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High prices and few choices don't help: Roger Ebert

(NEWSER) - News that movie theaters had lackluster revenue in 2011 didn’t surprise Roger Ebert. He ticks off a list of the reasons why at his blog , including the lack of an Avatar-like blockbuster and usual suspects like too-high prices for tickets and refreshments. But also:

• Distractions: Loud talkers and people using their cell phones (with their bright screens) to text are getting out of hand.

Just don't call it a remake...

(NEWSER) - Say hello to my little friend ... again. Sort of. Universal Pictures is preparing to make (but not remake) a third Scarface, which it says will not be a rehashing of or sequel to either the 1932 or 1983 films, but a new version, reports Deadline . It'll share the same premise (outsider busts his way into the criminal underworld in a bid to achieve the, ahem, American dream; violence is involved). No word on ethnicity or geography (Italian/Chicago, Cuban/Miami played big in the first two versions, Deadline reminds us). Former Universal head Marc Shmuger will produce, along with Martin Bregman, who produced the Al Pacino version. More»

He gets the nod for telecast in February

(NEWSER) - The rumor mill proved true this time: Eddie Murphy will host the Oscars in February, reports the Huffington Post . One connection that likely helped, as noted by Deadline : This year's show is being produced by Brett Ratner, who directed the soon-to-open movie Tower Heist, starring Murphy and Ben Stiller. Murphy also reportedly is a huge fan of the Oscars and movies in general, and he's got plenty of experience handling a live audience from his stand-up and SNL days. Click to read one Salon blogger's take on why this is a great pick. (Last year's co-host, James Franco, didn't go over so well with critics .) More»

We're more interested in next year's films than current ones: Darren Franich

(NEWSER) - Feeling a little underwhelmed by the summer movie season? Darren Franich at Entertainment Weekly has a theory. "It’s not that the movies are necessarily worse than they were 10 years ago," he writes. "It’s just that very few of the movies were even half as interesting as the chatter that led up to their release." And it speaks to a larger point: In an age of constant leaks about "pre-release minutiae" and way-early trailers, the culture of movie-watching has changed, he argues. More»

Bad guys in 'Red Dawn' are now from North Korea

(NEWSER) - Here's a sign of how much Hollywood is salivating over the potential money to be made in China: MGM is digitally editing the Chinese bad guys in an upcoming movie to make them look like they're from North Korea instead, reports the Los Angeles Times . The move came not because China raised objections but because distributors got worried Beijing might take offense and shut the film out of its lucrative market. More»