Category: Film News

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‘Shang-Chi’: Michelle Yeoh Confirms ‘Police Story 3’ Co-Star Yuen Wah Has Role

Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings will feature some established martial artists such as Tony Leung as Wenwu, Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan, and Andy Le as Death Dealer. There is another name to add to the list, legendary actor Yuen Wah likely best known from Kung Fu Hustle.

The Hong Kong actor got his start in a similar way to Jackie Chan, working on Bruce Lee movies. Those credits include Fist of Fury, Enter The Dragon, Way of The Dragon, and Game of Death.

There were signs the actor might be appearing in Shang-Chi. Director Destin Daniel Cretton had posted an image on Instagram with Yuen Wah earlier this month from 2020 in Australia, but didn’t say if he would be in the film or not.

Michelle Yeoh has confirmed that her Supercop aka Police Story 3 co-star is indeed in the film after posting a neat set photo with him in costume (see below).

Shang-Chi will hit theaters exclusively on September 3.

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Joining Simu Liu in the Marvel cast includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, and experience it in theaters on September 3, 2021.

SOURCE: MICHELLE YEOH

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‘Hypnotic’: Robert Rodriguez Calls Next Film Starring Ben Affleck “A Hitchcock Thriller On Steroids” & Started Writing It In 2002

After tackling effects heavy projects like James Cameron’s Alita: Battle Angel and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars series The Mandalorian/The Book of Boba Fett, director Robert Rodriguez is set to direct Ben Affleck (The Accountant, The Town) and Alice Braga (Predators, Queen of The South, City of God) in a new crime thriller called Hypnotic.

A detective (Affleck) becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program while investigating a string of high-end crimes.

Speaking with Collider, Robert Rodriguez has revealed that filming on Hypnotic begins in six weeks (in Austin, Texas) and has been working on the project for nearly 20 years, starting the script back in 2002. Also, comparing to the thriller to an amped-up version of a Hitchcock film, which is certainly a way to get naysayers on board to the idea of Rodriguez making something less cartoony.

“It’s like a Hitchcock thriller on steroids. That’s all I can say. As soon as you see the first trailer, you’ll go ‘I got it. I’m there.’ It’s that kind of a movie. A lot of twists, a lot of turns. Very exciting. It’s a not everything you see is real-type movie and it’s got a great cast. It’ll be very energetic. It’s one of my favorite stories. I started writing it back in 2002. So it’s one of the ones I’ve had the longest that I’ve been wanting to do. I’m very excited that we finally might be making it.”

It’ll be interesting to see him tackle something a little more grounded and mature, while an action movie, Desperado is oddly enough one of his less silly/grounded pictures. He sort of went overboard with kiddie flicks, CGI experiments, and wacky exploitation projects over the last couple of decades. So, seeing Rodriguez make something more for adult viewers and not teenage boys or kids will be fun to see come together.

He’s already wrapped on The Book of Boba Fett, his Star Wars spinoff series that will debut on Disney+ in December. We’re hearing there is a good shot that Rodriguez is returning to direct an episode of The Mandalorian for Season 3 as well.

Hypnotic is expected to see the filmmaker reunite with veteran stunt coordinator Jeff Dashnaw, who has a wave of action film credits under his belt like Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Sin City, Planet Terror, Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Predators, A Good Day To Die Hard, Machete Kills, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, The Magnificent Seven, and The Equalizer 2.

At one point, Rodriguez was hired by 20th Century Studios (prior to the merger) to remake John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, but remains to be seen if that will ever happen. Interestingly enough, The Book of Boba Fett features work from Escape From New York cinematographer Dean Cundey, who worked with Carpenter on a wave of his films such as Big Trouble In Little China, The Thing, The Fog, and Halloween.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

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‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs Confirmed For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’

Director Sam Raimi has returned to the world of Marvel Comics, after tackling the original Spider-Man trilogy, with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

We’ve learned of yet another Spidey connection to the Marvel Studios sequel.

The Ronin has been able to confirm that seasoned visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs is working on Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. The name might sound familiar since he worked on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Batman Begins, Terminator Genisys, and The Matrix Reloaded.

Here’s an impressive effects heavy scene from Spider-Man: Far From Home that pushes more in the horror realm and might be what they’ll be going for in the Doctor Strange sequel.

The cast of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness far consists of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAams as Dr. Christine Palmer, and newcomer Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez.

We first reported Sam Raimi’s production team would include cinematographer John Mathieson (Logan, X-Men: First Class) and production designer Charles Wood (Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame).

Spider-Man composer Danny Elfman confirmed back in February to Inverse he’d be reuniting with Raimi.

The team of stunt coordinators consists of seasoned vets such as Jo McLaren (Overlord, Annihilation) and Brycen Counts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man & The Wasp) with Liang Yang (Morbius, Wonder Woman 1984) taking the role of fight coordinator.

Filming took place at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England and is the current stage facility being used for Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.

While unconfirmed, we’ve assumed for almost a year that Tom Holland might be showing up in the film as Spider-Man. There is a strong possibility he may have shot scenes already as he recently stated that he’s fulfilled his contractual obligations with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Originally, when Disney and Sony made-up it was reported by trades Holland had two more movies to make with one for Sony (No Way Home) and one for Disney/Marvel (In The Multiverse of Madness?).

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is set for release on March 25, 2022 (baring any further release delays) and Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will be seen next in Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

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Jason Statham Reuniting With Miramax For Thriller ‘The Bee Keeper’ Penned By ‘Equilibrium’s Kurt Wimmer

After working with Miramax on Guy Ritchie’s action flicks Wrath of Man and Five Eyes (will be re-titled at some point), Deadline reports the British action star has signed-on to produce and star in a new thriller, The Bee Keeper.

The spec project hails from screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (Street Kings, Sphere, Law Abiding Citizen), who of recent times has been mostly involved with remakes/reboots with stuff like Total Recall, Point Break, Children of The Corn, and the Pierce Bronsan flick The Thomas Crown Affair.

“The Bee Keeper explores universal themes with an unconventional story that will have fans sitting on the edge of their seats. We’re excited to bring another iconic and irresistible film to audiences around the globe,” said Miramax CEO Bill Block.

Filming is said to begin September 2022 in both Atlanta and London.

A director isn’t named, but Wimmer was behind the wild dystopian sci-fi action film Equilibrium that starred a pre-Batman Christian Bale and created a fantastic oddball martial art using guns.

EQUILIBRIUM – In a futuristic world, a regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Clerick John Preston (Christian Bale) is a top-ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist these rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the one capable of overthrowing it.

It’s actually a really neat action movie and sadly his other directing effort Ultraviolet was just a huge mess potentially leading to him to stick with screenwriting until his new Children of The Corn movie.

Statham is expected to shoot an Expendables spinoff called Christmas Story this fall, according to Sly Stallone. There are also expectations he’ll return for the gestating Hobbs & Shaw sequel and may land a role in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming WWII movie Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Salem’s Lot’: James Wan-Produced Vampire Pic Taps ‘Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman As Lead Of The Stephen King Adaptation

New Line Cinema, producer James Wan, and writer/director Gary Dauberman are teaming up for a new feature film adaption of the Stephen King novel Salem’s Lot, which features vampires in a small town.

Salem’s Lot is a small New England town with white clapboard houses, tree-lined streets, and solid church steeples. A stranger had also come to the Lot, a stranger with a secret as old as evil, a secret that would wreak irreparable harm on those he touched and in turn on those they loved. Author Ben Mears returns to Salem’s Lot to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.

There is finally some casting news to share on the project.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the horror film’s protagonist, Ben Mears, will be played by Lewis Pullman (son of Bill Pullman), who is likely best known from Bad Times At The El Royale and will be seen in Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick.

Filming on Salem’s Lot begins next month in Boston, according to the report.

It’ll be interesting if they’ll end up hiring bigger names or seasoned actors to surround Pullman in the supporting cast.

You might remember that Gary Dauberman previously wrote the scripts for Andy Muschietti’s It and It: Chapter Two for director, another Stephen King adaptation. He’s also wrote stuff such as the Swamp Thing series, The Nun, Annabelle Comes Homes, Annabelle: Creation, and Annabelle.

The Ronin previously confirmed that cinematographer Michael Burgess would be the film’s director of photography. With extensive horror credits such as Annabelle Comes Home, The Nun, The Conjuring 2, The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and James Wan’s upcoming horror pic Malignant.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Star Wars’ & ‘Game Of Thrones’ Actress Natalia Tena Joining ‘John Wick 4’?

John Wick 4 has been filming outside of Berlin, Germany with Keanu Reeves back as the big bad assassin John Wick and director Chad Stahelski assembling quite the cast for the latest action pic. Another actor might have been added to the main lineup.

Take the following with a grain of salt, but British actress Natalia Tena (Black Mirror, Wolfe) has been listed on IMDB (could be bogus) as being part of the cast. However, Tena is such a left-field name to falsely attach to the project and sort of makes sense given her recent projects including a new crime series Wolfe.

Tena has various franchise roles including being part of the Star Wars universe playing Xi’an in the first season of The Mandalorian, Osha in multiple seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and Nymphadora Tonks in four Harry Potter installments.

She wouldn’t be the only Game of Thrones alumni involved with the Wick franchise as Aflie Allen was the little brat that pulled Wick back into the life of hired killers and Ian McShane also had a brief role in the fantasy series.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ended with John Wick surviving the fall from the roof of The Continental hotel after Ian McShane’s Winston shot him. Winston’s motivations weren’t entirely clear as he didn’t seem shocked that Mr. Wick got away and could be giving The High Table a false sense of security. Wick eventually lands at the feet of Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, who had his organization taken away from him by The High Table and convinces John to go to war with him against the mysterious group of criminal syndicate puppet masters. 

The rest of the cast consists of Ian McShane as Winston, Lance Reddick as Charon and Laurence Fishburne back as the Bowery King, Donnie Yen (Mulan, Ip Man, Blade II, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun, Westworld, Sunshine, The Last Samurai) as Watanabe, Clancy Brown (Highlander, The Punisher, Billions), Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2, Doctor Strange), Marko Zaror (Machete Kills, Alita: Battle Angel), Bill Skarsgard (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2), Shamier Anderson, and Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama. 

John Wick 4 is set for release on May 27, 2022.

SOURCE: IMDB

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Donnie Yen Would Consider Reprising ‘Star Wars’ Role If Asked & Having The “Best Experience” Making ‘John Wick 4’

Donnie Yen has been getting a bit of love from Hollywood recently with roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Mulan, and is currently shooting John Wick 4 in Berlin.

While speaking with Looper to promote his new action pic, Raging Fire, the Hong Kong actor was asked if he’d be willing to reprising his Star Wars role of Chirrut Îmwe.

“Well, I would definitely consider it. I had a great time shooting ‘Rogue One,’ and I guess people like my character. It really depends, you don’t know what they’re thinking. I leave it up to Disney to sort it out. We’ll see. I believe in destiny. “

With shows like Star Wars: Andor, a prequel to Rogue One, there are certainly possibilities of Lucasfilm eventually bringing back Chirrut.

He also explained how producer Basil Iwanyk courted him for the John Wick franchise and says shooting the fourth film has been his “best experience” working on it, as one of the few American productions he’s been involved with

“I’m having a wonderful time here. Keanu Reeves is a wonderful soul, gentleman, best guy I’ve ever worked with, just a great guy, same as Chad. This so far has been the best experience in the very few American movies I have ever been. And you will not be disappointed with the film, you will be wowed by the film.“

“They were really passionate about wanting me to be in the film, and we had multiple discussions of my role, and where I’d like to take this role. And we totally, we synced, and we were on the same page. That’s what happened, and there I am.”

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ended with John Wick surviving the fall from the roof of The Continental hotel after Ian McShane’s Winston shot him. Winston’s motivations weren’t entirely clear as he didn’t seem shocked that Mr. Wick got away and could be giving The High Table a false sense of security. Wick eventually lands at the feet of Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, who had his organization taken away from him by The High Table and convinces John to go to war with him against the mysterious group of criminal syndicate puppet masters. 

The cast also includes Ian McShane as Winston, Lance Reddick as Charon and Laurence Fishburne back as the Bowery King, Hiroyuki Sanada as Watanabe, Clancy Brown (Highlander), British martial artist Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2, Doctor Strange), Marko Zaror (Machete Kills, Alita: Battle Angel), Atomic Blonde’s Bill Skarsgard, Stowaway’s Shamier Anderson, and the film’s female lead played by Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama. 

John Wick 4 is set for release on May 27, 2022.

SOURCE: LOOPER

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‘The Old Guard 2’ Will Officially Be Directed By Victoria Mahoney

Netflix has tapped a new director to handle The Old Guard sequel, as Deadline reports that Victoria Mahoney will replace Gina Prince-Bythewood. Adding that Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor are returning for the sequel.

Mahoney was the first female director to work on a Star Wars project, assigned as the huge film’s second unit director.

The news was reaffirmed by previous director Gina Prince-Bythewood on Twitter, who decided not to direct and will stay on as a producer. The filmmaker is busy with the Viola Davis action film The Woman King.

THE OLD GUARD – Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (Kiki Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary.

SOURCE: DEADLINE & GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD

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UPDATE: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Confirmed To Have Been Shot By ‘Avatar’ Cinematographer Mauro Fiore

Earlier this week, Sony Pictures finally released the first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and ended up landing an impressive 355+ million views, dwarfing Avengers: Endgame.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The movie is still set to be released on December 17, but it’s unclear, officially, who shot the superhero sequel. However, a potential listing on IMDB might point towards the cinematographer of James Cameron’s Avatar and Fox’s Dark Phoenix, Mauro Fiore.

The former pic landed Fiore an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2009 with other film credits such as Infinite, The Island and Training Day.

UPDATE: Gaffer Josh Davis mentioned in an interview with to Lite Gear back in February that he’d be working with Fiore on the Spider-Man sequel. Looks like he’s been confirmed.

“I’m currently working on the third installment of Spider-Man with actor Tom Holland, DP Mauro Fiore, and Director Jon Watts. It’s my largest job as a gaffer thus far, and wow– what a ride! Be careful what you ask for. Be thankful for the people that help you get there. Be grateful for the ones that help you get it done.”

We should be clear that we haven’t been able to confirm this listing is legit, but will likely be able to know either way when the marketing really kicks in.

The cast consists of Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Jon Favreau, Hannibal Buress, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Marisa Tomei, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Paula Newsome, and J.B Smoove.

We’ve now have concrete confirmations that Benedict Wong and possibly Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin will appear as well. We see a pumpkin bomb show up, someone trying to attack Peter in the shadows, Electro using his powers, and Alfred Molina’s glorious Doctor Octopus.

The Ronin first reported that Paula Newsome would appear and she is seen in the trailer.

If you feel like it, check out the Spider-Man: No Way Home for the 100th time.

SOURCE: IMDB

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‘Matrix 4’ Officially Titled ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ & New Details Revealed From CinemaCon Footage

Warner Bros. has officially announced yesterday that Matrix 4 is indeed titled The Matrix: Resurrections, they also revealed footage during the studio’s presentation at CinemaCon.

Lana Wachowksi returns to direct a cast that consists of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jessica Henwick, Daniel Bernhardt, Priyanka Chopra, Ibarra, Neil Patrick Harris, Toby Onwumere, Brian J. Smith, Eréndira Ibarra, Andrew Caldwell, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Christina Ricci, and Ellen Hollman.

CinemaCon footage was described by The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch, revealing that both Neo and Trinity have no memory of the previous events. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is indeed playing that “Morpheus” figure and that Neil Patrick Harris is playing Thomas Anderson’s (Neo’s identity within the Matrix) therapist. Neo is taking two blue pills a day, potentially to keep his memories/powers suppressed.

“Neo Takes two blue pills a day, prescribed by his doctor Finally he meets a man dressed like Morpheus, who offers him a red pill. Neo seems to have a few new powers from the last time (controls a missile through telekanesis).”

It was previously reported that Jessica Henwick’s character is supposed to be the new Neo/The One, but I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer about getting that confirmed. We likely won’t have to wait too long before Warner Bros. starts to kick off the marketing campaign and sharing a public trailer.

The Matrix: Resurrections still has a release date of December 22.

THE MATRIX – Neo (Keanu Reeves) believes that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can answer his question — What is the Matrix? Neo is contacted by Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a beautiful stranger who leads him into an underworld where he meets Morpheus. They fight a brutal battle for their lives against a cadre of viciously intelligent secret agents. It is a truth that could cost Neo something more precious than his life.

SOURCE: CINEMACON VIA THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER