The final presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas was a short one, with Lionsgate previewing a handful of movies before a scheduled full screening of "Now You See Me 2,” which ended up being halted because of a potential security threat.
The Thursday program opened with longtime Lionsgate star and filmmaker Tyler Perry touting his film "Boo! A Madea Halloween," which opens Oct. 21. The movie actually began as a joke in the Chris Rock film "Top Five," but Lionsgate executives wanted Perry to make it a reality. He resisted at first until coming up with a story he described as "so funny I can't even talk about it without laughing."
Lionsgate’s Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger then showcased footage from some of the studio's upcoming releases, beginning with the thriller "Nerve" (Sept. 16), starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco.
Gina Rodriguez, who was being honored later that night with a CinemaCon Female Star of Tomorrow, took the stage to talk about "Deepwater Horizon" (Sept. 30), the drama based on the 2010 offshore drilling rig disaster that killed 11 crew members and led to the largest-ever oil spill in U.S. waters. "This movie was beyond an honor," Rodriguez said. "I pray that the families of the people on the oil rig, that audiences can walk away a bit stronger from this film."
Director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg then appeared in a video message from the set of "Patriots Day" (Jan. 13, 2017), a crime drama about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. "Our film honors those courageous men and women," Wahlberg said in the introduction to the trailer. "We're honored to be telling the story."
Actress Emma Stone appeared in another video message to promote director Damien Chazelle’s musical romance "La La Land" (Dec. 2), in which she stars with Ryan Gosling. "Damien made a love letter to L.A., and it truly shows his passion for the city," Stone said. The trailer showcased plenty of iconic Los Angeles locations, as well as some singing and dancing from the movie's stars.
Star Keanu Reeves showed up in person to introduce new footage from his sequel "John Wick Chapter Two," which opens Feb. 10, 2017. "The underworld expands and a more sinister character from John's past pulls him back out of retirement," he explained. The movie brings John to Rome, where he's joined by new characters played by Ruby Rose, Common and Laurence Fishburne. The footage showcased a wider scope than the original film, along with plenty of the shooting and hand-to-hand combat that made it a success. "Whoever comes, I'll kill them. I'll kill them all," John promises.
Before the (eventually aborted) screening of "Now You See Me 2" (June 10), magician and producer David Copperfield took the stage to perform a quick illusion with an audience member and reveal that one of his stage acts was the inspiration for the original film. "Magic is not just card tricks and coin tricks," he said.
Stars Dave Franco and Jesse Eisenberg and director Jon M. Chu joined Copperfield to introduce the film. "Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg and David Copperfield, those are the storytellers I wanted to be like," Chu said.
Unfortunately audiences would have to wait a little longer to see the entire film, as the screening was stopped after about 10 minutes and the venue evacuated because security had discovered a suspicious package. Although the item was determined not to be a threat, by then it was too late to continue the screening.