When you’re making an Elvis Presley biopic, obviously the most difficult hurdle is finding someone who can embody “The King.” But there are a lot of key figures in Presley’s life who are tough to cast, one of those being his wife, Priscilla. Well, Baz Luhrmann has that problem figured out.
With Austin Butler set to play Elvis, and Tom Hanks as his controversial manager Col. Parker, Luhrmann has cast Australian actress Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley. She was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1972, but they had been together before that, beginning when she was only 14 years old.
DeJong is probably best known for leading Netflix series The Society. She also had a role in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit. [Deadline]
An Obi-Wan Kenobi project has been in the works for years ever since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and always with Ewan McGregor eager to reprise the role. It never really got past the rumor stage, though, at least until it was made official for Disney+ earlier this year. While we might think that was a fairly recent decision on their part, McGregor says he’s known about it for quite a long time and has been bursting at the seams to talk about it.
Speaking with Men’s Journal, McGregor reveals quite a few details about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and says he’s been keeping mum about it for years…
It’s a fucking massive relief,” he said. “Because for four years, I’ve been having to lie to people about it.”
Note to self: never trust Ewan McGregor’s denials about anything.
He says the series will consist of six, one-hour episodes will shooting to begin next summer.
“The storyline sits between ‘Episode III’ and ‘Episode IV’. The Jedi Order was falling apart. It will be interesting to take a character we know in a way and show him—Well, his arc will be quite interesting, I think, dealing with that the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of ‘Episode III.’ It’s quite something to get over.”
Not only does Kenobi have to deal with the fall of the Jedi, but his own failures with Anakin Skywalker, his friend and apprentice who becomes Darth Vader. That kind of burden is enough to make anybody’s hair turn grey, and McGregor talks a little about capturing the look and spirit of the late Alec Guinness, who played Kenobi in the original trilogy…
“I want to get closer and closer to how Obi-Wan felt while Alec Guinness was playing him. I feel like I’m grayer and nearer him in age, so it’ll be easier to do that.”
We probably won’t see Obi-Wan Kenobi until some time in 2021. Before that you can check out McGregor next month in Doctor Sleep, and in Birds of Prey next February.
Following his flatulent turn in The Lighthouse, Willem Dafoe is playing hero for Disney+ in Togo. The film is named after the legendary sled dog who 1925, led a team of dogs on a 200+ mile trek through whiteout storms and -2 Fahrenheit temperatures to deliver serum to Nome, Alaska and prevent a diptheria outbreak.
Dafoe plays Togo’s owner, trainer, and musher Leonhard “Sepp” Seppala, who played a pivotal part in the serum run, leading the Siberian Husky through the longest and deadliest stretch. Seppala was also an Olympian, having participated in the 1932 Olympics. Julianne Nicholson, Michael Gaston, and Christopher Heyerdahl co-star.
What’s interesting is that Togo has largely been overshadowed by another heroic canine on that dangerous journey, Balto, who had an animated movie made about him in 1995.
Togo hits Disney+ on December 13th and is directed by Ericson Core, who previously directed Mark Wahlberg in Invincible and later the Point Break remake you forgot all about. [People]
Aaron Eckhart is a disgraced cop who gets a shot at redemption in Line of Duty, a new film from Marauders director Steven C. Miller. Surrounded by a cast that includes Mad Max: Fury Road‘s Courtney Eaton, Giancarlo Esposito, Dina Meyer, Jessica Lu, and Ben McKenzie, the film is Eckhart’s first lead since 2016’s Incarnate. He’ll be seen as part of Roland Emmerich’s massive WWII flick Midway later this year.
SYNOPSIS: Aaron Eckhart (Olympus Has Fallen) stars as Frank Penny, a disgraced cop looking for a shot at redemption. When the police chief’s 11-year-old daughter is abducted, Frank goes rogue to try and save her. But to find the girl, Frank will need the help of Ava Brooks (Courtney Eaton), whose live-streaming news channel is broadcasting Frank’s every move. While a city watches, Frank and Ava race against time in this explosive action-thriller.
The house cleaning has begun at Marvel TV. With Kevin Feige recently promoted to Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, giving him control of both the TV and film sides of the MCU, it was only a matter of time before the remains of the Jeph Loeb/Ike Perlmutter era was brought to an end. The first casualty? Cloak & Dagger.
The Freeform series Cloak & Dagger has been canceled and will not even get the third season we expected it would. This is only surprising in how quickly it happened, because the teen show was due to crossover with Runaways later this year. It does sound like the teen heroes Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) will continue to appear on the third season of Runaways, but then that’ll be it for them.
Series showrunner Joe Pokaski confirmed the news on Twitter…
“So, yeah. There are parts of me that feel gut-punched or angry at larger corporate forces, but the biggest feeling I have in my heart right now, by far, is pride,” he wrote. “I’m so fucking proud with what we got to do on #Cloakanddagger.”
“So, yeah. Right now Tandy & Tyrone are on a bus. They’re going to hang out with some super-kids in a couple months. And from there it’s up to higher powers. But don’t be surprised when these two special people show up when you least suspect it…”
So this doesn’t leave much of the prior Marvel TV regime. Runaways enters its third, and possibly final, season later this year. Agents of SHIELD will complete its lengthy run next year, and one has to wonder what the fate of the upcoming Helstrom series is now. It does seem to be moving forward on Hulu, but will that be it? [Variety]
On the list of exciting film subjects I’d say hot air balloons lands pretty low on the list, but it’s amazing what a good movie can make you interested in. This second trailer for festival favorite The Aeronauts (which Travis reviewed at last weekends Middleburg Film Festival) gives us a great look at the adventure tale starring quirky but magnetic pair Eddie Redmayne & Felicity Jones. It’s hard to picture but in a world without Airplanes the hot air balloon was the peak of human exploration in the 1800’s, and as mundane as it seems the trailer seems to nail home the thrilling and terrifying time one could have in that little wicker bucket. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments!
The Kill Team tells the true story of Andrew Briggman (Nat Wolff) – a young man who joined
the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. Briggman’s father, William
(Rob Morrow), was a Marine and he is trying to make his parents proud by
following in his father’s footsteps. Briggman was stationed in the Kandahar Valley
under the command of Sergeant Wallace (Tunji Kasim). Sergeant Wallace was
keen on trying to be friendly with the locals – making sure his platoon waved
to them and even give the children candy at times. When Sergeant Wallace meets
an unfortunate end, a new Sergeant – Sergeant Deeks (Alexander Skarsgård)
is assigned to the platoon. Sergeant Deeks has a vastly different outlook on
the locals, and the war in general, and is quick to dismiss any relationship
building that Sergeant Wallace had implemented.
One of the other Sergeants, Sergeant Bruer (Zackary Momoh),
had served with Deeks in the past and warns Briggman of Deek’s tendencies.
Sergeant Bruer lets Briggman know of atrocities that Deeks committed on a prior
tour. However Sergeant Bruer doesn’t view them negatively – he views
them as a necessity in the moment. Deek’s nature becomes evident right way as
he begins to push moral boundaries shortly after his arrival. After Sergeant
Bruer is killed, Deeks has a local captured and asks Briggman to torture him
for information. Briggman is unable to do so, and Deeks begins to realize that
Briggman’s moral compass points differently than his own and the rest of the
platoon. Deeks quickly ostracizes Briggman and focuses his attention on the rest
of the unit, led by Rayburn (Adam Long) – a soldier who is more than happy to
do Deek’s bidding. Deeks has his men continue to commit questionable acts that
Briggman wants no part of. The tension keeps mounting as Briggman becomes more
and more isolated from his unit, unwilling to be a part of the immoral actions
that Deeks is commanding them to engage in.
The Kill Team is
propelled by the strength of it’s two leads. Skarsgård is fantastic as
the stoic and intimidating Sergeant Deeks. Skarsgård delivers violent
commands and menacing threats in such a peaceful and calm manner that is ominous and uncomfortable – sending chills down your spine. Wolff portrays
the mental anguish and inner turmoil of Briggman perfectly – you can tell
exactly what he is feeling in the moment through his facial expressions,
mannerisms, and desolate looks. The Kill
Team is relatively short, under 90 minutes, but in that time Wolff makes
you truly feel for Briggman and his well-being. Writer/director Dan Krauss has
familiarity with the story, having created an award-winning documentary, also
titled The Kill Team, in 2013. Krauss
is able to portray the intensity of the situation that Briggman has found
himself in incredibly well – framing shots to amplify the tension and making you
sit on the edge of your seat while bridging these moments with slow methodical
music and long shots of the unit’s dreary surroundings. The Kill Team opens in theaters and on demand October 25th – so if you are looking for 90 minutes of suspense this weekend – it is worth a watch.
At first, Chappelle Show gave us a hilarious skit about a blind Black Klansman, then Black KKKlansman gave us the true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the KKK, British actor-turned-director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje said, “I see you Hollywood, and I raise you my true life story of me joining a 1980s white skinhead gang.”
Based on Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s own life and set mostly during the 1960s and 1980s in England, Farming explores the concept of “farming”, where recent African immigrants would literally “farm” their children to white foster families in the hope of allowing them to have great opportunities, while they are working or studying. After his parents, Femi (Akinnuoye-Agbaje playing his own father) and Tolu (Genevieve Nnaji) drop him off with his new foster mother Ingrid Carpenter (Kate Beckinsale) Enitan (Zephan Amissah as a child, Damson Idris as a young man) grows up with a white family in Tilbury. The film shows that this can have devastating consequences in regards to shaping identity and self-esteem as Enitan tries to navigate growing up in a strange world: not really English, and not really African either.
Through his life as an immigrant, Enitan has endured racism in many forms. At home, his foster-mother, Ingrid, always threatened her to stop acting like a “Wooga-Wooga” or he’ll be sent back to “Wooga-Wooga Land.” Ingrid would also go about scamming pawn shops with him, and have him be the fall guy as the black kid to sell the scam. When not at home, he received constant teasing and assaults from kids in the neighborhood and at school. When old enough, his parents take him back and take him home to Nigeria, only for it to be a completely alien environment for him. Not knowing how to interact with his own people, he shuts everyone off, not even speaking. His parents take him back to Ingrid, who reluctantly takes him back (for a check) and his continued torture continues. The only person who shows him any compassion and love is his teacher Ms. Dapo (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), from which he is unsure how to respond.
At the same time, right-wing fascism is growing in England, and the bullying at his school has been replaced by outright brutal beatings by a local group of skinheads called the “Tilbury Skins” led by Levi (John Dalgleish). Enitan’s self-loathing goes from him trying to paint his skin white, and then takes a major C-Turn as he tries to join the Tilbury Skins. Levi decides to entertain the notion and he becomes the gang’s black pet, to the point where his title is officially “Coon” by the skinheads. He assists them with assaulting other black people in town and he is completely brainwashed, to the point where he fights other skinhead gangs with the Tilbury Skins as their unofficial mascot. While Enitan thinks he’s receiving acceptance (because they aren’t beating him up), but they really were stringing him along and still treating him as less than a man.
Unfortunately, the best part of the film is the epilogue of the movie in the end-credits that covers Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s real life, which turns fictional Enitan into real-life Adewale rather seamlessly. You know that the real story has a great ending, it’s just a little more interesting than the under-written film it’s based on. Usually, the film is more dramatic than real life, but this turns out to be the opposite in the case of Farming. As a first-time directing debut for Akinnuoye-Agbaje, it’s fine and you can tell the subject matter is very personal, the writing just seems to be a little flat. Besides Enitan and Ms. Dapo, the other characters really don’t do much besides go through the motions the story requires. Besides Levi, the skinheads are very one dimensional and comically racist. Overall, Farming gives a unique view of racial identity and self-loathing and although it’s hard to believe is true, it is, in fact, true.
Whooo doggy. This went from a boring historical period piece to one of my most anticipated films for the remainder of 2019. Timothee Chalamet’s name is the one on everyone’s tounge as the lead of the film but I’m telling you right now, Robert Pattinson (or Batinson if you will) is going to be the stand out here as the Dauphin of France (no, I don’t know what that means either). Pattinson has always been an underestimated talent as an actor, and has garnered some acclaim in the post-Twilight days, but I have a feeling he’ll break the chains of Team Edward fully with this film, just in time for his turn as the Dark Knight.
The trailer shows more of the action and war drama then previous trailers and really seems to be the movie that most of us wanted Netflix’s other European Monarchy film, The Outlaw King to be. We won’t have to wait long to see how right or wrong I may be, The King debuts on November 1st, this Friday!
If there is one actor for whom I’m especially happy to see Hollywood embracing it’s Pedro Pascal. His electrifying debut as the Red Viper of Dorne, Prince Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones was enough to sell me on the movie star ability of the Chilean born actor. Since his all too short stint on GoT the actor has made the rounds in plot heavy supporting roles and is heading up the eagerly anticipated The Mandalorian for Disney+, though it’s not known yet whether we will ever actually see him without the helmet.
When images hit of Pascal in character on the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984, speculation immediately began that he would be playing Maxwell Lord, a top-tier member of the DC Comics “rich-guy villian” subset. Well, as per usual, we internet nerds know our shit and Patty Jenkins somewhat mysterious tweet seems to confirm those guesses. See below for the tweet and let us know what you think!
