-equity investors, have become increasingly important in the past couple of years. Bank investments have "constricted" from an average 40 percent per project to 10 or 15 percent, D'Amico says. "We shouldn't call ourselves Myriad," he jokes. "We should call ourselves the Cobbler Co. because we make these movies by cobbling together all these very disparate elements to put together a financing package."
June 11, 2010 - Pictures from 2010 CFDA Awards More cool style from the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards with Hayden dressed in Richard Chai.
June 11, 2010 - VIDEO: Hayden on His Way to 2010 CFDA After Party - Hayden stops to take pictures with fans on his way into the 2010 CFDA after party.
June 10, 2010 - Hayden stops for Pizza before CFDA Awards - Women's Wear Daily reported that food wasn't served until the last award was given at the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards and that was around 10:00 p.m. So what's a hungry guy to do. Hayden stopped for the best New York pizza. The link below will take you to the video of Hayden with pizza and stopping to take pictures with fans on his way into the after party. The short segment is at 17:00 on the video counter. (Thanks to Chelsea, Ashla and others who contacted me about the video and tv appearance.)
June 09, 2010 - Hayden's Special Date - Hayden and his grandmother had a special night out for the 2010 CFDA Awards and it hasn't gone unnoticed by fans of the event because of it's "aww..." factor. Who can blame them.
Try - A Fashion Blog - "I love that these two guys (Ed Westwick, Hayden Christensen) went out to support the fashion industry at the cfda's on tuesday night. plus they are both so adorable :) [hayden christensen with his grandma (awww).]
June 09, 2010 - News in Brief - Here are a couple of news items from around the net.
Entertainment Weekly - Bank robbers have never looked this hot - "The new trailer for Takers makes it look like a younger, grittier Ocean's Eleven with the teensiest touch of Point Break. A group of bank robbers - led by the impeccably-dressed Idris Elba and including the bat-wielding duo Hayden Christensen and Paul Walker, the jump-y Chris Brown, and the lovestruck Michael Ealy - take on a big score with Tip "T.I." Harris, even though they're not sure if they can trust him. The cops (Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez) may finally catch 'em. Any guesses on who won't make it out of this film alive?"
2010 CFDA Awards - "What I always love about both the Met Ball and the CFDA awards is the fact that designers attend with their muses dresses in their designs. I thought Hayden Christensen in Richard Chai was absolutely genius, they both look so not-bothered. Pretty relaxed as well looked Altuzarra and Vanessa Traina, in a custom-made dress from the SS10 collection turned black for the occasion."
June 09, 2010 - The Tomatometer Says..... - Rotten Tomatoes has Takers with an 85% tomatometer rating at present. Seven people have weighed in on rating the film with more than one giving it 100%. One Rotten Tomatoes member wrote a brief review after seeing a screening back in January. (Thanks to Sophie for the heads up.)
"I saw a free screening of this movie. to put it simply this is an updated awesome action packed version of "Heat" revamped with an all star cast who exceeded expectations. I would definitely recommend this movie to people who are constantly disappointed with action movies. it starts out fast and stays that way to the very end."
June 09, 2010 - New Takers Still with Hayden plus Miami Screening - Hayden is pictured below as AJ in the movie Takers which will be in Theaters August 20. The American Black Film Festival will host a gala screening of Takers in Miami on the festival's opening night June 23, 2010. Idris Elba who also stars in Takers is the festival's ambassador. Picture Source
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23
5:15 pm - 5:45 pm Red Carpet Arrivals
Colony Theater (Sponsors & VIPs 5:15 pm - 5:30 pm)
4:45 pm - 5:45 pm Cocktail Hour
Segafredo Cafe Bar courtesy of Grey Goose
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Opening Night Film: TAKERS Screening 1
Colony Theater courtesy of Rainforest Films & Screen Gems
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm Opening Night Film: TAKERS Screening 2
Colony Theatre courtesy of Rainforest Films & Screen Gems
10:30 pm - 3:30 am Opening Night Party
Klutch sponsored by BET Networks
June 08, 2010 - Takers Theatrical Trailer # 2 - T.I.'s "Yeah Ya Know" and a few more scenes are what's new in this second trailer and of course Hayden is still flying through the air, gun blazing. Always fun to watch. [Um...they better not cut that from the film.]
June 08, 2010 - Hayden and Guest Attends 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards - Hayden's grandmother was also a guest at the event held in Lincoln Center last night in NYC attended by leading designers and celebrities.
New York Observer - Hayden Christensen Brought His Grandmother to the CFDAs
By Irina Aleksander
June 8, 2010 | 4:30 p.m
"Last night, at the CFDA awards, the Daily Transom found itself seated next to designer Richard Chai and his guest, actor Hayden Christensen. "This is quite a night out for me," Mr. Christensen told Mr. Chai when they first sat down and the awards hadn't started yet.
The duo arrived with an elderly woman who was escorted to sit elsewhere. It was unclear who she was.
Mr. Chai was announced as the winner of the Swarovski award for menswear designer, presented to him by actor Ed Westwick and TV personality Alexa Chung. When his name was called, Mr. Chai just said, "Wow," and Mr. Christensen congratulated him by slapping his back. When the designer got up to the stage, he said it again: "Wow." Among the many people he thanked was Mr. Christensen, for being his date.
When the awards were over, Mr. Christensen turned to Mr. Chai and said, "Hold on, I have to go get my grandmother." "
June 08, 2010 - Hayden at the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards - Hayden is pictured below at the annual awards for the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was the guest of designer Richard Chai who was nominated for an award for emerging talent and won in the category of Menswear. Iman who appeared with Hayden in the RED PSA for The Lazarus Effect was honored with the Fashion Icon Award.
June 07, 2010 - Hayden at 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards
June 07, 2010 - 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards - Hayden just arrived at this year's CFDA Fashion Awards. The awards for The Council of Fashion Designers of America and presented by Swarovski, are taking place tonight at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, NYC.
Joe Zee - The creative director of Elle Magazine, tweeted just a little while ago, -- "Walked in with a very cool Hayden Christensen and ran into a fairytale dressed Dakota Fanning."
Starworks Group - "Hayden Christensen looking dashing as always just arrived with Swarovski Menswear nominee Richard Chai. -Shaz"
June 06, 2010 - Genesis Code Updates - The good news about Genesis Code is that David R. Ellis says there is a script. That makes Hayden's newest project one step closer to going into production. The other news, unfortunately, is that filmmaker David R. Ellis has two other movies scheduled before he gets to direct Hayden in that movie about a former national security agent investigating the death of his sister and her son. Ellis seems excited about "the great script" for Genesis Code and is enthusiastic about getting to work with the great producers and actors in his upcoming movies.
David R. Ellis on War Monkeys, Genesis Code and Bad Luck"
"I also have a great script called Genesis Code with Hayden Christensen and another titled Bad Luck with Milla Jovovich. And there's several others."
"Genesis Code", written by Kevin Bernhardt, tells of a former national security expert (Christensen) who, while investigating the murder of his only sister and her young son, discovers that a religious sect called The Shadow of the Cross may be involved. With the help of his sister's friend Ana, they follow the clues to a clinic in the mountains of Italy, where a terrifying secret experiment has been conducted - successfully. The results are so threatening to the foundation of the Church that they will do anything to keep it from being revealed."
Ellis says he's having the time of his life at the moment. "I am blessed to have great projects with great producers and actors".
June 03, 2010 - K-OS Music Vid Update - Hayden will appear in K-OS' upcoming Zambony video. Here's another picture via K-OS' Twitter. (thanks to Ashla and Sweetlove for the heads up.)
June 03, 2010 - Six HQ Screen Caps from Takers Video - Click the links below for large pics from the Takers music video.
Screen Cap 05
Screen Cap 09
Screen Cap 30
Screen Cap 31
Screen Cap 17
Screen Cap 28
June 03, 2010 - New Takers Posters and Media - The new Latin American Takers poster also seems to be the graphic used in Sony Pictures Mexico's flash header for Takers. You can view all by clicking the links below.
I'd also like to thank everyone, Sophie, Ashla, and Paul for all the emails and infomation sent to me yesterday. I had a family gathering and you all really helped me to catch up. Thank you.
June 03, 2010 - Vanishing on 7th Street at Toronto International Film Festival - Thanks to Paul for sending information about Hayden's latest movie Vanishing on 7th Street. The film is expected to premiere at TIFF in September. Watch here for more details as they become available.
Pauldo35 - @haydenfannews I just got news that vanishing on 7th is going to premier at the toranto film festival in september.
June 03, 2010 - T.I.'s Takers Music Video - This music video has all the cast at their coolest including Hayden as we've never seen him before. Watch for piano Hayden, tattoo Hayden and smooth criminal Hayden in this nice and long video.
June 03, 2010 - Mo'Nique Show Video - This video is from The Mo'Nique Show with guests T.I., Will Power and Michael Ealy dated June 1, 2010. Takers clips which feature Hayden are at 32:25 on the video counter.
June 01, 2010 - Takers Stars T.I., Michael Ealy on The Mo'Nique Show Tonight - Possible Takers video alert - Also appearing is Will 'Power' Packer on Mo'Nique at 11:00 p.m./ 10:00 p.m. tonight Tuesday June 01. Source: The Mo'Nique Show and and TakersMovie Twitter
Takers on Facebook - Mo'Nique Announcement and New Image
