You couldn’t ask for a more obvious set-up for a sequel than the end of "Kick-Ass." Yet director Matthew Vaughn -- who cannily set out to make a $50-million commercial hit -- won’t count his chickens until the movie opens on 3,000 screens April 16. Lionsgate wants to talk sequel -- they have first-look rights. But Vaughn, who has plenty of ideas for how to go about reforming his pint-size killer Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) -- think "Terminator 2," with Schwarzenegger’s cyborg assassin shooting folks in the knees -- isn’t ready to sit down and make a deal.
Why? Remember the guy’s a producer-turned-director. If your movie opens big, you have more leverage.
Vaughn’s entertaining comic-book action spoof -- which Lionsgate acquired after footage played well at Comic-Con -- will do great box office. Nic Cage, Chloe Moretz, Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Platz and a surprisingly comedic Mark Strong all carry the movie. But while the SXSW male demo and fanboys love it, critics will be mixed. Lionsgate wants to encourage women to see the film -- they say that it tests well for them -- but there’s a difference between showing someone a movie and getting them to show up.
