Neither Denzel Washington or director Antoine Fuqua ever wanted to do a sequel before working together on The Equalizer. Their partnership, which includes Training Day and The Magnificent Seven remake, is one of the best going in Hollywood, and so it’s no surprise Fuqua wants to see it continue now that The Equalizer 2 is done and playing in theaters.
Speaking with THR, Fuqua reveals he has some ideas for The Equalizer 3, but also wants Denzel for some other projects…
“I would love for it to take place internationally, I think Denzel would be a great James Bond-type character. [Denzel and I] talk about a lot of different things. I’ve got some things I’m developing and roles I’d like him to play. Normally, that’s how it works with him. I’m dreaming him up as a cowboy or something, and then I’ve got to go pitch it.”
Denzel’s already done the cowboy bit, so who knows how that might go. However, one idea Fuqua has that is definitely intriguing is the Tony Montana role in his remake of Scarface. Fuqua has been attached to the film for years, and most recently it was Diego Luna attached to play the infamous drug kingpin. Last we heard Luna seemed to be on his way out, and Fuqua thinks Denzel would be a good replacement. Um…yeah, I’d call that a positive step in the right direction.
“My dream is for him to be Scarface. He laughs sometimes and he kind of goes, ‘[Al] Pacino did a great job! I don’t want to do that.’ I’m nudging him. I’m trying to nudge him into doing it,” said Fuqua.
I think Denzel as Scarface has the makings of a potential Oscar nomination, but it all depends on whether Fuqua can sell him on it. Stranger things have happened. Best to keep a close eye on this.
How does MoviePass top a devastating week that saw them temporarily shut down over a lack of money and then block users from seeing the biggest movie of the weekend, Mission: Impossible-Fallout? Easy, by raising prices and limiting access to more blockbusters, that’s how.
MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson have announced a new plan to start in the next 30 days that will raise the price to $14.95 a month. They will also limit the ability to see first-run movies in the first two weeks if they open in more than 1000 screens. That could change if the company has struck some kind of promotional deal with a specific film, but for the most part that means all of the biggest movies are going to be substantially harder for MoviePass subscribers to see. The company also plans “implementation of additional tactics to prevent abuse”, and hope to cut as much as 60% of “monthly cash burn”, which they hope will extend the service’s lifespan and avoid more embarrassing headlines.
Of course, this is an embarrassing story nonetheless because everyone can see MoviePass is on its last legs. Not that they’ll say that. Instead, their official statement claims the changes are “to enhance discovery, and to drive attendance to smaller films and bolster the independent film community.”
MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe, probably sensing that users are going to jump off this sinking ship, adds “While no one likes change, these are essential steps to continue providing the most attractive subscription service in the industry.”
With so many other services popping up, is MoviePass still worth the investment? I know a lot of our readers have loved it and used it for all its worth, so let me know what you think.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a very special IMAX screening of The Meg, starring Jason Statham vs. a prehistoric megalodon! The film co-stars Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, and more.
SYNOPSIS: In the film, a deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.
The screening will be held at the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater at the National Air & Space Museum on Monday, August 6th at 7:00pm. If you’d like a chance to attend, simply complete the Rafflecopter contest form below. Winners will be selected on Friday, August 3rd and notified by email. Good luck!
You’ve waited more than a decade for it, and now the return of Venom to the big screen is just months away. Okay, maybe you haven’t really been waiting for it; maybe you’ve dreaded the deadly symbiote’s return after his lousy debut in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. But at least now Sony seems to have a plan for the popular Marvel character, and after debuting a new trailer at Comic-Con days ago that footage is available for all to check out.
The latest footage takes us further into the madness, as Tom Hardy growls and mumbles Bane-like as Eddie Brock, who is sharing a body with a murderous alien symbiote. There’s some great action here, but I would say the highlight is the back-and-forth between Brock and Venom as the creature takes deeper control and commits greater acts of violence. We also see plenty of Riz Ahmed as the movie’s human villain, the head of a secretive foundation Brock had been investigating as a reporter. We also see another symbiote, and as I told you in my write-up of the trailer at Comic-Con, it’s Riot and not Carnage as fans were expecting. Although there will probably be more.
While I think watching Hardy jabber to himself will get tiresome eventually, I’m impressed that Sony and directsor Ruben Fleischer are making a film as dark and gory as this appears to be, especially with such a prominent Marvel character. Those are some pretty specific, and very nasty, threats that Venom likes to toss around.
Also starring Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, and Woody Harrelson, Venom opens October 5th.
From the team that brouhgt you Juno, Charlize Theron stars
in this brilliant new dramedy as a struggling mother of three, who is barely
hanging on until she meets the titular Tully, a young, enthusiastic night nanny
who opens up her life to all kinds of new possiblities.
We Said: “Don’t let anyone
spoil it. While I think (Director Jason) Reitman is a little too on-the-nose
symbolically, he mostly allows for his leading ladies to carry Tully
on their more than capable shoulders. The combination of Theron, Reitman, and (Writer
Diablo) Cody is among the best Hollywood has to offer and they have never been
better.” Rating: 4 out of 5
A reimagining of the classic 1987 coomedy, Overboard follows Kate (Anna Faris), a struggling working-class single mother who
convinces a selfish, spoiled Mexican playboy with amnesia (Eugenio Derbez) that
they are, in fact, a married couple who
share his good fortune.
In the espionage romp The Spy Who Dumped Me, Mila Kunis is overshadowed not only by the occasionally blood-curdling R-rated violence, but by her immensely funny co-star, Kate McKinnon. As she is wont to do, McKinnon’s perfect blend of dry nonsequitors and bugged out physicality dominates every scene of this imbalanced action comedy, so that you keep wondering when is Hollywood going to just let her run with a film on her own? How many times is McKinnon going to show everyone else up before she gets her shot?
That’s not to say Mila Kunis is bad, but she’s somehow settled into playing the frumpy lead opposite more charismatic comediennes. It doesn’t help her that The Spy Who Dumped Me seems unsure whether it wants to be a feminist comedy spectacle or a Peter Berg-style action flick. Director and co-writer Susanna Fogel (of the gal pal laugher Life Partners) knows what makes female relationships click, but hangs her leading ladies out to dry when it comes to giving them funny things to say.
Kunis plays Audrey, a chronic underachiever who has just been dumped via text by her frequently-absent boyfriend Drew (Justin Theroux). Turns out the dude is actually a CIA spy, and the film begins with him climbing the walls, bustin’ caps like John Wick, and blowin’ shit up as part of a dangerous mission. In the middle of it he gets a phone call from Audrey who, along with her BFF Morgan (McKinnon) are going to burn his stuff. This drags him back home, only to find that he’s been followed by those looking to kill him.
It’s a pretty shocking amount of bloodshed and death at this point. Dwayne Johnson doesn’t have this high of a body count in his movies, but somehow Kunis and McKinnon do. The kill-to-joke ration is painfully out of wack. Audrey and Morgan find themselves, rather amazingly, tasked with finishing Drew’s mission, which sends them to Vienna carrying a mysterious package. The meeting at a posh café turns into a bullet-riddled free-for-all that would make Jason Statham jealous. The ladies find themselves pursued by a rogues gallery of Euro baddies, including a Russian model/gymnast (Ivanna Sakhno) who is like a refugee from a Zoolander movie. There’s also a hot MI6 agent (played by Outlander hunk Sam Heughan) who may or may not be on their side, some double crosses, a few well-choreographed car chases, at least one deadly showdown on a circus trapeze, but not a lot of actual laughs. While the action scenes are surprisingly top notch, they seem to be the only thing stitching this movie together, and far too often we forget this is meant to be pretty silly until McKinnon does something outrageous.
McKinnon steals everything as Morgan, an aspiring actress/feminist rebel who is totally there to support her best friend, no matter what. It’s her who inspires Audrey to complete Drew’s mission (“Do you want to die having never gone to Europe, or do you want to go to Europe and die?”) and pushes her through every life-or-death obstacle. She’s both utterly ridiculous and completely lovable. We understand it when Drew tells her in flashback that she’s “a little much”, but we also don’t want her to tone it down even for a second. When an icy Gillian Anderson shows up as a top MI6 boss, Morgan practically drools her admiration, which then “circles around to objectification”, making us laugh for multiple reasons. The problem is that McKinnon is so funny at pretty much everything that Kunis’ Audrey feels like an afterthought. She gets stuck with the lame romance angle, and weak allusions to female empowerment that Fogel is never committed to The Spy Who Dumped Me being about.
Apparently missing the point that audiences only dig original recipe 24, Fox is developing a prequel series that will follow a young Jack Bauer. Obviously he won’t be played by Kiefer Sutherland; good as an actor as he is, he’s no spring chicken. This is a followup to last year’s 24: Legacy, which starred Straight Outta Compton‘s Corey Hawkins and not Sutherland. The only legacy it earned was to have one season before creators went back to the drawing board.
This new series, let’s call it the Young Jack Bauer Chronicles, would show us “how Jack Bauer became Jack Bauer”, according to THR‘s report. The counter-terrorism agent known for his coolness under fire, vast array of torture techniques, and foiling terrorist plots in one-hour blocks was played by Sutherland for eight seasons, then again in the event series 24: Live Another Day.
Original series creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran are behind this prequel idea and will write the script, joined by producer and showrunner Howard Gordon. Their involvement is one of the few good things about this idea as I don’t think anybody should play Jack Bauer other than Sutherland, and I’m pretty sure the ratings will back me up on that point.
Chris Pratt has been attached to a Cowboy Ninja Viking movie since 2014, which is a long time to be waiting for a co-star. Granted, he had to wait that long for TV vet Michelle McLaren to be named director, too. Anyway, Pratt has now been joined by Baywatch villainess Priyanka Chopra in the Image Comics adaptation.
Based on the graphic novel by AJ Lieberman and illustrator Riley Rossmo, Cowboy Ninja Viking has one of those far-out ideas that should make it incredibly cinematic. It’s also why Pratt has been on board as long as he has. The story follows an assassin with dissociative identity disorder who can manifest the abilities of a cowboy, ninja, or Viking depending on the skills he needs at the moment. Pretty cool. Chopra, who remains one of Bollywood’s biggest stars while rising up the Hollywood ranks, would play psychologist Sara Nix, who could be a love interest to Pratt’s character.
The most recent script is by Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans) and Ryan Engle (Rampage), but the original was penned by Deadpool‘s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Hopefully that doesn’t mean some of the edge has been taken out of the screenplay. Cowboy Ninja Viking opens June 28th 2019. [Variety]
In case you couldn’t tell Wonder Woman 1984 is set in the ’80s (it doesn’t mean there have been 1983 movies previously, duh), director Patty Jenkins is here to make it plainly obvious. How? By offering a first look at Pedro Pascal and the helmet hair he’ll be sporting in the anticipated sequel. It screams either a high-rolling Wall Street douche or a TV anchorman. Either way, that hair has got some life to it.
We still have no idea who Pascal and his snap-on hairdo will be playing, though. Is it an established DC Universe character or what? Plus, why is he being seen in an old fashioned tube TV setup? Is he in a TV commercial? Or is he on a monitor screen sortof like the one we’ve seen Gal Gadot’s Diana staring intently at in a prior image?
If I have to hazard a guess, Pascal is playing a version of Maxwell Lord, a shrewd businessman/supervillain who has played an integral role in the lives of the Justice League for years. In one of her defining moments, Wonder Woman snapped Lord’s neck in public after he had been revealed as a criminal mastermind who used inside information to destroy the Justice League International from within. He also shot and murdered the Blue Beetle in cold blood. Lord is a bad dude, but also very convincing, and Pascal would be perfect for the role if that’s what it turns out to be.
Also starring Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig, Wonder Woman 1984 opens November 1st 2019.
This has proven to be a banner few days for Hereditary director Ari Aster. The fast-rising filmmaker’s horror hit supplanted Lady Bird as A24’s highest-grossing film worldwide over the weekend, and it’s still out there racking up dough. All eyes are on what Aster will do next, and now we not only have details on it but the bright young cast that will be his stars.
Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, and Will Poulter are on board for Aster’s untitled thriller, which Collider says will also include co-stars Vilhem Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Ellora Torchia and Archie Madekwe. Pugh is having a moment of her own, actually. She broke out in the indie film Lady Macbeth, but will be seen in Park Chan-wook’s upcoming series, The Little Drummer Girl. It was at the TCAs (via Variety) where she made the announcement about her role in Aster’s film. She will also be part of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women ensemble. Reynor and Poulter recently worked together in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit.
According to Collider, the film will center on “a couple (Pugh and Reynor) that travels to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for it’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.” Sounds potentially nuts just like Hereditary was.
Production is apparently underway, and the selfish part of me wants it done and wrapped in time to make Sundance in January. Doubtful, I know, but one can hope.
