According to The Telegraph, there was a rift between Boyle and star Daniel Craig that was just unrepairable. Apparently, that story idea that Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge had that was supposedly so great, wasn’t so great. Producers were skeptical, and didn’t really take to the modern day Cold War storyline they had in mind. But they moved forward on it, setting aside the script penned by franchise regular Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, which caused a delay in shooting.
However, it’s crossing Craig that was the final straw. Craig’s power is such that he has vast influence over any casting choices, and he stepped in to prevent Boyle from casting Tomasz Kot as the movie’s villain. Note that Daniel Craig is one of three names mentioned in the announcement of Boyle’s dismissal, along with Bond power players Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
So that’s done…for now, but I doubt it’s the last we’ll hear of this situation. It’s all but a certainty Bond 25 will miss its November 2019 date, unless they find a director to take over the Purvis/Wade script quick.
Jim Henson’s Muppets may have been a bunch of puppets that kids loved, but they were also subversive and more adult than many realize. However, I don’t think Jim ever considered the idea of a puppet octopus jerking off a cow until it sprays milk in a thousand different directions. Maybe he did, and son Brian Henson took his ideas and ran with them for The Happytime Murders. A hard R-rated film noir/comedy featuring puppets and humans living together, but not peacefully, the film is definitely one you want to save for when the kids are older. Unfortunately, by the time they are it’s doubtful anybody will look back on this film fondly.
A nifty concept better suited to a short film or skit, the one-note gag runs thin pretty quick. Clearly inspired by the works of Avenue Q, Greg the Bunny, and other adult-geared puppet satires, The Happytime Murders mostly resembles Who Framed Roger Rabbit, only with a lot more semen jokes. Bill Barretta (with that name he could be either a pro wrestler, a 1940s gumshoe, or a porn star) voices Phil Phillips, a private detective and former LAPD cop, the first puppet ever to serve and protect. The L.A. he lives in is one split by disharmony as puppets are basically free to be discriminated against openly. His stint as a cop ended in disaster, and an entire law was written in his name that prevents puppets from ever serving on the police force.
Phil is dragged back into action when a sexy new client, a sex addict with a Sharon Stone complex, strolls into his office. When a serial killer starts blowing away the puppet stars of the groundbreaking series The Happytime Gang, including Phil’s brother, he teams up with his estranged former partner Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) to solve their murders.
Those who have seen Avenue Q or Team America: World Police will grow tired of the puppet sex pretty quickly, and from there the raunch is relatively tame. Henson and screenwriter Todd Berger let the freedom of doing a filthy R-rated puppet movie go to waste, never really pushing boundaries as far as they could have gone. No shortage of “fucks” and “assholes” makes this film feel as edgy as it should, and none of it really fits in the context of the slim detective yarn being spun. There are a couple of exceptions, like when Phil’s ditzy-but-loyal secretary Bubbles (Maya Rudolph, game as ever) explains the prison sex act of “pilafing” a puppet, which is grosser than it sounds. McCarthy, whose physical comedy is as reliable as ever, gets the biggest laughs by snorting sugar through a Twizzler, a puppet’s drug of choice, then going off on a drug-fueled high that has her hording jars of maple syrup.
There’s still some impressive work being done on the puppeteering front, as the Henson team are a talented bunch. The puppets blend seamlessly in the city scenes mixed with real human actors. The end credits offer a glimpse at the complicated, but hilarious, process of making the whole thing come to life and it may be the most interesting thing The Happytime Murders does. There’s unfulfilled potential here, but it’s nothing a funnier script can’t fix. I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of Brian Henson attempting something like this, hopefully with better results.
Just how many people is Quentin Tarantino going to cast in his next movie, anyway? At this point I’d be shocked if I don’t get a phone call at some point. Anyway, Tarantino has added four more to the growing ensemble for Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, with Girls creator and star Lena Dunham leading the pack. She’s joined by Maya Hawke, Austin Butler, and Lorenza Izzo.
Of course, details on their characters are unknown at this point. They join a film set against the backdrop of the 1969 murder of Sharon Tate at the hands of the Manson Family. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a former TV actor who along with his friend and stunt double (Brad Pitt) try to navigate a Hollywood they no longer recognize. The cast includes Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Clifton Collins Jr, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Scoot McNairy, Keith Jefferson and Nicholas Hammond.
I don’t imagine most of these roles will be very big, probably one-line and done or a brief cameo. Dunham doesn’t do a lot of big screen acting. Her last starring role, stateside anyway, was in the 2014 indie Happy Christmas. Hawke is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill star. Surprising, given that Thurman and Tarantino haven’t worked together since she survived a dangerous on-set car accident the last time. Hawke’s next major role will be as a series regular on season 3 of Stranger Things. Chilean actress Lorenza Izzo starred in horror film The Green Inferno, directed by Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds star Eli Roth.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens July 26th 2019. [Deadline]
One thing is clear about Top Gun: Maverick, and it’s that Tom Cruise will be surrounded by one Hell of a large ensemble. After six new cast members were named just yesterday, now comes word of three big additions: Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, and Lewis Pullman.
Obviously, Hamm and Harris add a ton of credibility to the film, not that it really needs any more with Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, and Val Kilmer already on board. The film is a long-awaited sequel to the 1986 classic, and is said to retain the same style as the original. Details are still slim but we know it will find ace fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as a flight instructor, with Teller as the son of his deceased partner, Goose. No word on Hamm, Harris, or Pullman’s roles.
On the downside, Deadline adds that Leave No Trace star Thomasin McKenzie, who was the gem of the recently-added group, had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts. No word on a replacement, though.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick opens July 12th 2019.
There are a handful of animated films that can be considered part of Disney Animation’s resurgence: Aladdin, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. Of the four, all of them have been or are in the process of being remade as live-action films, with The Little Mermaid the only one left. We know that Into the Woods’ Rob Marshall is on board to direct, joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken on music, but the big question is who will sport the red hair and fins of Ariel?
A new rumor from That Hashtag Show has Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Greatest Showman‘s Zendaya as their pick to play Ariel and have made her an offer. Now, it can’t be stressed enough that this is a rumor, but if true it would be pretty huge to have a woman of color in the role. It would also mean that other major characters in the film, such as King Triton, would also likely be a person of color.
Zendaya’s casting would make sense. There were some reports that Disney was considering a woman of color for the role, and Zendaya is definitely a Disney favorite from her Shake It Up! and KC Undercover days, not to mention her role in Marvel/Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. We know from her performance in The Greatest Showman that she can handle the musical aspects, as well.
All around this could be great if it turns out to be true. Let’s see if Disney pulls the trigger on it.
I was a bigger fan than Solo: A Star Wars Story than most, finding it to be a fun, brisk space adventure and Star Wars’ first genuine popcorn movie. I found it to be mostly inoffensive, too, but apparently that was a mistake on my part because some folks were up in arms about one scene in particular, and you probably know the one.
It has to do with activist droid L3-37, voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who (SPOILERS!!) was destroyed later in the movie and her consciousness uploaded into the Millennium Falcon forever. A sad fate indeed for the rabble-rousing droid, right? Some saw it as a form of subjugation which L3-37 would have despised, but for me it was a way for her to continue the good fight beyond death, and continue to help Lando Calrissian who she clearly loved.
So which is it? Well, a new Solo novelization actually goes into what happened to L3-37 after she became part of the Falcon, and it attempts to make everyone feel better about her situation. Although, to be perfectly honest, it reads like more of a nightmare. Here’s an excerpt from StarWars.com…
That’s why I’m the copilot. You need me.
The thought finished and she looked around impatiently, ready to tell Lando what she thought of the current situation. But she had no head.
She had cams now, with the ability to look into every room. Audio sensors let her hear everything from the Wookiee’s stressed breathing to the drops of sweat dripping from Lando’s pain-racked face. Outside the ship swarmed one last TIE fighter.
And here, inside, the voices of the Falcon greeted her. They queried gently in Binary, wondering why L3 was now here when she usually plugged in from out there.
I don’t know.
The Falcon didn’t speak in words, but in images they told L3 what had happened during the fight, and that they all needed her right now. Lando needed her.
He always needs me. Just get me a new body and I’ll get right back in that copilot’s seat.
The Falcon was so gentle it was irritating. It wasn’t that easy, they explained. L3 had a choice to make. She could die with her final act being a liberator to all the droids on Kessel, or she could join with the Falcon, live on, and be part of something much bigger. She could save them all.
Ridiculous. And be a slave inside a ship forever? No thank you.
The lights in the cockpit flickered, the reboot stalling. Lando put his hand on the computer, watching.
Being a ship wasn’t so bad, the Falcon insisted.
You go exactly where your pilot tells you, L3 countered.
You did that as a copilot, the Falcon reminded her.
That was different. I could leave anytime.
But you never did. You chose that life.
The Falcon was starting to speak in words now, a bit of a sharpness to their Binary.
If you refuse, you die. He dies. The others on the ship, they all die. If you join with us, we all can live. The choice is simple. L3 realized where the voice was coming from: The reboot was almost done.
You tricked me.
We couldn’t have joined without you consenting to it. You made your decision a while ago. You just couldn’t admit it.
We are something different, now. Not just the Falcon. Not just L3.
We are new.
I’m not sure this makes the situation any better. That said, I’m not convinced L3 stays inside the Falcon forever. Maybe some later novelization will have her brain removed from the ship and placed inside of a regular droid body again, we just don’t know. For now, this remains one of the strangest debates about female autonomy and I’m sure in some circles it will continue for as long as the Falcon soars the skies.
One of the reasons Netflix doesn’t release viewership data is that they don’t have to explain their decisions, or can be really vague about them. Last year’s live-action remake of anime/manga Death Note wasn’t really well-received by fans of the popular series, but apparently it did good enough that a sequel is now in the works.
THR reports Death Note 2 is in development at the streaming giant, with Netflix’s Ted Sarandos calling the previous film a “sizable success”, whatever that means. Greg Russo is being brought on to write the script, but there’s no word about director Adam Wingard or the film’s cast which included Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, and Lakeith Stanfield. The film centered on Light Turner, a brilliant but reclusive high schooler who finds a demonic notebook that allows him to kill anybody whose name is written in it. He uses the book, along with some help from its original demon owner, against criminals to create a worldwide utopia.
For what it’s worth, Wingard was saying as early as last summer that Netflix was eager for more Death Note, but only if people watched the first one. Apparently they did.
It’s unclear if the plot will mirror the 2006 plot of Death Note 2: The Last Name, or if it will take a different angle on the story.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free advance screening of the inspirational drama, God Bless the Broken Road.
SYNOPSIS: GOD BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD tells the inspirational story of a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter in his absence. The film focuses on the importance of family, friends, and faith, while paying tribute to those who serve in the United States Military.
The screening takes place on Wednesday, August 29th at 7:00pm at Regal Gallery Place. If you’d like to enter to win an Admit-Two pass, simply complete the required steps in the Rafflecopter form below. Complete all of the steps to increase your chances. Winners will be selecte on Saturday, August 25th and notified by email. Good luck!
His film career apparently having peaked with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns (which are fucking great, by the way), Brendan Fraser has been plenty busy on the small screen lately. Following acclaimed performances on FX’s Trust, and Showtime’s The Affair, Fraser is now moving over to the superhero realm with a role in DC’s Doom Patrol series.
Back in the day you might have been able to make a case for Fraser to play someone like Superman, but that won’t be the case here. Instead he’ll play an unconventional hero, Cliff Steele aka Robotman. Steele is a former race car driver whose body is destroyed after a fatal accident, but fortunately mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder transfers his mind into a robot body. Fraser will voice Robotman and play Steele in flashbacks, while the physical performance goes to Riley Shanahan in a body suit.
Arrowverse mastermind Greg Berlanti is behind the Doom Patrol series, as well, with the cast including Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, April Bowlby as Elasti-Woman, and Joivan Wade as Cyborg. Robotman will first appear in the controversial Titans series, but played by Jake Michaels. That show moves directly into Doom Patrol, which will be part of the DC Universe streaming network.
Check out the synopsis: The Doom Patrol’s members each suffered horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities — but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found purpose through The Chief, who brought them together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence — and to protect Earth from what they find. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of super-powered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them. Picking up after the events of TITANS, DOOM PATROL will find these reluctant heroes in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg, who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse, but with a warning that is hard to ignore: their lives will never, ever be the same. [Deadline]
On the surface so much of The Wife seems very familiar. An eccentric, creative genius, always a guy, whose unquestioned talent is celebrated the world over while personally he is something of a disaster with personal demons in spades. And nearby nurturing his extraordinary talent is the quiet, put-upon wife who has given up her own accomplishments to become a part of his.
Well, Glenn Close ain’t havin’ anymore of that shit in Swedish director Björn Runge’s quietly intense and timely drama, The Wife. A slow burn that morphs from a simple domestic drama into a powerful mystery, the film is carried by the capable shoulders of the extraordinary Close, who seems poised for a Best Actress nomination and possibly more. The film begins as Brooklyn writer Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) gets a phone call late at night. It’s the one he was hoping for. He’s just been informed that he has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He’s taken aback, or at least he acts surprised but you can tell this is what he was always expecting. And listening in on the other line is his loyal wife, Joan, and for her it’s a moment that makes the last 35 years all worth it.
Or were they? Joan ensures the polite Swedish voice on the line that she will “Take good care of him”, because that’s what she’s always done, at the expense of her own hopes and dreams. While happy, there’s resentment between Joan and Joe, which silently grows as they head to Stockholm for the award ceremony. Along for the event is their adult son, David (Max Irons), an aspiring writer both living in his father’s shadow and eager for his approval, which doesn’t come easily. But it quickly becomes clear that Joe is as self-involved as he is a too friendly with the lovely female photographer shadowing him during the trip.
Meanwhile, Joan endures one quiet indignity after the other with the practiced stoicism of someone who has been at it for far too long.”My wife doesn’t write”, Joe often says casually, even dismissively, while the next moment praising her to the Heavens in his speeches. She’s especially adamant that he not mention her in his acceptance speech this time, but why would that be the case? Runge and screenwriter Jane Anderson tease the answer wonderfully, so that I began to wonder if what I was suspecting was actually true. Only when slimy paparazzo Nathaniel Bone (Christian Slater, perfectly oily) starts lodging accusations at Joan over drinks does the film start to show its cards. Flashbacks to Joe and Joan’s scandalous courtship inform the present, while showing us that she did indeed write once upon a time, and apparently wrote quite well. Some might say she was even better than her husband…
The scene at the bar when Nathaniel starts asking Joan why Joe’s writing improved so much after meeting her is a masterfully-played power struggle between two dynamic forces. Slater pokes, prods, and flatters with an Eddie Haskell-like charm; he’s as transparent as Close is a bottled up well of emotions. As it becomes clear her biggest secret is getting out in the open, decades of frustrations, pain, anger, and fear are shown in the lines of her face, the tiniest squint of her eyes. Close doesn’t need to have an enraged outburst to express the tornado storming around in Joan’s gut, and it wouldn’t be faithful to her character to be that way…at least not until the timing is just right. And when that moment does come, after we’ve been made to wait for it so long, it’s as cathartic for us as it is for her. Long after The Wife has built to a bittersweet yet satisfying finale, it’s Close’s subtle performance that will linger on the mind.
