Tag: No Time To Die

Posted on in Television News

‘Band of Brothers’ Follow-Up WWII Series ‘Masters of The Air’ Casts Austin Butler & Callum Turner

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg previously were behind HBO’s WWII series Band of Brothers and The Pacific about American soldiers that fought in European and Pacific campaigns. They’re currently working on a new show, Masters of The Air, that HBO passed on and landed at Apple TV+. An adaption of the novel from Donald L. Miller that focuses on bomber pilots aka bomber boys, which will be written by John Orloff and Graham Yost.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Austin Bulter and Fantastic Beasts 2 actor Callum Turner. They have landed the roles of Maj. Gale Cleven and Maj. John Egan.

Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people. Fighting at 25,000 feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller’s Air Force band, which toured US air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers. Masters of the Air is a story of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.

According to a report from Deadline from October, No Time To Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga is attached to tackle episodes. Also, I can confirm that Alien: Covenant and Raised By Wolves production designer Chris Seagers is going to be working on the series.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Posted on in Film News

Rundown of 2021 Movies That Have Been Given New Release Dates

No Time To Die wasn’t the only studio film to get a bump to later in the year as there were a wave of release changes yesterday. The COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t seem to be letting up over the spring or possibly the summer meaning that theatrical releases are going to be further delayed.

Here is a rundown of those releases changes that took place over the week.

  • Godzilla vs. Kong – March 26th, 2021 (moved up)
  • Nobody – April 2nd, 2021
  • BIOS – August 13th, 2021
  • The Many Saints of Newark – September 24th, 2021
  • No Time To Die – October 8th, 2021
  • Last Night In Soho – October 22nd, 2021
  • Antlers – October 29th, 2021
  • Ghostbusters: Afterlife – November 11th, 2021
  • Nightmare Alley – December 3rd, 2021
  • Morbius – January 21st, 2022
  • Uncharted – February 11th, 2022
  • Ambulance – February 18th, 2022

We’re likely to get more release date changes in the coming weeks as summer movies alongside other spring films might be getting pushed later in the year or to 2022. I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if we saw new dates for films such big films as Black Widow, Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Spider-Man 3, F9, The King’s Man, Top Gun: Maverick, Jungle Cruise and others.

I know people are going to assume that studios will simply throw these projects on streaming services, however, considering the large budgets involved they will be more interested in turning a profit than offloading the films from their slates, they are still businesses that need to generate revenue. Until we get those official announcements it seems a little premature to speculate which projects will end up on streaming as plenty of these releases escaped that fate in 2020 and might continue that in 2021.

I personally believe the best way to go is with reasonable prices for multiple digital renting and buying options along with great access to those choices. Having access to these films suck behind a paywall then given high price of $30 like with what Disney did with Mulan meant that Disney+ subscribers still had to pay a premium price alongside their monthly subscription. At the very least, they should have given a discount to subs asking for $10-20.

We’ll certainly update when further changes are announced.

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Officially Delayed To October 8th

EON has officially announced that No Time To Die has been bumped from April 2nd to October 8th. A rumored fall delay had been making the rounds lately which has now been confirmed by the studio.

It looks like other studios are delaying their big films coming in the spring as well.

The cast will include Daniel Craig as James Bond, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rapsody) as a new villain named Safin (Dr. No?), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man) as M, Christoph Waltz returning as Spectre’s Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) as Nomi aka the new Agent 007, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) as Paloma, Ben Whishaw as Q, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: EON

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Expected To Get Another Release Delay

We’ve been waiting almost a full year to finally get to watch the final Daniel Craig outing as James Bond, however, No Time To Die has moved it’s official release date twice already and it looks like there might be another release hiccup on the way. According to a small tidbit from Daily Mail reporter Baz Bamigboye (very reliable for Bond news) another delay for the action blockbuster is expected.

The actress plays an MI6 agent with a licence to kill in No Time To Die. But the 007 movie keeps being postponed. A release date was set for April 2. Expect it to shift again.

We’ll have to wait for official word from EON/MGM concerning No Time To Die‘s release delay.

This wouldn’t be terribly shocking as the pandemic is getting increasingly worse in both the United States and the United Kingdom, both top box office markets for the Bond franchise. There is also the less than speedy distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccines in North America. Delaying a couple of months into the summer or even November at this point seems like a foregone conclusion for it’s distributor to avoid a weak box office performance in April.

We have yet to hear about the fate of other movies in the spring but there could be a move from studios to either push releases to later in the year, further offload to streaming services or quickly put together PVOD options for consumers. It seems tougher to find homes for these massive blockbusters given their budgets and projected profits.

Wonder Woman 1984 recently had an extremely tough time earning money at the domestic box office over the holiday season proving that releasing big films theatrically during the pandemic won’t magically create box office dollars even with large studio IP and franchises. It’s also worth mentioning that WarnerMedia’s streaming service HBO Max was a direct competitor with U.S. theaters via their day-and-date release model likely kneecapping those domestic numbers alongside online piracy, a symptom of early digital access.

How major studios and distributors will react to the pandemic in 2021 isn’t fully known at this point as we’re only in January. There are signs that WarnerMedia might pivot from dumping their entire 17 film lineup on HBO Max after backlash and potential lawsuits from Legendary, films like Dune may avoid the day-and-date model. If this extends to other big projects remains to be seen.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL

Posted on in Film News

Alex Garland’s Next Film ‘Men’ Heads To A24 With Jessie Buckley & Rory Kinnear Tapped To Star

Deadline is reporting that Alex Garland is moving forward with his next writing/directing effort titled Men at A24. Irish actress Jessie Buckley (Fargo, Wild Rose) and Bond franchise actor Rory Kinnear are being in the mix for the lead roles.

Scott Rudin and DNA Films will produce.

The film follows a young woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband. A24 will finance and distribute.

While the synopsis doesn’t really give us much in the way of plot details, Garland is known for genre projects and likely has a little more to it than a straight drama. Speaking with Empire Magazine a few months ago, Alex Garland gave the impression his next movie would be a low-budget horror movie filming in the United Kingdom sometime during the spring/summer of 2021.

GARLAND: “I wrote a low-budget horror movie, set in the UK… I don’t know if it’s unrealistic or not. Always at this particular moment, a film always feels unrealistic, but then somehow it works out.”

Garland is best known for his work on films such as Ex Machina, Annihilation, his recent limited series DEVS, and is said to ultimately directed Dredd uncredited according to star Karl Urban.

Buckley recently worked with Charlie Kaufman on his drama I’m Thinking of Ending Things and Kinnear will be seen next in Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond for No Time To Die.

We’ll be hopeful that more casting and plot details will be revealed in the coming weeks or months.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in News

MGM Reportedly Exploring Sale – EON’s Partners On The James Bond Franchise

In a report coming from the Wall Street Journal, there are claims that MGM Holdings Inc. aka MGM Studios is now exploring the idea of a sale which includes their massive film library and involvement in the billion-dollar James Bond franchise (working with EON on the films as co-owners of the rights). Mentioning that the company is currently valued at $5.5 billion which could give you an idea of what their asking price might be.

MGM Holdings Inc., the movie studio behind the James Bond franchise, is exploring a sale, according to people familiar with the matter, betting that its library of content will prove attractive to companies pursuing growth in streaming video.

The company has a market value of around $5.5 billion, based on privately traded shares and including debt, some of the people said.

They don’t name potential suitors but allude to their valuation and attractiveness due to streaming services. Netflix and Disney are dealing with a crazy amount of debt which might put them out of the running. While Apple seems like a rational option, they recently backed-out on an offer to buy the exclusive rights to No Time To Die because MGM/EON asked too much, so those deep pockets have a limit. Not every streamer is going to have $5+ billion laying around when the pandemic has hit most entertainment companies hard.

I’m curious what this would mean for EON, who are traditionalists and have a controlling interest in the James Bond franchise and likely wouldn’t be terribly keen on turning their IP into some streaming film franchise. They’d likely want assurances that theatrical would still be on the table or it could turn into a messy legal fight, I would assume any sale would have to need EON’s blessing because the Bond stuff would be the more attractive aspect.

Here is how EON describes their relationship with MGM.

EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Wilson/Broccoli family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright to the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films.

We’ll have to wait and see to if things will materialize next year.

SOURCE: WALL STREET JOURNAL

Posted on in Film News

Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man 3’ Adds Production Designer Will Htay – Worked On Multiple ‘Star Wars’ Projects and ‘No Time To Die’

The Ronin has learned that Marvel Studios has added Will Htay as the production designer of Peyton Reed’s upcoming Ant-Man 3 and could speak to the scale of the film.

Will’s impressive credits on massive blockbusters as a concept designer includes films such as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, No Time To Die, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story. His work on Star Wars isn’t relegated to just feature films as has been part of the production design team on Disney+ series Kenobi and the untitled Cassian Andor show.

Reed is no stranger to Star Wars either as he directed Chapter 10 of The Mandalorian.

Returning cast members include Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Emma Fuhrmann

Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors is reportedly playing the villain Kang The Conqueror in the sequel which suggests the scale of the Marvel Comics sequel.

We’ve been hearing for months that filming on Ant-Man 3 will be taking place mainly on the stages of Pinewood Studios UK in Buckinghamshire, England and they’ll have access to The Volume/StageCraft for their shoot. The facility was used for upcoming Marvel films Black Widow and Eternals, the latter finishing up their reshoots.

Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is currently shooting at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England with Elizabeth Olsen suggesting she’ll join them next month.

Ant-Man 3 is without an official release date but is coming out sometime in 2022.

Posted on in Film News

Four-Time Oscar Nominee Saoirse Ronan Would Like A Crack At Playing A ‘Bond’ Villain

With Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond coming to end in April, there are plenty interested to see who will end up playing the new 007 after producers confirmed they haven’t even started searching for a new actor despite rumors.

What’s always equally nice hearing is who wants to nab a Bond villain role playing opposite to the iconic MI6 Agent. Irish actress and four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Little Women, Atonement, Lady Bird) has thrown her hat in the ring to play a Bond villain if the opportunity ever came her way while speaking with MTV News.

RONAN: “I would love to do a Bond. What I really want to is like, I want to play a villain in a Bond film or something like that. That’d be incredible but I’d love to do something really fucking big.”

It also sounds like she’d love to be involved with a large blockbuster in general.

At one point, during the development of Skyfall, there was consideration to have a leading female villain with Craig’s current wife Rachel Weisz (Black Widow, The Favourite) reportedly wanted for the part in one of the early incarnations. Oddly enough, while producers have been open to giving female characters a larger presence in MI6 they still haven’t recently made the main big-bad a female which isn’t a little crazy given all the female villains that occupied the franchise.

It’s also worth noting that Ronan has previously doubled with the spy genre with her Joe Wright-directed thriller Hanna co-starring with Eric Bana and Cate Blanchette.

When Bond 26 will begin shooting or casting is unclear but No Time To Die co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge is said to be currently working on the script.

No Time To Die is expected to drop on April 2nd, 2021 barring anymore release hiccups.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: MTV NEWS

Posted on in Film News

MGM Says ‘No Time To Die’ Is Not For Sale Despite Report of Talks With Apple and Netflix

A report from Bloomberg states that MGM has held talks with Netflix and Apple (Apple TV+) about taking the latest James Bond installment titled No Time To Die to streaming with a massive deal, but the studio is declining to comment on those talks pointing out that the film isn’t for sale and they’re committed to releasing the film theatrically.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. held discussions with Apple Inc. and Netflix Inc. about taking its new James Bond film directly to streaming, according to people familiar with the situation, but the studio says it’s committed to a theatrical release.

The film, “No Time to Die,” could fetch hundreds of millions of dollars in a potential streaming sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. MGM declined to comment on any talks, but said the film “is not for sale.”

A deal like that would be massive and I have to assume would be extremely pricey given how costly the production budget is to make one of these James Bond films. However, it might cap what the producers, EON, and MGM would end up making in comparison to a regular theatrical run and might not be terribly appealing.

UPDATE: Variety says they were asking for a massive $600 million which was too rich for the streaming companies.

However, multiple insiders at rival studios and companies said that a possible Bond sale was explored overtly, and believe that MGM was at least open to the possibility of unloading their crown jewel for a princely sum. The studio was said to be looking for a deal of roughly $600 million — a price tag that was deemed too rich for two of the free-spending streaming services.

The film recently moved to a theatrical release on April 2nd, 2021.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Director Cary Joji Fukunaga Interested In Making More Movies With The Next James Bond – Producers Also Keen For Reunion

While the final installment of the final Daniel Craig film in his era of the James Bond franchise with No Time To Die won’t be released until April 2nd, 2021, there is some possibly good news about director Cary Joji Fukunaga potentially returning in the future.

In the Wall Street Journal’s new No Time To Die coverage they were able to get some indication from both Cary and franchise producers that his return in the future could very well happen. They also mention he was courted by Disney for Marvel and Star Wars films.

Hypothetically speaking, Fukunaga would be interested in reuniting on another Bond film, or perhaps a series of films introducing the new 007.

In reality, though, Fukunaga’s future with Bond will depend on the film’s reception. 

FUKUNAGA: “I have never been able to predict how people react to something I’ve made. It could fly or completely fall. It doesn’t change how I view the film.”

Franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson also had kind words for Cary suggesting they’d like to work with him again.

BROCCOLI: “He’s a perfectionist, but that’s what you want. He far exceeded anyone’s expectations. He’s made probably one of the best Bond films ever…. He’s delivered a film on an epic scale, but it also has a tremendous, tremendous intimacy…. It’s a classic Bond movie but also a Cary Fukunaga film.”

WILSON: “He’s certainly someone we’ll work with again.”

This wouldn’t be a strange concept as Martin Campbell directed both GoldenEye and Casino Royale, covering two eras of Bond.

Bond 26 is indeed in development as Phoebe Waller-Bridge was previously linked as writing the script after tackling rewrites on No Time To Die. There have been plenty of rumors concerning the next James Bond actor but nothing has been made official and remain to be rumor/speculation until producers make an announcement. It means we’ll have to endure many more casting rumors for the foreseeable future.

Cary is a busy gent as it was recently announced he will direct three episodes of the Apple TV+ series Maters of The Air, the WWII show produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

SOURCE: WALL STREET JOURNAL