Tag: Disney

Posted on in Film News

Yorgos Lanthimos Nabs Emma Stone & Willem Dafoe For His Next Film ‘Poor Things’ – A Satirical Postmodern Revision of ‘Frankenstein’

Deadline reports that filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite) is moving foward with his next film Poor Things at Searchlight Pictures and Film4. The project is an adaptation of the Alasdair Gray novel that is sort of a satirical take on the Victorian novel and a postmodern spin on the Frankenstein tale, as Bella Baxter is a beautiful young woman brought back to life after drowning with the aide of science and the brain of an infant.

Emma Stone, who worked with Yorgos on the Oscar-winning film The Favourite has landed the role of of Bella and Willem Dafoe has taken another undisclosed role as he’s currently in discussions.

One of Alasdair Gray’s most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter – a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter’s scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless’s jealous love for Baxter’s creation.

The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be “the whole story” in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland’s most accomplished author.

It’s unclear when production will begin.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Avatar’ Getting A Re-Release In China & Might Regain Box Office Record From ‘Avengers: Endgame’

James Cameron’s Avatar released back in 2009 was a huge phenomenon and became the biggest box office release globally at $2.79 billion, but eventually lost that spot when Avengers: Endgame took the record away earning $2.797 billion. Now, there is word from The Hollywood Reporter that China has approved a re-release of Avatar later this week.

China’s Film Bureau has approved a surprise plan for the director’s 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar to get a wide re-release in the country on Friday, according to two sources at Chinese movie theater companies, which were informed of the arrangements. The technologically trailblazing blockbuster will be made available to exhibitors for a nationwide release in both Imax 3D and ordinary 3D.

They point-out if Avatar earns $7.4 million it will regain the box office record.

Bringing the film back to China is a good way to prime a new generation for the upcoming sequels and reminding previous audiences about the franchise, since many likely haven’t seen it or haven’t watched it over the last ten-plus years.

James Cameron has been shooting Avatar 2, Avatar 3, and parts of Avatar 4 between California and Wellington, New Zealand. The first sequel, Avatar 2, is set to be released on December 16th, 2022.

AVATAR – On the lush alien world of Pandora live the Na’vi, beings who appear primitive but are highly evolved. Because the planet’s environment is poisonous, human/Na’vi hybrids, called Avatars, must link to human minds to allow for free movement on Pandora. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed former Marine, becomes mobile again through one such Avatar and falls in love with a Na’vi woman (Zoe Saldana). As a bond with her grows, he is drawn into a battle for the survival of her world.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-Winning Production Designer of ‘The Mandalorian’ Is Working On ‘The Book of Boba Fett’

The Ronin can confirm that Andrew Jones, the production designer of The Mandalorian Season 1-2 will be returning to the Star Wars universe for The Book of Boba Fett. The series is said to be currently filming in California and according to Lucasfilm/Disney, will be debut this December on Disney+.

Jones won an Emmy last year for his work on the first season of The Mandalorian.

Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Robert Rodriguez are executive producing the series that stars Tamuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand. It’s expected the trio of producers will also be directing episodes.

The Book of Boba Fett will be set within the timeline of The Mandalorian and star Temuera Morrison as the titular bounty hunter, along with Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand. Robert Rodriguez — who directed Chapter 14 of The Mandalorian, a thrilling installment that reintroduced Boba Fett to the Star Wars galaxy — joins Favreau and Dave Filoni as executive producer.

We’ll be excited to see what the cast ends up looking like.

Posted on in Film News

Pixar’s Italian Riviera Sea Monster Flick ‘Luca’ Lands A Teaser Trailer – Coming June 18th

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar’s original feature film “Luca” is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.

The Pixar film is directed by Enrico Casarosa and is coming June 18th.

Character information and a list of voice actors were also released by the studio as well.


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Pixar invites you to dive into the world of “Luca,” its next animated original in which a boy finds a coming-of-age story in a beautiful Italian summer paradise, only to realize that his newfound best friend is a sea monster from a world just below the water’s surface.

Jacob Tremblay (“Room,” “Wonder”) lends his voice to title character Luca Paguro, a bright and inventive 13-year-old sea monster with endless curiosity–especially when it comes to the mysterious world above the sea.

Jack Dylan Grazer (“We Are Who We Are,” “Shazam”) voices Alberto Scorfano, the independent, free-spirited teenage sea monster with unbridled enthusiasm for the human world.

Emma Berman provides the voice of Giulia, an outgoing and charming adventurer who befriends Luca and Alberto.

Jim Gaffigan voices Lorenzo, Luca’s father. Rounding out the voice cast are Maya Rudolph and Marco Barricelli, who voices Giulia’s parents.

Posted on in Film News

‘Star Wars’: Rian Johnson’s New Trilogy Still Happening Despite Lack of Updates From Lucasfilm

It looks like Rian Johnson himself has revealed in a chat with Sariah Wilson with that he’s indeed still working on his new Star Wars trilogy. This comes after the December update from Lucasfilm concerning their Star Wars projects failed to give us an update on the status of Johnson’s trilogy. However, it sounds like he’s still making them but his Knives Out sequel is the priority at the moment.

WILSON: “Yes, Rian’s SW trilogy is still on. No dates or timelines because he has other projects going on, but it is happening.”

This is how Lucasfilm described the trilogy when they first announced it’s development back in 2017.

Lucasfilm is excited to announce that Johnson will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce. 

As writer-director of The Last Jedi, Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud. In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.

Concerning the feature films, if the December presentation is to be believed Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars: Rogue Squadron would be the next project to go into production. While it’s a possible toss-up between Taika Waititi’s film (may have lost screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns) and this mysterious project from Rian. There have been multiple rumblings that either the studio or Johnson himself has moved on, but these have always been met with denials and this update seemingly is coming from Johnson himself. It’s worth mentioning a handful of Star Wars films haven’t reached the finish line and likely has people wondering if the trilogy will ever get made given how long ago it was announced.

The Book of Boba Fett and Andor are currently in production with Kenobi about to start filming in the late spring. Pedro Pascal might be a little busy shooting HBO’s The Last of Us and could suggest he’s been given a window to shoot something else before Season 3 of The Mandalorian beings.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what exactly Rian is making and when that first installment will get in front of cameras.

SOURCE: SARIAH WILSON

Posted on in Film News

‘Captain Marvel 2’: Zawe Ashton Tapped To Play A Villain – Will She Play Skrull Queen Veranke?

Deadline was the first to break the news that Marvel Studios has hired actress Zawe Ashton to play an undisclosed villain in Captain Marvel 2.

Candyman’s Nia DaCosta is directing a cast that consists of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Ms. Marvel’s Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, and WandaVsion’s Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.

Given that Secret Invasion is said to be a crossover event series on Disney+, there is a good shot that Ashton is playing a Skrull, possibly Queen Veranke. When the Fantastic Four rights reverted back to Marvel they also got full control of the Skrulls, ability to use various characters such as the Super-Skrull and their ability to mimic/copy the power-sets of superheroes. A female version of Super-Skrull could be nifty as well, even though that character is primarily known as a Fantastic Four baddie.

However, there are plenty of other cosmic villains Ashton could end up playing.

Moonstone could be another option as well.

Secret Invasion might help established the events that will be later explored in Captain Marvel 2 as both productions are expected to take place in the United Kingdom later this year. Captain Marvel introduced the Skrulls as the enemies of the Kree Empire, only to reveal they were refugees seeking a new home and we might end up villainous incarnations surface which could become a big problem for Earth.

This a good chance that we could see Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Randall Park, and Kat Dennings take roles in the sequel as well given the likelihood S.W.O.R.D. will have a large part to play and depending on how their respective Disney+ series end.

Captain Marvel 2 currently has a release date of November 11th, 2022 and could suggest a production start in summer/fall.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Widow’: Marvel’s Kevin Feige Reportedly Opposed To A Hybrid Release

Yesterday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek reaffirmed their plan is to keep Black Widow as a theatrical release. A new report from Variety is suggesting that Marvel Studios president and Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige is opposed to the spy flick heading to Disney+ or given a hybrid release.

Here is that tidbit from Variety.

According to insiders, that’s partially because Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, the lead architect behind the meticulously constructed Marvel Cinematic Universe, was opposed to a hybrid rollout. Having produced many of the studio’s highest-grossing movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Feige’s opinion certainly carries considerable weight at Disney. But that doesn’t mean the powers that be can’t eventually convince Feige to change his mind — or overrule him completely.

It’s debatable if the film will even stick to it’s current release date of May 7th as plenty of other spring and summer movies are being pushed to the fall and early 2022. Seeing the Marvel flick bumped to later in the year sounds like what will happen at this point as they’ve been simply delaying previously.

BLACK WIDOW – In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Widow’: Disney CEO Bob Chapek Insists Marvel Movie Still Heading To Theaters

Despite consist demand from Marvel fans, it doesn’t look like Disney is going to be dumping Black Widow on their streaming platform Disney+ at this time. Disney CEO Bob Chapek reiterated the studio’s position from December where they reaffirmed the Scarlett Johansson spy flick would indeed be released in theaters as planned. This statement coming from Disney’s quarterly earnings call where many had expected to hear plans to finally release Widow on streaming as it’s coming up on being delayed for a full year soon.

Our good friend Nicholas Whitcomb aka Whos Nick was listening to the Q1 earnings call yesterday and was able to tweet this out about the comment made by Bob Chapek. However, things are fluid and another possible release date push is likely coming given the amount of studio films that have already exited the winter/spring.

Disney has had plenty of opportunities to pivot from their theatrical plans for Black Widow over the last year and didn’t seem to be terribly swayed by the HBO Max day-and-date announcement. It likely doesn’t help that Wonder Woman 1984 reportedly is going to lose Warner Bros. over a $100 million because of it’s dismal box office performance.

We’ll have to wait to see if they ultimately push the release to the fall or finally cave-in with a hybrid model releasing the film earlier.

It’s current release date is still set for May 7th.

BLACK WIDOW – In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Television News

CBS Orders A ‘True Lies’ Series Pilot With James Cameron Producing & McG Directing

A while back director McG (Terminator Salvation) revealed to Collider during a video podcast interview that he was working on a True Lies series, potentially for Disney+. However, that doesn’t seem to come together as CBS has nabbed the project giving it a pilot order with James Cameron executive producing, McG set to direct it’s pilot, Matt Nix writing the script, and Disney’s 20th Television will be still involved as well.

The update on the project coming from The Hollywood Reporter.

Instead of a direct sequel, it is starting to look like a reboot of sorts as stated in the article. The original 1994 release written and directed by James Cameron is actually a remake of the 1991 French film La Totale!.

Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.

Rebooting isn’t all that shocking as CBS is already airing reboot series such as The Equalizer and Clarice.

They’ll have to knock it out of the park with the casting as scaling-back the action for a network television budget likely isn’t going to woo fans of the original film that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, the latter getting multiple scene-stealing moments in the action-comedy. I remember seeing the film at the drive-in during the summer of 1994 and was one of my best movie-going experiences at the time.

Speaking of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor is currently busy with his own untitled spy series for Skydance and Netflix that will focus on a father-daughter dynamic with Top Gun: Maverick’s Monica Barbaro in the daughter role.

McG recently worked on the Disney+ series reboot of Turner & Hooch.

TRUE LIES – Secretly a spy but thought by his family to be a dull salesman, Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is tracking down nuclear missiles in the possession of Islamic jihadist Aziz (Art Malik). Harry’s mission is complicated when he realizes his neglected wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), is contemplating an affair with Simon (Bill Paxton), a used-car salesman who claims he’s a spy. When Aziz kidnaps Harry and Helen, the secret agent must save the world and patch up his marriage at the same time.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

Lucasfilm Has Officially Terminated Gina Carano’s Employment Amid Antisemitic Post On Social Media

Yesterday, it was finally announced by Lucasfilm (owned by Disney) that they have severed the employment of The Mandalorian actress and former UFC fighter Gina Carano.

This comes after a massive online campaign with the hashtag #FireGinaCarano being sparked after an antisemitic post was revealed and circulated on Twitter. I guess comparing her social media backlash to the six million Jews who were persecuted and murdered in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis was apparently a step too far for Disney and Lucasfilm.

It’s worth noting that Jon Favreau, essentially her boss on the series, is Jewish.

Here is what a Lucasfilm spokesperson had to say via The Hollywood Reporter.

“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

She’s also been dropped by her agency.

Carano has also been dropped as a client by UTA, an agency spokesperson confirms.

This late move is coming after the actress rightfully saw public backlash for posting similar antisemitic imagery, sharing/liking anti-vaxxer and anti-mask postings along with initially teasing the trans community for asking people to use pronouns in their bios as a form of support. Her co-star Pedro Pascal had only this week announced support for his sister Lux Pascal, who has come out as trans.

The public “backlash” led the actress to announce she would be joining the Alt-Right social media platform Parler.

It’s unknown at this time if Lucasfilm will recast the role of Cara Dune or stop using the character altogether because of Carano’s association. I had mused during the start of Season 2 airing on Disney+ that Lucasfilm might have opted to kill-off her character to end the relationship.

However, The Hollywood Reporter mentions they had scrapped plans to announce a spinoff series for her character Cara Dune during the December presentation after her November tweets sparked outrage and might have still considered adding her to Dave Filoni’s series Rangers of The New Republic before the final straw.

SOURCE: LUCASFILM VIA THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER