The ridiculously stacked cast of Rian Johnson’s whodunit Knives Out has gotten even better, assuming Comicbookmovie‘s exclusive report is accurate. The site says It and Midnight Special star Jaeden Lieberher has joined Chris Evans and Daniel Craig in the film inspired by the works of Agatha Christie.
Lieberher, who is set to return as Bill Denbrough in It: Chapter 2, will have an unspecified role in Johnson’s film. Of course, so much about it remains a mystery so we know virtually nothing about any of the characters other than Craig’s, which is a detective inspired by Hercule Poirot. Also on board are Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Lakeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummber, Ana de Armas, Toni Collette, and Don Johnson.
Knives Out is in production now. Next up for Lieberher are The True Adventures of Wolfboy and horror film The Lodge.
Anna Kendrick is one of today’s most bankable stars, having led the hit Pitch Perfect franchise and this year’s surprise smash, A Simple Favor. Now she’s moving into the realm of sci-fi for Stowaway, a film that has just picked up a major international distribution deal with Sony Pictures.
Stowaway will be directed by YouTube star Joe Penna, having co-written the script with Ryan Morrison. Kendrick plays a medical researcher on a ship headed to Mars, whose crew has discovered an accidental stowaway on board. Too far from Earth and with resources dwindling, Kendrick’s character is the only dissenting voice when the group decides on a grim fate for the stowaway.
This will be the second film for Penna and Morrison whose directorial debut Arctic stars Mads Mikkelsen and premiered at Cannes. Next up for Kendrick is the Christmas comedy Noelle. [Deadline]
While Kingsman: The Golden Circle wasn’t quite the hit as its predecessor, Matthew Vaughn confirmed he would be returning for a third Kingsman film to be released next year. At the time it was expected to follow in the same mold as the previous two movies and feature “the conclusion of the Harry Hart-Eggsy relationship”. That would mean the return of stars Colin Firth and Taron Egerton. However, we later learned that the next Kingsman film would actually be a WWI-set prequel titled The Great Game. So what exactly is going on here, and when will we see Eggsy return?
Well, we won’t be seeing Eggsy any time soon. Speaking with Yahoo, Egerton confirmed that he will not have a role in the third Kingsman movie, which means The Great Game is all but assured to be next for Vaughn.
“I don’t know how hot off the press this is, and I think I’m allowed to say it, but I’m not in the next Kingsman movie. That doesn’t mean I won’t be in Kingsman ever again. I was with Matthew [Vaughn] as little as a few days ago, we’re still very much in business together, but his next journey in that world doesn’t involve me… His idea for the new one is incredibly exciting. I’m sad that I won’t be on that journey with him, but it’s not the last you’ve seen of Eggsy.”
The Great Game is said to be set during WWI and has Ralph Fiennes and Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats, The Darkest Minds) rumored to star.
So does this mean Vaughn will be directing four Kingsman films when all is said and done? Presumably he would want to wrap up the Eggsy/Hart story himself, but it looks like that will be a bit further into the future. The next Kingsman film is set to open on November 8th 2019.
Well, that didn’t take long. The mysterious Breaking Bad film revealed earlier today has been the talk of the town, although questions about what it would actually be persisted. Well now Slashfilm is reporting the film will be a direct sequel to the series finale, centered on the Jesse Pinkman character played by Aaron Paul, who is expected to return.
This has been the speculation ever since the plot synopsis was said to “follow the escape of a kidnapped man and his quest for freedom”. The show’s final season saw the meth-dealing Pinkman kidnapped by neo-Nazis who demanded he cook his special brand of meth for them. He was tortured mercilessly while their captive, until Bryan Cranston’s Walter White came to the violent rescue. Pinkman got away and rode off into the sunset, but it appears his story is far from over.
In a case of perfect timing, Cranston appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and confirmed the film by series creator Vince Gilligan…
“Yes, there appears to be a movie version of ‘Breaking Bad’ but I honestly haven’t even read the script. I have not gotten the script. I have not read the script. There’s a question of whether or not we’ll even see Walter White in this movie.”
Cranston adds, “If Vince Gilligan asked me to do it, then sure, absolutely. This idea, from what I’m told, gets into those, at least a couple of the characters that were not completed as far as their journey.” The project is going under the working title of Greenbriar, but it has yet to be officially announced by AMC or Gilligan. Presumably, that will be changing soon with so many already talking about it.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free advance screening of Creed II, starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in the sequel to 2015’s hit boxing drama and continuation of the Rocky franchise.
SYNOPSIS: Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.
The screening takes place on Monday, November 19th at 7:00pm at AMC Mazza Gallerie. If you’d like to enter, complete the required steps in the Rafflecopter contest form below. Complete all of the steps to increase your chances. Winners will be selected on Sunday, November 11th and notified by email. Good luck!
I have a bad feeling about Aquaman. No, it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the colorful posters released today by Warner Bros. While a couple of them are odd, like the one with a badly photoshopped Willem Dafoe as Vulko, they at least have an epic quality to them. Something about this movie just isn’t quite clicking for me. I’ve enjoyed the trailers, and the footage shown at Comic-Con was awesome, but is there anything about it that has me counting down the days? Not really.
I’ll remain optimistic, though, because I want the DCEU to thrive so as to push Marvel to be even better.
As for the posters, they feature vivid looks at the cast. Jason Momoa as the version of Aquaman introduced by Zack Snyder in Batman v Superman and seen again in Justice League. We also get Amber Heard as Mera, Dolph Lundgren riding a seahorse as King Nereus, Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna, Patrick Wilson as Orm, that weird Dafoe pic, and an amazing one of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta. It’s really hard to make Black Manta uncool, just sayin’.
Directed by James Wan, Aquaman opens December 21st.
Are you ready for double the Vanessa Hudgens? Netflix’s latest in a string of rom-coms is The Princess Switch, a body-swapping comedy in the Parent Trap mold. Only this one is set during the Christmas holiday, so you can watch it with your family rather than a marathon of A Christmas Story or the yule log channel.
Hudgens takes on the dual roles of Margaret, the beautiful Duchess of Montenaro, and Stacy, a common from Chicago who looks exactly like her. With the help of one of Santa’s little helpers, Margaret falls in love with one of Stacy’s co-workers while Stacy falls for a dashing prince who happens to be Margaret’s fiance. The film is directed by Mike Rohl and co-stars Sam Palladio (Nashville) and Nick Sagar (Queen of the South).
Predictable? Probably, but Netflix has been killing it with their romance flicks lately so maybe The Princess Switch will catch us by surprise. It’ll be available for streaming on November 16th.
Illumination has more than just the Despicable Me and Minions franchises at their disposal. The animation studio scored a massive $875M hit with The Secret Life of Pets, which brings back much of the voice cast and director Chris Renaud. But there has been one major change, and you can hear it every time lead canine Max has something to say.
Patton Oswalt has taken over the voice of Max, replacing Louis C.K. who obviously has been kept far away from the kid-friendly sequel. The teaser finds Max tricked into going on a trip to the vet, where he encounters pets a wild variety of neuroses. Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Eric Stonestreet, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Burress, and Bobby Moynihan all return to reprise their voice roles, joined by new additions Tiffany Haddish, Nick Kroll, Pete Holmes, and Harrison Ford.
Harrison Ford? Hmmmmm. Maybe he’s voicing a dog named “Indiana”?
Last night millions of Americans made their voices heard in our 2018 midterm elections, and as someone who was up literally all night watching the results, I’m not inclined to delve too deep into politics today. But I can spare a minute for Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, who spent part of last night being honored at the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles, only to get booed off the stage when he started blasting Donald Trump during his acceptance speech.
Er, know your audience, homie.
And so it goes that Blum’s speech, which was fairly generic up to a point, took a turn towards the political, which is when he began being jeered by the pro-Trump crowd. Blum began talking about Trump’s divisive rhetoric and hostile attacks on the press, which has been partially (I would say largely) responsible for the uptick in anti-Semitic violence. This did not go over well. Blum tried to finish his speech but just 20 seconds in he gave up when the crowd demanded he leave the stage.
“Well, this night went kinda haywire”, Blumhouse responded in a tweet. You can watch the incident below courtesy of THR.
Watch: Jason Blum was booed and physically removed from the Israel Film Festival stage after making controversial political statements about Trump https://t.co/1nAyogEP8ipic.twitter.com/sH80NZVq7B
Again, know your audience, dude. The Israel Film Festival is backed by prominent GOP donor/kingmaker Sheldon Adelson. That shit was never going to fly there.
Blum later told Deadline, “The good thing about this country is that you get to like Trump but I don’t have to and I don’t like him. We have a President who calls the press the enemy of the people. Thanks to our president, anti-Semitism is in the rise.” The Blumhouse Productions founder later posted the entire speech in a series of tweets. You can read it below.
“Thank you, Lin, for those kind remarks and for your friendship. I am thrilled you could be here tonight. And thank you to Meir Fenigstein everyone at the Israel Film Festival for this tribute. I am honored to be recognized by a group dedicated to showcasing Israel’s thriving film and television industry. I’m especially honored to share the stage with Avi Nesher whose work I have admired for many, many years. Avi has never been afraid to tackle serious social issues and his films are beloved by audiences and critics around the world. He’s played a pivotal role in the growing prominence of Israeli cinema. I am also a huge fan of Israeli television. As an avowed binge-watcher, I have spent way too many hours with Fauda and Hostages. Not to mention Homeland, which would not exist if not for Hatufim. So, tonight we have much to celebrate as we open the 32nd Israel Film Festival. At the same time, today, Americans went to the polls to exercise our right to vote on what kind of future we want for our children. Those election results are pouring in as I speak. And so much is on the line. The past two years have been hard for all of us who cherish the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of this country. The sense of community that has bound us together for generations is all but gone. We have seen the end of civil discourse. We have a President who calls the Press the enemy of the people. Nationalism is surging. Dog whistle politics are rampant and anti-Semitism is on the rise in ways my generation never thought imaginable. The Internet has become a place where people can vent their rage and spew hate anonymously. It is helping bigotry thrive. The truth is, hate speech breeds violence. It dehumanizes. It demonizes. And ultimately, it targets. What we saw in Pittsburgh was a horrific example. These are NOT isolated incidents. They are NOT happening somewhere else. They are happening HERE in our communities and we must step up and speak up. We cannot allow anti-Semitism or bigotry of any form to become mainstream. Those of us who work in film and television. have a vital role to play in telling stories that portray all kinds of people from all corners of the world. Stories that entertain, but also make us think more and harder about who we are and where we are going. It’s time for us to be vigilant in bringing new voices to the cinema. To nurturing diverse filmmakers from all walks of life who can offer unique perspectives on the world. When you have a chance to walk in the shoes of others who are not like you, it is harder to hate. Most of all, this is a time for all of us to examine our values and decide what we are willing to tolerate. It is time to be accountable. It’s time to speak out loudly when we see examples of bigotry. Don’t allow it from your friends, your co-workers or your family members. If we are not accountable, we may wake up one day in a country we don’t even recognize. Let us all hope that today’s election starts to chart a different course – not just for the U.S., but for the world – one that reaffirms the values that we all cherish. Thank you.”
Growing up I wasn’t always interested in politics, that would come much later in life. But still there were two politicians whose names I took to heart and they stayed with me. The first was Ronald Reagan, for obvious reasons. He used television like no other and was the most visible President in our history at that point. The other was Gary Hart. The 1988 Democratic Presidential contender was a rock star when politicians were seen as stodgy, doddering old suits. What I remember most about Hart is that for a brief moment in time he was EVERYWHERE, and everyone was talking about him. And then, just like that, he was gone. It was like he never existed, and honestly I wouldn’t think about Hart again until much later when I began trying to figure out what happened to him.
Jason Reitman’s The Front Runner is more than just the story of Gary Hart’s fall from grace. It takes us back to a time, albeit briefly, when the press was less interested in a politician’s personal life, which seems crazy now when we have a President sitting in the White House who has had multiple adulterous affairs. All of that changed with Senator Gary Hart, played by Hugh Jackman with a charisma and charm that will have you asking when he’ll run for office himself. Hart had made an unsuccessful run at President earlier, but in ’88 he was the clear front-runner. He was bold, handsome, and wicked smart, and he was at just the right age where he could connect with voters of any age.
The film is about Hart, but it’s also about the moment when our media changed and began the evolution, or devolution, into what it is today. Based on a book by co-writer Matt Bai, joined by Jay Carson and Reitman, The Front Runner is about the media’s rapid move into what was perceived to be tabloid journalism at the time. In the span of a few weeks Hart would go from the likely next President of the United States to ending his campaign and ultimately his political career, after accusations of an affair with Donna Rice (Sara Paxton) emerged. This came after Hart dared the press to follow him around, claiming they would be very bored at what they’d find. They weren’t all that bored. And apparently, neither was Hart.
The affair itself is just a small part of the story. The fascinating part is what happens around it as Hart, who carries himself with this air of righteous indignation throughout, is dumbfounded that he’s become such a target. What Reitman also captures beautifully is the chaos within the Hart campaign, as political strategists try to minimize the damage. One of the problems with modern political movies is they all try to emulate the slick walking and talking style perfected by Aaron Sorkin, and I like that Reitman’s film has all of the messiness of a real campaign. Anybody who has actually worked in one, even on the lowest levels, knows it very rarely runs smoothly. It’s all a guessing game as to what will work from day to day, and Hart’s team was dealing with a complete unknown, and they were justifiably exasperated. This frustration is mostly reflected by Hart’s campaign manager, Bill Dixon (JK Simmons), who just can’t get the candidate to understand the gravity of the situation. He doesn’t think this will “blow over”, and he’s right.
Hart’s reaction is anathema to the way we understand politicians should handle these kinds of scandals. He doesn’t outright deny the accusations, but he does make the case that his personal affairs are none of the public’s business, and insists on sticking to the issues.
“How is it relevant?”, Hart asks, basically screaming into the void.
Of course it does matter. All of his arguing goes out the window when the press conferences ignore his policy statements and focus on his family, including his wife (Vera Farmiga, stoic as always) who is not only humiliated but angry at being made part of the story. Reitman takes a sympathetic view of Hart, all but indicting the media as a whole for taking him down. But at the same time, Hart isn’t let off the hook. He’s still something of a dope, and an arrogant one at that.
Reitman surrounds Jackman, who is genuinely great here even though he doesn’t resemble Hart AT ALL, with an incredible ensemble who give depth to the story. The aforementioned Simmons, Paxton, and Farmiga are joined by Alfred Molina as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee who remembers fondly ignoring John F. Kennedy’s many affairs. A standout is Mamoudou Athie, perhaps best known for his roles in The Get Down and Patti Cake$, as a fictional Washington Post journalist who dares to ask Hart the tough questions. Ari Graynor, Steve Zissis, Kevin Pollack, and many others help carry the film when parts of it start to feel a little bit dry. Reitman still isn’t the most exciting filmmaker around and many of his scenes are conventionally composed, lacking much in the way of energy.
The Front Runner poses a lot of questions that it isn’t really equipped to answer. What was it about Hart that made him different from other elected officials? Why was he singled out? Was it just the mood of the country at that time? Were the American people eager to see a man of power toppled so publicly? The polls at the time say no, but somebody was buying up the newspapers and watching the scandal unfold on TV. Was it simply competition between rival newspapers, eager to trump one another with a major scoop? Ultimately the answer doesn’t matter. Hart has been out of the spotlight for a long time (although recent revelations threaten to change that), and the political landscape has changed mightily. An extramarital affair doesn’t really mean that much, anymore. Politics has basically come full circle on whether these sex scandals matter. Hart’s defiance didn’t have anything to do with that, but if ever there was a time for him to come out of the shadows it would be now.
