Tag: HBO Max

Posted on in Film News

New ‘Mortal Kombat’ Movie Now Set For Release On April 16th – Coming To Theaters & HBO Max

The other day it was officially announced by Warner Bros. that the New Line Cinema reboot of the Mortal Kombat film franchise is now coming to theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max on April 16, 2021. The martial arts film produced by James Wan‘s Atomic Monster is expected to take a new angle on the franchise which is based on the supernatural fighting tournament arcade video game. It’s the feature directorial debut of Simon McQuoid with a script penned by Greg Russo.

There is an expectation the reboot will land an R-rating as it will involve the brutally violent fatality moves made famous from the video games, the two original movies were PG-13.

The cast consists of Lewis Tan as a new character described as a family man, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, and Sisi Stringer as Melina.

The film has been undergoing reshoots with main actors in South Australia at Adelaide Studios and wasn’t going to be ready for it’s previous release date of January 15th, 2021 regardless. They had originally wrapped principal photography back in December 2019 but had to wait until recently to do reshoots because of the pandemic restricting international travel.

Mortal Kombat is part of a controversial announcement from WarnerMedia that they would be adding 17 upcoming films from their 2021 feature film slate to both HBO Max and theaters on the same day.

A trailer is likely coming in the near future.

Posted on in Film News

Denis Villeneuve Pens Editorial Criticizing AT&T and WarnerMedia – “Warner Bros. Might Just Have Killed The ‘Dune’ Franchise”

Following some strong worded comments from Warner Bros. darling Christopher Nolan after WarnerMedia announced they would be adding their entire 2021 film slate on HBO Mac with a day-and-date release alongside theaters, a model that is expected to become the new norm at WarnerMedia even post-pandemic.

READ MORE: ‘Dune’, ‘Godzilla vs Kong’, ‘The Suicide Squad’, ‘Mortal Kombat’, ‘Matrix 4’, and Other WB Films Heading To HBO Max

READ MORE: Christopher Nolan Reacts Negatively To News of WarnerMedia Moving Their 2021 Film Slate To HBO Max – Upset They Didn’t Consult With Filmmakers Beforehand

There were even some signs earlier in the week that Legendary Entertainment could end up filing a lawsuit against WarnerMedia for not being consulted prior to the announcement and the industry unions are also displeased which could lead to a boycott of the company.

READ MORE: Legendary May Sue WarnerMedia Over HBO Max Announcement For ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ and ‘Dune’ – Didn’t Give Them Advance Notice

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has chosen to write an opinion editorial on Variety laying out his concerns. I selective some of the key segments which you can read below but I would advise people read the entire opinion piece in full.

Warner Bros.’ sudden reversal from being a legacy home for filmmakers to the new era of complete disregard draws a clear line for me. Filmmaking is a collaboration, reliant on the mutual trust of team work and Warner Bros. has declared they are no longer on the same team.

Streaming services are a positive and powerful addition to the movie and TV ecosystems. But I want the audience to understand that streaming alone can’t sustain the film industry as we knew it before COVID. Streaming can produce great content, but not movies of “Dune’s” scope and scale. Warner Bros.’ decision means “Dune” won’t have the chance to perform financially in order to be viable and piracy will ultimately triumph. Warner Bros. might just have killed the Dune franchise. This one is for the fans. AT&T’s John Stankey said that the streaming horse left the barn. In truth, the horse left the barn for the slaughterhouse.

Public safety comes first. Nobody argues with that. Which is why when it became apparent the winter would bring a second wave of the pandemic, I understood and supported the decision to delay Dune’s opening by almost a year. The plan was that Dune would open in theaters in October 2021, when vaccinations will be advanced and, hopefully, the virus behind us. Science tells us that everything should be back to a new normal next fall.

I’m speaking on my own behalf, though I stand in solidarity with the sixteen other filmmakers who now face the same fate. Please know I am with you and that together we are strong. The artists are the ones who create movies and series. Once the pandemic is over, theaters will be filled again with film lovers. That is my strong belief. Not because the movie industry needs it, but because we humans need cinema, as a collective experience.

Denis is rightfully upset because he’s currently working on a second film titled Dune: Part Two with screenwriter Jon Spaihts covering the second part of the original Dune novel by Frank Herbert and is producing an HBO Max series titled Dune: The Sisterhood that Denis is expected to direct. There are still five original books to adapt into feature films with even more subsequent installments from Frank’s son Brian Herbert and franchise writing partner Kevin J. Anderson.

DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

The science fiction property was the inspiration for Star Wars as key elements were lifted by George Lucas and if given the right chance could become a global success story after the David Lynch version from 1984 become a famous flop.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Television News

‘House of The Dragon’: New ‘Game of Thrones’ Series Adds Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy

We’re all excited to see how the new Game of Thrones spinoff series House of The Dragon as production is said to be kicking-off this spring in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Today, WarnerMedia has announced three new additions to the cast that will be joining Paddy Considine in the fantasy prequel that will focus on various Targaryens. The new names include Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, and Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.

The Illuminerdi first reported that Matt Smith was in the mix.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

Directors on the first season are Miguel Sapochnik, Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel, and Greg Yaitanes.

You can read the official character breakdowns below.

Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen. Viserys was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, but as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.

Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower. She’s the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.

Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. The king’s first-born child. She is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything…but she was not born a man.

Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen. The younger brother of King Viserys and heir to the throne, Daemon is a peerless warrior and a dragonrider who possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…

It’s unclear when House of The Dragon will begin airing on HBO and HBO Max.

SOURCE: WARNERMEDIA

Posted on in Film News

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot Secured $10M+ Deals Before ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Was Announced For HBO Max – WarnerMedia Left Others Out To Dry

Today hasn’t been a good day for WarnerMedia. This morning news broke about a possible lawsuit that could be coming from Legendary Entertainment stemming from last week’s HBO Max announcement (Warner Bros. 2021 film slate heading to the streamer) and the studio’s golden-child Christopher Nolan has less than enthusiastic statements concerning their move as well.

More bad news as The New York Times reports that while most directors and actors were notified about the announcement 90 minutes before it happened last week, one project got special treatment.

To prevent the news of the 17-movie shift from leaking (and to make the move speedily rather than get mired in the expected blowback), WarnerMedia kept the major agencies and talent management companies in the dark until roughly 90 minutes before issuing a news release. Even some Warner Bros. executives had little warning.

WarnerMedia and agencies managed to quietly secure deals for $10 million plus each for director Patty Jenkins and actress Gal Gadot ahead of the announcement of Wonder Woman 1984 going to HBO Max for Christmas Day, along with their cooperation they’d still help promote the film. I don’t think that this says anything about Patty or Gal, but it certainly looks bad for WarnerMedia being more concerned about the news leaking than speaking with the filmmakers and actors.

Last month, Warner Bros. quietly approached Hollywood’s two biggest talent agencies, William Morris Endeavor and Creative Artists.

With Wonder Woman 1984, agents argued that Ms. Gadot, Ms. Jenkins and the producer Charles Roven (among others) needed to be paid what they most likely would have received had the sequel been released in a traditional manner (an exclusive run in theaters before arriving online) and not during the height of a pandemic. After all, that was what they signed up for, and Warner Bros. and HBO Max, its corporate sibling, wanted their help in promoting the film, did they not? After a tense negotiation, Warner Bros., which is owned by AT&T, agreed that Ms. Gadot and Ms. Jenkins would each get more than $10 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private agreements.

Industry folks, the Director Guild of America, and other talent agencies weren’t entirely thrilled either.

The surprise move left agencies on a war footing. Representatives for major Warner Bros. stars like Denzel Washington, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie wanted to know why their clients had been treated in a lesser manner than Ms. Gadot. Talk of a Warner Bros. boycott began circulating inside the Directors Guild of America. A partner at one talent agency spent part of the weekend meeting with litigators. Some people started to angrily refer to the studio as Former Bros.

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Posted on in Film News

Christopher Nolan Reacts Negatively To News of WarnerMedia Moving Their 2021 Film Slate To HBO Max – Upset They Didn’t Consult With Filmmakers Beforehand

The announcement that Warner Bros. slate of films from 2021 heading to HBO Max certainly sounded like a gut punch to U.S theaters but the people who made the films aren’t terribly happy either. It sounds like WarnerMedia and AT&T failed to tell production partners and the filmmakers themselves they were planning on making the move to a day-and-date model. Today, there were reports that director Denis Villeneuve is upset that Dune (part one of at least two planned films) will be negatively impacted by the move and Legendary Entertainment may end up suing WarnerMedia if they can’t work something out.

One of WarnerMedia’s biggest assets also isn’t terribly pleased with how they announced the plan either.

Entertainment Tonight was able to speak with director Christopher Nolan about the whole thing and as you’d imagine he has some stern words for the company calling it a “controversy” along with a suggestion that they’re simply doing this to pump-up the new streaming service while mistreating the people who actually worked on the films without even consulting with them.

NOLAN: “Oh, I mean, disbelief. Especially the way in which they did. There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone. In 2021, they’ve got some of the top filmmakers in the world, they’ve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences. They’re meant to be out there for the widest possible audiences… And now they’re being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service — for the fledgling streaming service — without any consultation. So, there’s a lot of controversy. It’s very, very, very, very messy. A real bait and switch. Yeah, it’s sort of not how you treat filmmakers and stars and people who, these guys have given a lot for these projects. They deserved to be consulted and spoken to about what was going to happen to their work.”

“Long-term, I think all of the studios know that the movie theater experience will bounce back and be a very important part of the ecosystem long-term. What you have right now in our business is a lot of the use of the pandemic as an excuse for sort of grappling for short-term advantage. And it’s really unfortunate. It’s not the way to do business and it’s not the best thing for the health of our industry. But when the theaters are back and people are going back to the movies, when the vaccine has been rolled out and there’s an appropriate health response from the federal government, I’m very bullish on the long-term prospects of the industry. People love going to the movies and they’re going to get to go again.”

UPDATE: Christopher Nolan had even more choice words when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter.

NOLAN: “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service. Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision makes no economic sense, and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction.”

Nolan isn’t without his own bit of controversy as his latest film Tenet had been released in the height of the pandemic over the summer, where there was plenty of finger-pointing when it came to who had the bright idea to keep the theatrical release date in the summer instead postponing. I don’t think it’s lost on Christopher that Tenet could have easily been part of this group of films thrown on HBO Max without having any real discussions beforehand.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

Posted on in Film News

AT&T CEO Suggests New Release Model For WB Films Will Extend Beyond 2021

Yesterday, WarnerMedia announced that they would be releasing their 2021 slate with a new day-and-date model releasing their films the same day on HBO Max (for one month) and theatrically. Those 17 films will include The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Reminiscence, Malignant, Dune, The Many Saints of Newark, King Richard, Cry Macho, and Matrix 4.

While speaking with Deadline, WarnerMedia’s Jason Kilar dodged their question about what 2022 would look like moving forward.

KILNAR: “As to what the world looks like after 2021, I have no grand proclamations to make. Our focus, candidly, is on the here and now. We’re focused on getting through this pandemic like any business is, and we’re putting a lot of brain cells against what the right thing is to do to serve fans and to serve partners and to server ourselves. And all those things are important to do and that’s what our focus is, obviously that is what we announced today.”

However, AT&T CEO John Stankey seemingly jumped into future when asked by The Washington Post if they’d return to normal business practices including severing the day-and-date model they announced yesterday once the pandemic recedes. Stating the following which sounds a lot like they’re keen to keep this model.

STANKEY: “In March, we unleashed a new normal in society. That horse left the barn. I don’t think any of us are going to change that dynamic.”

Stankey did highlight the importance of movie theaters but didn’t really go into extensive detail what that relationship will look like post-pandemic. It’ll be interesting to see the reactions of domestic theaters who are going to be the most impacted if this model becomes a permanent thing as they’ll be in direct competition with HBO Max (a domestic streaming service).

You can watch that exchange below they start talking about the announcement around the 43 minute mark.

It was also mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter that WarnerMedia partners like Legendary Entertainment weren’t even told about the day-and-date model prior to the announcement and were just as blindsided as theaters. Legendary is behind WB’s massive upcoming releases such as Dune and Godzilla vs Kong.

SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST

Posted on in Television News

‘House of The Dragon’: HBO Announces ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Begins Filming In 2021 – Plus New Concept Artwork

HBO has announced via the official Game of Thrones Twitter account that filming on their spinoff series House of The Dragon will begin filming in 2021. The show will be a prequel that focuses on the great house of Targaryen.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

They also included some concept artwork of the dragons.

Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, Macbeth) is the only officially announced actor and will play the role of King Viserys Targaryen.

Viserys was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, but as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.

The original series and the previous prequel pilot were shot in Belfast, Northern Ireland and are expected to shoot there as well.

SOURCE: HBO

Posted on in Film News

‘Dune’, ‘Godzilla vs Kong’, ‘The Suicide Squad’, ‘Mortal Kombat’, ‘Matrix 4’, and Other WB Films Heading To HBO Max

Today, it was announced by WarnerMedia (via Deadline) that they’ll be moving their entire 2021 slate to HBO Max for a month of exclusive domestic access the same day as the theatrical release.

Following the one month HBO Max access period domestically, each film will leave the platform and continue theatrically in the U.S. and international territories, with all customary distribution windows applying to the title.

Those features include The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Reminiscence, Malignant, Dune, The Many Saints of Newark, King Richard, Cry Macho, and Matrix 4.

Here is an excerpt from the WarnerMedia press release on Medium.

We have big news to share. As many of you know, Wonder Woman 1984 is going to be released worldwide in theaters later this month. In the United States, we will also be making the movie available on HBO Max at no extra cost the same day that Wonder Woman 1984 premieres in theaters (for the first month of the film’s release).

We are announcing today that, in the United States, the entire anticipated 17-film 2021 Warner Bros. motion picture slate is going to be released throughout the coming year in theaters and on HBO Max the same day. That’s a Warner Bros. motion picture just about once every three weeks.

HBO Max released this promo video as well.

This would be a massive shakeup for regular theatrical windows and it will be interesting if other studios such as Disney follows this model by placing their 2021 slate on Disney+ in a similar manner. I’m sure this move is likely due to HBO Max not hitting targeted growth given that it’s a domestic streaming service. It’s unknown if HBO Max subscribers will have to pay any additional fees but Wonder Woman 1984 is expected to be free with a subscriptions when it drops later this month on the service.

UPDATE: The films will not be given an added fee.

…we will also be releasing them the same day on HBO Max, at no extra cost, for the first month of each film’s release. 

In Canada, I’m with Bell Media’s Crave that has an exclusive deal for HBO and HBO Max content. It’ll be interesting to see how they plan to do this in Canada and the United Kingdom.

SOURCE: WARNER MEDIA

Posted on in Television News

Michael Mann’s HBO Max Series ‘Tokyo Vice’ Resumes Production In Japan This Week

Filming paused on the Japanese crime series Tokyo Vice back in March but according to The Hollywood Reporter the HBO Max series will resume filming this week in Japan.

Heat’s Michael Mann is set to direct all 10-episodes of the series starring Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver), Ken Watanabe (Inception, The Last Samurai), and Rinko Kikuchi (Pacific Rim, The Brothers Bloom). The new series is loosely inspired by the real-life experiences of American journalist Jake Adelstein chronicled in his 2009 memoir, Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter On The Police Beat in Japan. Adelstein covered crime for the one of the largest newspapers in Japan becoming one of the few Westerners to do so and spent 12 years there.

Originally, Destin Daniel Cretton was tapped to direct the show but there was a scheduling conflict with Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings and Michael Mann was brought on as a replacement. Mann is best known for being the architect of the popular 1980s series Miami Vice but never directed an episode. However, he did make the 2006 reboot film starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.

HBO Max has yet to announce when they expect episodes will begin airing on the streaming service.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Apparently Releasing Christmas Day On Both HBO Max and In Traditional Theaters

It looks like WarnerMedia has finally made a final decision concerning the release of Wonder Woman 1984 as they’ll both release on HBO Max (no extra charge for some reason) and theatrically on December 25th.

It’s worth noting that the original video this image was from captured from on YouTube has since been switched to private.

To me, this sounds like Warner Bros. giving up on a return from the film and looking to instead bolster subscriptions to HBO Max. However, it’s possible that this video has been set to private because the studio hasn’t decided on what they’re doing or that HBO Max addition isn’t even happening.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter is backing up the HBO Max tidbit.

My concern is that December is expected to look even worse than November when it comes to the pandemic (less likely to turn any sort of profit via box office sales) and not charging an extra fee on HBO Max is essentially giving away a $200 million blockbuster, which sounds like an insane business tactic.

Warner Bros. releasing Tenet back on September 3rd in U.S. and August 26th in Canada led to extremely poor domestic turnout and it’ll be shocking if the $200+ million budgeted action film ends up making the a profit when the dust settles as it’s only managed to earn $353.7 million worldwide with only $56.3 million coming from domestic box office.

WONDER WOMAN 1984 – Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah. With director Patty Jenkins back at the helm and Gal Gadot returning in the title role, “Wonder Woman 1984” is Warner Bros. Pictures’ follow up to the DC Super Hero’s first outing, 2017’s record-breaking “Wonder Woman,” which took in $822 million at the worldwide box office. The film also stars Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as The Cheetah, Pedro Pascal as Max Lord, Robin Wright as Antiope, and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.