With no Justice League sequel on the horizon, the next major DC Universe team film is Birds of Prey. Casting on Margot Robbie’s girl gang flick is expected to start soon, and CBM has a rumor about three actresses who may be joining the actress when she returns as Harley Quinn.
According to the site’s sources, Warner Bros. is eyeing Baywatch and Percy Jackson star Alexandra Daddario (and her bluest of blue eyes) for the role of Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress. As for Dinah Lance aka Black Canary, Mission: Impossible-Fallout‘s Vanessa Kirby and Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer are said to be high on the studio’s list.
Daddario has starred in numerous franchise flicks and has always shown terrific athleticism and physicality, which would make her perfect to play Huntress, someone who has found against and alongside Batman on numerous occasions. Comer has shown similar qualities as assassin Villanelle on Killing Eve, but she’s still relatively unknown to most people. That could actually work in her favor if the plan is to cast Black Canary for the long haul, building a new star along the way. I actually see her beating out Kirby, assuming this rumor proves accurate.
The team is also expected to include the Cassandra Cain version of Batgirl, and detective Renee Montoya. Nothing on who will play those roles just yet. Cathy Yan will be behind the camera working from a script by Christina Hodson.
Reports are Birds of Prey will begin filming in January, so expect to start hearing concrete casting news soon. Take this with a grain of salt for now.
So we aren’t getting a Batman: Year One movie, but Die Hard Year One is still very much a thing. In the works for a few years now, we haven’t heard much about the ’70s-set prequel, and even Bruce Willis himself has had to check in on it from time to time to make sure it was still happening. It is, and director Len Wiseman spoke with Slashfilm about his plan for the film, and how he and Willis will decide who plays the young John McClane.
While set in the ’70s and showing us how McClane became the ornery, rebellious sonuvabitch we know and love, Wiseman says the story actually takes place in the past and the present day…
“The core idea has not [changed] at all,” Wiseman said. “It’s still working in parallel, cutting back and forth, what we see in the ‘70s has ramifications on present day Bruce. That hasn’t changed at all.”
If it’s set partially in the past that means someone has to be cast as a young McClane. Wiseman confirms we may see younger versions of other characters, like McClane’s on again/off again wife Holly, but as for the man himself it will be Willis who has large say in who plays him. Wiseman will, as well, and he says it’s because that’s how he insisted it be. Maybe they could just slap a prosthetic nose on Joseph Gordon-Levitt again like they did on Looper? No?
There’s no set timetable for the film to start, and Wiseman says it won’t until the script is perfect. He previously directed 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, and doesn’t want a repeat of the situation that made it one of the least liked films in the franchise…
“Die Hard’s’ going to be happening fairly soon,” Wiseman said. “No dates. I’ve been asked about dates before and I’m always wrong. The date is when the script is right which is when we all want to go. The script has taken quite a long time. I want it to be right, as everybody does. The truth is we started prepping ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ when the script was not ready. That process of working on the script as we were shooting the movie is not the funnest thing in the world to do. We pulled it together but nobody wants to go through that again.”
This sounds like an awful idea, but honestly Die Hard has been on the skids for a while and needs a change. We know as long as Willis is alive and kicking he’s going to play John McClane, so might as well hope for the best.
Wow. If you showed me, without context, the above image it’d be hard to tell that’s not an actual photo of legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. That’s how much John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan resemble the legendary pair in Jon S. Baird’s film, Stan & Ollie, which is about to make its premiere surprisingly soon.
Obviously, the film is about Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, but this isn’t a straight biopic about the height of their popularity. Instead, the film takes place in 1952 at the tail end of their careers, making one last tour in Britain.
Baird is probably best known for directing James McAvoy in the R-rated 2013 film, Filth, while the script is by Philomena writer, Jeff Pope.
And we won’t have to wait long for the film’s world premiere as it has been announced as the closing night film at the BFI London Film Festival on October 21st. Here’s what Baird had to say about the news…
“I’m really proud to be able to give the film its World Premiere in London; a city that’s so dear to myself and I know was to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. ‘Stan & Ollie,’ at its heart, is a love story between old friends, who just happen to be two of the most iconic comedic characters in Hollywood’s history. I’m really excited to have the Closing Night film and to bring the movie to a Festival audience.”
The fascination surrounding infamous axe “murderer” Lizzie Borden has never made sense to me, and neither have the many movies or plays about her held much interest. But you put Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny in one and I’m there. Craig William Macneil (The Boy) debuted Lizzie at Sundance earlier this year, and while the buzz was somewhat muted, the new trailer holds a lot of promise.
Macneil’s film is a reimagining of the Lizzie Borden story, and he’s giving it a sexy, erotic spin. Sevigny plays Borden, who in 1892 is put on trial for the brutal murders of her family, a charge she would eventually be acquitted of. Not that it’s stopped speculation of her guilt, and Macneil throws out a few theories about her motives, including possible abuse by her father. Meanwhile, things steam up between Sevigny and Stewart, the latter playing housemaid Bridget Sullivan, who Lizzie becomes intimate with.
Also starring Jamey Sheridan, Fiona Shaw, and Kim Dickens, Lizzie opens September 14th.
At one point in Marc Turtletaub’s intoxicating, quietly profound drama Puzzle, Irrfan Khan’s puzzle champion calls Kelly Macdonald’s sheltered housewife “a damn rebel”. Is there such a thing as a rebellious jigsaw puzzle player? I don’t know, but then Puzzle is a movie that makes putting the pieces together exhilerating and romantic, so anything is possible.
Based on a 2010 Argentine film, Puzzle is a quiet wonder, one of those little films that comes out each year and leaves an indelible mark. Macdonald, long overdue for a film that is unquestionably hers, shines as Agnes, a Connecticut housewife who has been taken for granted too long by her old-fashioned husband Louie (David Denman), and her two lazy sons. The opening scene is brilliant, and tells us everything we need to know about her. A party is going on in her house, the place is full and Agnes is moving from room to room making sure everyone, including Gabe, are comfortable and taken care of. She’s in her wheelhouse watching over others, picking up after them. And then she emerges out of the kitchen with a birthday cake…for herself. The party is for HER.
That’s just the kind of life Agnes has built for herself, one in which Louie works in his struggling auto repair shop while she goes to church and takes care of the house. When he comes home, he expects dinner on the table. It’s not a bad life, but one where Agnes doesn’t get to experience much of the world. She doesn’t understand owning a smartphone, and when her son brings a worldly girlfriend over for dinner, confesses that she doesn’t understand what being a Buddhist vegan really means.
Jigsaw puzzles are such an obvious, on-the-nose metaphor that we don’t see them used much in movies. Something is broken and needs to be put back together, piece by piece. But it works here, thanks to a thoughtful, moving script by Oren Moverman (The Messenger) and Polly Mann. Agnes’ world, and that of her family, is forever changed when she is gifted a 1000-piece puzzle, which she zips together in record time. Something has been awoken within her. Setting off to New York to buy more puzzles and feed her need, Agnes answers a curious ad by a champion puzzler in need of a partner. Robert (the great Irrfan Khan) is her polar opposite. He isn’t religious, he’s quick-witted and deep-thinking, and strangely obsessed with natural disasters. He’s also recovering from a recent divorce from the woman who had been his longtime puzzle partner.
What could have been a corny story of romance and burgeoning independence is treated with subtlety and respect. Agnes discovers that she’s a natural, and partnered up with Robert they are formidable team. But this isn’t about their championship aspirations, thankfully. That would have been the least interesting route for this story to take. Instead it’s about Agnes, and how finding something she’s good at broadens her world and instills a newfound confidence. Seeing her, lip curled and eyes locked as she snaps the jigsaw pieces into place, we see a woman completely at ease with herself, a far cry from when the movie began. With a healthy dose of romantic tension between her and Robert, watching a puzzle put together has never been so engrossing.
Macdonald, who broke out with her role in Trainspotting, has always excelled at playing quietly women content to stay in the background. In the beginning it seems like Puzzle will be just another easy role for her, so it’s fascinating to watch Macdonald’s performance evolve as Agnes grows more forceful and confident. This is also a bit of a departure for Khan, who to me always strikes a fatherly impression. I don’t get that from him this time; Robert is a little more eccentric than we usually see from the terrific Indian actor. Denman is also perfectly cast as Louie, who may be a sexist loaf but, like Agnes, he only knows what he knows. A lesser film would have painted him as a terrible, abusive husband we want to see Agnes get away from. The choices she ends up making in the end aren’t about his problems, but about her needs as an individual.
Does Puzzle completely sell the idea that a love of puzzles can change one’s entire life? Well, that I’m not so sure, but Agnes’ transformation is beautiful to watch unfold, and Macdonald’s performance affirmation that she is, quietly, one of our great treasures.
Are you ready for even more 24? Well, this version won’t be anything like you’re used to, as it takes the series from a war on terror all the way to the courtroom.
While we learned a few days ago that a 24 prequel featuring a young Jack Bauer is in the works, Fox TV President and CEO Dana Walden confirms that another spinoff is on the way, and it will be a legal thriller set the day before a convicted man’s execution.
“The other is a whole new take on the franchise set in the legal arena,” Walden said.
Fox’s Gary Newman adds more details, revealing the series was first considered years ago during the original 24 run, and that they will retain the ticking clock formula that has worked for so long…
“The idea of moving that franchise from terrorism and security into the legal world is actually something we talked about probably as far back as season three or four when there would be discussions of spin-offs,” Newman said. “You have to look for an arena where the stakes are high and time maters. That deals with an execution of a prisoner and there’s just 24 hours left when the execution is supposed to take place. It potentially carries a lot of the same values you would have in the old 24. There are real emotional stakes involved.”
“We obviously love the show. the mechanism of telling a show set in real time is unique to 24,” Newman said. “We think it still has a lot of power and a lot of legs. Really, ever since the show went off the air, we’ve talked about how do you re-imagine 24? The times are fraught now. These are emotional times. Security continues to be a big issue.”
I’ve love it if the man on Death Row was Jack Bauer, but tha’s probably too much to ask. With a lot more 24 on the way it’s inconceivable that Kiefer Sutherland is absent from both. [via Slashfilm]
Thank you, Disney, for helping us Winnie the Pooh fans to forget last year’s snoozer drama, Goodbye Christopher Robin. The one thing we don’t need to see is another film covering all of the depressing reasons an author created a beloved children’s book character. Christopher Robin is at least a novel approach to the silly ol’ honey-loving bear, bringing him into the live-action realm with a story that has the joyful adventure of the Paddington movies, with just enough melancholy to pack an emotional punch. Disney, who have been adapting Milne’s character into cartoons for decades, and delivered the remarkably faithful 2011 animated film, have delivered a honey pot of a film that fans of Pooh are going to adore.
Directed by Finding Neverland‘s Marc Forster, Christopher Robin stars Ewan McGregor as the title character, a boy who spent his childhood playing in the idyllic Hundred Acre Wood with his animal pals. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Roo, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga…all are seen bearing striking resemblance to the actual stuffed animal toys the real-life Christopher Robin played with. It’s a remarkable recreation, drawing further inspiration from the illustrations by artist E.H. Shepard. Assuming rightly that we already know the story of Winnie the Pooh, the film quickly pages storybook-style through Robin’s youth, until he grows old enough that he must finally leave the Hundred Acre Wood and his anthropomorphic friends behind. It’s a time of great sadness, although a party with cake and honey makes things a bit better, along with a promise from Robin that he will never forget Pooh or his pals.
Of course, adulthood has a way of making liars of all of us. Robin (now played by Ewan McGregor) endures a series of tragedies, including a time spent fighting in the WWII. He meets his wife, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and has a daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael). Robin gets a boring job as an efficiency manager at a luggage company, tasked with reducing costs by firing his co-workers. The pressure of adulthood has made Robin a sullen workaholic who has forgotten the time when he used to play and dream, and only Pooh can reawaken that child within him. When Pooh steps into a tree and ends up on a park bench near Robin’s London home, the reunion isn’t as joyful as one might expect. There’s a recognition, at least in the beginning, that Pooh’s childlike wonder could never understand Robin’s stressful existence, and vice versa.
Interestingly, the script is credited to three vastly different writers. Alex Ross Perry, who is best known for caustic dramas like Listen Up, Philip and Queen of Earth; Spotlight writer Tom McCarthy; and Hidden Figures writer Alison Schroeder all worked on the screenplay, bringing their various strengths to the table. Perry’s gift for humor is captured in the mirthful Pooh, who is never far from a thought about his rumbling tummy. But when Pooh-bear manages to take his thoughts off of honey, he’s frequently mournful over what’s become of Robin. He still sees the boy he befriended as a child, and it takes a great deal of work to bring that part of him back. It’s a lot of work for the screenplay to get there, too. Robin’s life is so full of sadness that some may find it dull or depressing, but the wait is worth it when Tigger and Co. come literally bouncing back into the story. Because that’s what Tigger’s do…they bounce. And they’re the best at it. Iconic aspects of Milne’s beloved stories are lovingly reinterpreted in ways that are a constant treat: Pooh’s red balloon, Tigger’s “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers” song, and many more.
Visually, Christopher Robin is a treat for the eyes, with Disney sparing no expense to recreate the look of the era. Most importantly, the Hundred Acre Wood is a great natural canvas that any child could turn into their own amusement park. While the London scenes are pretty drab, they are spruced up by a score that includes classic Pooh songs from the Sherman Brothers, and the familiar Pooh theme that will have you humming along.
Disney continues to do right by Winnie the Pooh, and I love that Winnie the Pooh isn’t just another remake, or a reboot, or some Disney XD series. There’s real imagination put into crafting an original story that will hopefully reintroduce Milne’s characters to a new generation, and spark a familiar feeling of wonderment in the old.
Fig, Feig, one letter makes all the difference. Bridesmaids director Paul Feig is lining up his next gig, and it’s an adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s illustrated book, The Sweetest Fig. Feig is being adventurous lately, departing from the R-rated comedies we’re used to seeing from him. This would be his return to family-friendly comedies since he directed Unaccompanied Minors in 2006.
The Sweetest Fig is just the latest Van Allsburg book to get the big screen treatment after Jumanji, Zathura, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and The Polar Express. The story follows Monsieur Bibot, an arrogant dentist in Paris who is given two magical figs as payment by an old woman he has harshly treated. She tells him the figs can make his dreams come true, a claim he doesn’t believe until he actually eats one. He awakens to discover that all of the crazy things he dreamed the night before have come true, so Bibot trains his mind to control his dreams and become a wealthy man. It doesn’t go as planned, of course.
Feig will direct, and given that Allsburg’s books tend to be short there should be plenty of room to expand on the story. Am I crazy to think Feig may want to ask his Bridesmaids star Chris O’Dowd to play Monsieur Bibot? I can see that working.
Next up for Feig is another departure, his Gone Girl-esque thriller A Simple Favor starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. [Deadline]
Warner Bros. couldn’t have imagined when they set out to release their very family-friendly animated film Smallfoot, which is a twist on the Bigfoot myth, that it would come out at a time when Bigfoot erotica is part of the national conversation. Who knows? Maybe it will attract a whole new target demo they weren’t planning on? Maybe separate screenings for families and deviants? Eh, probably not, and this new trailer for the film looks totally innocent, anyway, so nothing to fear.
A total reversal of the familiar myth, Smallfoot features the voice of Channing Tatum as Migo, a yeti who discovers that humans, the Smallfoot, actually exist. Unfortunately nobody believes him except for a small group of conspiracy theorists, so Migo has to find the human, who is voiced by James Corden, and prove he’s real. Let the buddy adventure through the snowy mountains begin.
I kinda wrote off this film as one to be ignored but have to admit this trailer won me over. It’s a really fun idea with a lot of comedy legs to it if done right. I might actually go see this and not pawn it off on somebody else.
Featuring the voices of Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi, Ely Henry and Jimmy Tatro with Karey Kirkpatrick (Over the Hedge) directing, Smallfoot opens September 28th.
More than a year ago we learned of Sony’s plans to expand their Spider-Man franchise even further with a film centered on villain Kraven the Hunter. It was an unusual piece of news because Kraven is so closely-tied to Spidey that he almost becomes pointless without him, and we know the hero is currently tied up at Marvel Studios. But Sony is indeed moving forward, hiring The Equalizer 2 writer Richard Wenk to pen Kraven’s first big screen adventure.
Kraven the Hunter aka Sergei Kravinoff is one of Spider-Man’s most well-known enemies, and featured in the classic Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline. He’s a big game hunter who considers Spider-Man his ultimate prey. He’s also the half-brother to villain the Chameleon, as well as a member of the Sinister Six. In Kravens’ Last Hunt he finds and defeats Spider-Man, seemingly killing and burying the hero. He then dons his own Spider-Man costume and sets out to prove he is the superior crime-fighter. When Spider-Man recovers and they team up to defeat another Marvel villain, Kraven figures he’s done all there is to do and commits suicide. Because this is comics, he’s later resurrected and is still around the Marvel Universe to the best of my knowledge. Kraven also had a rack of kids who are following in daddy’s footsteps.
Wenk is going to have to figure out what purpose a character like Kraven has without Spider-Man around. He’s not like Venom who has supporting characters and a world of his own to exist in. Does Kraven find a different hero to stalk? Or does Kraven himself become the hero? [Collider]
