Wackness Director Jonathan Levine Keeping Busy

Jonathan Levine, whose upcoming comedy-drama “The Wackness” features an infamous kiss between Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen, has set up two new projects.

He will write and direct “Positive,” a romantic thriller set on Martha’s Vineyard. He’s also penning the screenplay for “Echelon Vendetta,” an espionage thriller based on David Stone’s novel; the project has been set up at Sony.

“Positive” centers on a twentysomething who takes a trip to visit his fiancee’s family off the coast of Massachusetts only to be seduced by her younger sister. The indie film is aiming for a mid-2009 start date.

“Vendetta” centers on a “cleaner,” a CIA operative in charge of keeping dirty laundry from being aired in public, who after the death of a friend begins to investigate the mysterious deaths of several agents.

Levine has concentrated on indie projects, but said he’d like to strike a balance between studio and indie gigs. “I want to have a lot of the creative freedom that comes from (indie films), but I also don’t want to be broke,” he joked.

“Wackness,” which Sony Pictures Classics opens this weekend, examines a teenager coming of age in New York circa 1994. It scored audience awards at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and at the recent Los Angeles Film Festival. [via Hollywood Reporter]

Iron Man Soars Above Competition at North American Box Office

Iron Man battered the competition for the second consecutive weekend as an estimated $50.5m haul through Paramount Pictures raised the running total to $177.1m.The result consolidated the Marvel Studios adaptation as the season’s first bona fide blockbuster and relegated new openers Speed Racer from Warner Bros and What Happens In Vegas from Fox to second and third, respectively.

Box office was up 21% against the same weekend last year as the top 12 films combined for $128m. Year-on-year 2008 still trails 2007 by some 2.5% at this stage in the game.

Speed Racer disappointed on $20.2m. The family film was adapted from the 1960s Japanese anime television series by Andy and Larry Wachowski in their first outing as directors since The Matrix Revolutions opened in 2003.

Emile Hirsch stars as a talented racing driver in a high profile cast alongside Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox.

Opening in third place on $20m was the romantic comedy What Happens In Vegas with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. By the time actual results are confirmed on Monday, What Happens In Vegas and Speed Racer may switch places. Read the rest of this entry