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‘Night School’ Trailer: Tiffany Haddish Beats Some Sense Into Kevin Hart

By
John Nolan
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The math on the upcoming comedy Night School should be simple as pre-algebra class. Take Girls Trip breakout Tiffany Haddish, pair her up with the reliably funny Kevin Hart with his lucrative box office muscle, throw in Girls Trip and The Best Man director Malcolm D. Lee and it should equal plenty of $$$ to go around. Nobody’s looking to break the mold here, and with Hart and Haddish at the top of the ticket nobody should have to.

This looks pretty silly, which I think is exactly what’s called for. Hart plays a guy who joins a classful of other night school misfits looking to earn their GED. Haddish plays their ruffneck teacher who has no problem beating the answers out of Hart’s dumbass. The cast is made up of folks you definitely recognize, like Romany Malco, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Fat Joe, Taran Killam, Keith David, Rob Riggle, Ben Schwartz, Jacob Batalon, and Megalyn Echikkunwoke.

Night School opens September 28th, and hopefully this is the last trailer.

Kevin Spacey’s ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ Just Had An Embarrassing Debut Weekend

By
John Nolan
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Kevin Spacey used to be the man, winning Oscars for American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, getting the rare opportunity to play Lex Luthor, and basically getting any role he wanted because he was just that damn good. It was only a year ago he still had his role on House of Cards, a hit film in Baby Driver, anda potential awards-worthy part in Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World . Now, a movie with Spacey in it earns a record-breaking low of just $618. It’s just damned sad and humiliating.

We posted about the richie rich drama Billionaire Boys Club a while back, and how it was wild that a Spacey movie could still be released after his fall from grace over sexual assault allegations. Well, there’s probably more money in your bank account than the film made at the box office last weekened. At 11 random theaters it earned just $618, kicked off by a “whopping” $126 on its first day. So it trended upwards, at least? I guess Scott was right to kick Spacey’s ass out of his movie. That’s about a $56 per site average, so we can assume there were no big parties setting their schedule to this one. 
Suffice it to say, those were some cavernous theaters who dared to show this thing, although from what I hear the movie is actually quite good. It’s based on a true story of some wealthy L.A. kids in 1980s who got rich off a Ponzi scheme they cooked up. Taron Egerton, Ansel Elgort, Jeremy Irvine, Suki Waterhouse, and Emma Roberts are in the cast with Spacey in a supporting role as an investor they get into some trouble with. So it’s not like the film was without star power.
To be fair, it’s been out on VOD for a month, and it played like a movie that’s been available to watch from your couch for over a month. 

‘Outlaw King’ Trailer: Chris Pine Reunites With David Mackenzie For A Medieval Epic

By
John Nolan
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When your last two films are as acclaimed as Starred Up and Hell or High Water, it’s safe to say expectations for your next one are incredibly high. And it seems director David Mackenzie is meeting them, as his Robert the Bruce drama Outlaw King has been set as TIFF’s Opening Night film, with awards buzz swirling around it and star Chris Pine.

The first trailer is here and it’s so much bigger than anything else Mackenzie has ever attempted. And yet the themes are so familiar as well as the personal approach. Pine stars as Robert the Bruce, a 14th-century outlaw hero who rose to become King of Scots. As you might expect from a story set in the Braveheart period, this “untold true story” has more than its share of epic battles and big rousing speeches. Now we just need to see how Pine fares as a leader of men who aren’t soaring in the Starshp Enterprise.

Also starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle, Tony Curran, Stephen Dillane, James Cosmo, Callan Mulvey, and Sam Spruell, Outlaw King hits Netflix on November 9th.

Alec Baldwin Gets ‘Stupid Happy’, ‘Just Mercy’ Casts O’Shea Jackson Jr., Thomas Mann Joins ‘Lady And The Tramp’

By
John Nolan
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Alec Baldwin, who keeps his feet on the ground in this summer’s Mission: Impossible-Fallout, is starring in the indie Stupid Happy. He’s joined by Judith Light (Growing Pains), Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), and Luke Cage star Mike Colter. The film is directed by Hannah Pearl Utt, who co-wrote the script with Jen Tullock and play roles in the ensemble. The story follows sisters who learn after their playwright father’s death that their mother, who they thought was long dead, is actually alive and starring on a soap opera. [Deadline]

Ice Cube’s son keeps racking up solid roles in his young career. O’Shea Jackson Jr. has joined the talented cast of courtroom drama Just Mercy, based on the true story of renowned civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson as he fights to help those caught up in a flawed legal system. Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, and Jamie Foxx star, with Destin Cretton (Short Term 12) behind the camera. Jackson was seen earlier this year in Den of Thieves, and has a role coming up in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. [THR]

Thomas Mann will take on the human role of Jim Dear in Disney’s live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp. The Charlie Bean-directed film already has Tessa Thompson as the voice of high-class Cocker Spaniel named Lady, who embarks on a romantic journey with street mongrel Tramp, voiced by Justin Theroux. Jim Dear is Lady’s human owner who makes the decision to get rid of her after he and his wife, played by Kiersey Clemons, have their first child.  Ashley Jensen and Benedict Wong voice other canines in the film, which will be part of Disney’s streaming service next year. Mann was last seen in Brain on Fire opposite Chloe Grace Moretz.

Regina Hall Says “The Girls Are Coming Back” For ‘Girls Trip 2’

By
John Nolan
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The Flossy Posse is getting back together! Of course, we already knew there would be a sequel to Girls Trip, the breakout comedy of 2017. They were talking about it barely a month after the film opened, on its way to $140M worldwide. Now Regina Hall is chiming in and saying “the girls are coming back”, although she doesn’t know where the Posse will be headed next time…

“We’re trying to make that happen,” Hall told BuzzFeed News’ AM to DM. “So we’re trying to get everything together with the schedule. I think they’re working on something. I don’t know where we’re going. I don’t know where the girls are going, but… we’re going somewhere.”

They’ve already done New Orleans, so wouldn’t Las Vegas be a natural fit? Isn’t that where most sequels tend to go?

Of course, Hall would have to be joined by co-stars Jada Pinkett Smith, breakout star Tiffany Haddish, and Queen Latifah. They played four college friends who party way too hard during EssenceFest in New Orleans. The film was proof that Hollywood can make a hit movie led by and targeted at black women, but it hasn’t exactly led to a changing of the guard. Perhaps making money off a Girls Trip 2 will do it?

Evangeline Lilly And ‘Ant-Man’ Director Peyton Reed Want Wasp In An All-Female Avengers Movie

By
John Nolan
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One of the most talked about but going nowhere projects Marvel has is this all-female Avengers movie, that began as a random idea then exploded into something fans desperately want to see happen. It’s not as if the female characters couldn’t carry a movie on their own; most of them could probably carry a solo franchise if given the chance. And the actresses who would be involved are definitely into it. One of those is Ant-Man & the Wasp‘s Evangeline Lilly, who tells Comicbook.com she’s far more interested in a teamup with female superheroes than she is in Wasp getting her own movie…

“I like the MCU and I’d like to stay. But I actually don’t like the idea of a ‘Wasp’ standalone film, because Ant-Man and Wasp, since the very beginning in the comic books, were always a team. And really, they’re kind of one of the only proper and true teams in the MCU, otherwise it’s mostly a lot of individuals. And I love the team aspect of it, I love watching the interplay between Wasp and Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. For me it’s the most fun part of the film.”

She then added, “So I don’t love the idea of breaking them up — except if there was an all-female ‘Avengers’ film. Then I’m in.”

Ant-Man director Peyton Reed takes it a step further. Not only does he think an all-female Avengers film is a good idea, but he thinks Wasp should be the leader, and it’s hard to argue with his reasoning. He tells HuffPo…

“I’d like her running things. I’d like to see her as the head of the all-female Avengers. I know Evangeline sort of said … maybe that would be Captain Marvel because she does have the word ‘captain’ in her name. But I think Hope van Dyne is a very decisive leader and a tactician, in addition to being a brilliant scientist. So she checks a lot of boxes in terms of who’s going to be running the Avengers, theoretically.”


Not only has Wasp proven to be a very capable hero, she’s clearly the better of her partner who is a bit of a screw-up. The only thing standing in Wasp’s way of being a leader is that she’s not great with people and seems to enjoy working alone more than as a team, but maybe that has something to do with who she’s working with.

Box Office: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Scores Crazy Good $34M, ‘Mile 22’ Comes Up Short With $13M

By
John Nolan
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1. Crazy Rich Asians (review)- $25.2M/$34M
They say you have to vote with your dollars, and while audiences don’t always turn out for the movies they say they want, they definitely turned out for Crazy Rich Asians. The adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel and first major film to feature an all-Asian cast earned $25M over the weekend, which is great. But it actually opened on Wednesday and earned $34M overall, which is even better. The $30M film doesn’t have a lot of star power to rely on, and that’s fine because the ensemble is the real hook in this case. And with this debut it should be a solid domestic earner before it ever hits wider international territories. Get ready for the rest of the book series to find their way on screen now.
2. The Meg– $21.1M/$83.7M
The Meg had a 53% bite taken out of it in week two, but still earned $21M for $83M domestic. As expected, overseas is where the biggest damage is being done, and the shark film has $314M worldwide already.
3. Mile 22 (review)- $13.6M
Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg may love working together, but their movies don’t make any movie. Action flick Mile 22, the kind of star-powered old school action movie that doesn’t get made much anymore, opened with just $13.6M, which is kinda sad given the cast. Wahlberg is joined by MMA/WWE star Ronda Rousey, The Walking Dead‘s Lauren Cohan, John Malkovich, and The Raid‘s Iko Uwais; a formidable group if there ever was one but audiences didn’t care. This is a slightly better debut than Berg and Wahlberg’s Patriots Day ($11M), but well short of the $20M start for Deepwater Horizon. The only one of their collaborations to really score was Lone Survivor, which opened at $35M on the way to $154M worldwide.  I don’t know what this means for the planned sequel and VR followup, but probably not good things.
4. Mission: Impossible-Fallout– $10.5M/$180.7M
5. Alpha (review)- $10.5M
I hoped for the best for the prehistoric survival thriller Alpha, which is genuinely really good, but the $10.5M opening is not a good start. The $60M film starred Kodi Smit-Mcphee as a young hunter who survives an ice age and a trek home with the help of a wolf companion. This was never going to be huge but it could have done better than this, which is probably why Sony started playing up the “man’s best friend” angle. I don’t want international plans are but it may fare better elsewhere.
6. Disney’s Christopher Robin– $8.8M/$66.8M
7. BlacKkKlansman– $7M/$23M
The buzz continues to build for Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, which has now earned $23M in two weeks. The $15M film is riding some of the same wave that powered Jordan Peele’s Get Out (he’s a producer on BlacKkKlansman as well), and could see a spike if it gets re-released during awards season, which I expect it will.
8. Slender Man– $4.9M/$20.7M
9. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation– $3.6M/$153.8M
10. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again– $3.3M/$111.2M

Dave Bautista Is Still Spitting Fire At Disney For Firing James Gunn

By
Travis Hopson
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One of the things I loved about Dave Bautista during his time in the WWE was that he couldn’t hide anything. When he was unhappy about how things were going, you knew it, and being vocal is not something most superstars are willing to do while working under Vince McMahon. And I’m happy to see that Bautista hasn’t changed a bit since becoming a superstar, even while under the employ of the powerful House of Disney.

Disney has reaffirmed their decision to fire James Gunn, and the director won’t be coming back for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Bautista has been pissed about this since the beginning and has made that clear, repeatedly, and he struck back one last time in an inflammatory tweet that even channels Donald Trump…

Ouch. The reference to Trump’s signature slogan is an obvious callback to the right-wing trolls who made Gunn a target and dug up some old tweets he had long since apologized for unprompted. Regardless of how the whole thing started, it’s clear Bautista is still upset and this could be an issue down the road if he continues to spout off. Combine that with the film’s lack of a director and this could prove to be one of the bumpiest productions Marvel’s had.

‘The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time’ Trailer Has Sharks Vs. Dinosaurs

By
John Nolan
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Somehow, SyFy’s ridiculous, atrocious Sharknado franchise has survived five years, becoming an annual rite of passage in a sense. With each film the already-absurd premise grows crazier and the list of “celebrity” stars grows crappier, but the time has finally come to say goodbye. The sixth movie’s title says it all, The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time will be the fishy finale, and they are pulling out all of the stops.

As if things couldn’t get more absurd, this movie is literally “about time”, as it involves time travel into the past and future. Not only do we see flying sharknados in the prehistoric era, but we see dragon sharks in the age of Merlin (with Judah Friedlander as some kind of sharknado-knight or something) and robotic sharks in the far-flung future. Know what else is in the future? An army of Tara Reid clones, with Vivica A. Fox’s character droning deadpan, “It’s Planet of the Aprils”.  Whomp whomp.

Yeah, this thing looks as terrible a the rest, but you know what? Its premise isn’t that far off from shit we see from major Hollywood studios. Minus the sharknados, of course. What’s Ian Ziering going to do when this is all over? 

Probably star in the next Sharknado movie, because nobody believes this is truly the end, right?

SYNOPSIS: All is lost, or is it? Fin unlocks the time-traveling power of the SHARKNADOS in order to save the world and resurrect his family. In his quest, Fin fights Nazis, dinosaurs, knights, and even takes a ride on Noah’s Ark. This time, it’s not how to stop the sharknados, it’s when.


The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time hits SyFy tonight, August 19th at 8pm EST.

HBO Picks Up Damon Lindelof’s ‘Watchmen’ For A Full Season

By
John Nolan
-

Well, it looks like all of Damon Lindelof’s begging for fans to give his Watchmen series a shot has won HBO over. The network has given his “remix” of the classic graphic novel a full season order.

Lindelof is best known for his work on Lost and HBO’s The Leftovers, and he says we shouldn’t expect a straight remake or sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ comic, which follows the investigation into a series of superhero murders in an alternate version of America. It deconstructed the superhero genre at a time when it was in desperate need of a shake-up. Zack Snyder previously adapted Watchmen into a rigidly faithful live-action film that polarized fans. Personally, I think it’s Snyder’s best work and one of the best comic book movies around, but what he did there will have no impact on Lindelof’s approach. 

Starring in this new Watchmen will be Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, and Louis Gossett Jr. Look for it to debut some time in 2019. [Variety]

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