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‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Cast Issues Statement Supporting James Gunn’s Return

By
John Nolan
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In the days following James Gunn’s sudden and shocking dismissal from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over some years-old tweets he had long since apologized for, the film’s cast released statements of varying degrees of support. In the case of Dave Bautista his anger was obvious; Zoe Saldana was a little more muted in her response; and Chris Pratt chose to quoting the Bible. Well now the cast has all come together for one singular statement, and in short they’ve got Gunn’s back.

Released on social media, the statement makes clear that the cast wants Gunn back in the saddle for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, noting that the man he is now is far from the man he was back then. They also recognize the mob mentality, primarily from hypocritcial right-wing trolls with an axe to grind (my words, not theirs), that has targeted a good man.  Here’s the statement in full…

Thousands of fans have already signed an petition demanding Gunn be rehired. I don’t think Disney gives a rat’s ass about that, but they may feel very differently about keeping their superstar cast happy.

‘Star Wars Episode 9’: Mark Hamill On Carrie Fisher’s “Bittersweet” Role

By
John Nolan
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Mark Hamill is facing a Star Wars future without his longtime friend and co-star Carrie Fisher. A few days ago we learned Star Wars: Episode 9 would feature the late Fisher’s return as Leia, seen through the use of archived footage. While a bit controversial to bring her back in such a way, Hamill appears to have made peace with the decision according to a recent tweet…

“Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us”, director J.J. Abrams said previously. “We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”


Shooting on Star Wars: Episode 9 begins Wednesday, in hopes of hitting the target December 20th 2019 release date. 

You’ll Be Waiting Longer For ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3, Netflix Says It’ll Be “Worth The Wait”

By
John Nolan
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For the legion of die-hard Stranger Things fans out there, the wait for season 3 must be torture. This  awesome retro teaser for Starcourt Mall’s grand opening probably raised the anticipation to eleven, no pun intended…

Unfortunately, those same fans are going to be waiting longer than ever to see what kind of demonic shit can happen when you throw a mall food court into the mix. Speaking at the TCAs, Netflix’s Cindy Holland confirmed that Stranger Things won’t be here in time for Halloween, but maybe in time for next summer break? Yep, next summer.

“It’s a handcrafted show,” Holland said (via EW). “The Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy, they understand the stakes are high. They want to deliver something bigger and better than last year. I think it’s going to be a fantastic season. It will be worth the wait.”

“It’s a really exciting season, just takes a little more time,” she added.

So you’ll be waiting longer, but it’s only so the Duffers can give fans the best Stranger Things possible. Sounds good, right? Especially after last season was a little bit of a letdown. If the wait means no more storyline diversions to hang out with Punk Eleven and the Forgettables than I’m all for it.  Oh, and when it does come back you’ll be getting one episode less than before.

Kevin Smith Teases “Massive” Project He Hopes Will Arrive In 2019

By
John Nolan
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Kevin Smith is teasing the biggest project of his career, one that has fans speculating he may have finally made the jump to a Star Wars, Marvel, or DC film. Following on his annual Comic-Con gab fest, Smith hit social media to say that he’s completed scripting on what could be his biggest-budgeted film since Jersey Girl in 2004. Yeah, he doesn’t really do big budgets, does he?

Smith went on to add “Fingers crossed that I get to talk about this one day soon. Or better yet, fingers crossed, we all get to watch it next year…”

I wasn’t kidding, by the way. Smith’s most expensive movie was the dramedy Jersey Girl, which somehow cost $35M. That was well outside the View Askew indie films Smith built his career on, including Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Mallrats, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.

So what is this “massive” project Smith has us crossing our fingers to see?  Well, he promises it isn’t Marvel or Star Wars…

The easy guess is the DC Universe, which Smith has a pretty close association with already. He’s been directing episodes of CW’s The Flash and Supergirl, and has written his share of DC comics in the past.  Is it too much to hope Smith is taking another crack at a Superman movie?

Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series Hires ‘Star Trek 4’ And ‘Jungle Cruise’ Writers

By
John Nolan
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There’s been a lot of guesswork rather than hard news about Amazon’s massive Lord of the Rings TV series, so it’s good to get something concrete. At the Television Critics Association event Amazon announced Star Trek 4 writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay as the show’s screenwriters.

Amazon’s Jennifer Salke made the announcement of the Star Trek and Jungle Cruise duo’s hiring…

“We have closed a deal with a writing team, Payne and McKay who come out of the world of Star Trek. It was a very thoughtful process. It’s such a vast world, there are so many different ways to go with that property. Thanks for Sharon Tal Yguado on my team she led the charge bringing in people. We had an abundance of enthusiasm in the creator/ writer arena and a lot of time spent talking about different takes. The next phase is a big development process as they build out this world.”


Remember, this series will be a prequel taking place before Frodo and his Fellowship went on their first journey. What exactly that means is anybody’s guess because the mythology created by JRR Tolkien is so vast. I’m not sure Amazon is completely aware of what it will be, because they’ve described it as neither a remake or an original piece. Thankfully it doesn’t appear to be centered on a young Aragorn as some rumors have suggested.

As for any involvement by Peter Jackson? No movement on that front, either.

‘Maniac’ Trailer: Emma Stone And Jonah Hill Have Their Minds Blown In Cary Fukunaga’s Netflix Series

By
John Nolan
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The first and last time Emma Stone and Jonah Hill were together on screen it was in Superbad way back in 2007. Their careers have come a long way since then, but they’ve found a way back to one another as part of Cary Fukunaga’s Netflix series, Maniac, which has just released another trippy trailer.

Maniac shows some similarities to Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and centers on a pair of strangers who take part in a pharmaceutical trial that will supposedly solve all of the problems in their lives. If you guessed that it creates all sorts of new problems, you’d be right. Along with Stone and Hill the series includes Justin Theroux, Julia Garner, Jemima Kirke, Sally Field, and Sonoya Mizuno.  Here’s the synopsis:

Set in a world somewhat like our world, in a time quite similar to our time, Maniac tells the stories of Annie Landsberg (Emma Stone) and Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill), two strangers drawn to the late stages of a mysterious pharmaceutical trial, each for their own reasons. Annie’s disaffected and aimless, fixated on broken relationships with her mother and her sister; Owen, the fifth son of wealthy New York industrialists, has struggled his whole life with a disputed diagnosis of schizophrenia. Neither of their lives have turned out quite right, and the promise of a new, radical kind of pharmaceutical treatment—a sequence of pills its inventor, Dr. James K. Mantleray (Justin Theroux), claims can repair anything about the mind, be it mental illness or heartbreak—draws them and ten other strangers to the facilities of Neberdine Pharmaceutical and Biotech for a three-day drug trial that will, they’re assured, with no complications or side-effects whatsoever, solve all of their problems, permanently. Things do not go as planned.

Maniac hits Netflix on September 21st.

‘The Last Days Of American Crime’ Targets Edgar Ramirez For Lead Role

By
John Nolan
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An adaptation of Rick Remender’s comic The Last Days of American Crime has been in the works for years, first with F. Gary Gray directing, followed by Anthony Mandler. Most recently it was Colombiana director Olivier Megaton who took the reins, although nobody had been cast. That may be about to change as THR reports Emmy-nominee Edgar Ramirez is in talks for the story’s lead criminal.

Ramirez, whose recent Emmy nomination was for playing Gianni Versace in American Crime Story, will take on a very different kind of crime tale. Remender’s story takes place in the near future when the U.S. government plans to end all crime by broadcasting a mind control signal. The main character is Graham Bricke, a career criminal who joins up with a femme fatale and her boyfriend to pull off the heist of the century before the signal goes live.

The script is by Oblivion writer and Stranger Things exec-producer Karl Gajdusek.  Upcoming for Ramirez is a villain role in Jungle Cruise opposite Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

Box Office: ‘Mission: Impossible-Fallout’ Scores A Franchise Best $61.5M, ‘Teen Titans Go!’ Disappoints With $10M

By
John Nolan
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1. Mission: Impossible-Fallout (review)- $61.5M
This turned out to be a banner weekend for both Tom Cruise and his Mission: Imposible alter ego, Ethan Hunt. The $61.5M debut of Mission: Impossible-Fallout is the second best of Cruise’s career, behind the $64M of War of the Worlds. It’s also the biggest debut in the franchise, which is saying a lot considering it’s been around more than two decades. Worldwide the film has already scored $153.5M because, whether you like him or not, Cruise is an international megastar. These movies have grown in size while Cruise’s star power has supposedly faded, but he remains the lynchpin of the franchise and the guy we want to see doing ridiculously death-defying stunts. Every few years we want to see how he’s going to top wheatever crazy thing he did last time. Remember when the wildest thing he did was drop down from the ceiling with a harnass on?
2. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again– $15M/$70.4M
3. The Equalizer 2– $14M/$64.2M
Denzel Washington’s first ever sequel The Equalizer 2, tumbled 61% from its perch last weekend. The film earned $14M and has $64M domestic. Overall the action flick has $70M, still a far cry from the $192M of its predecessor. There’s still plenty of time, and the last star I’m ever going to sell short is Denzel.
4. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation– $12.3M/$119.2M
5. Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (review)- $10.5M
Hmmm, I’m not sure what to make of the disappointing debut for Teen Titans Go! to the Movies. The animated film is a satirical sendup of DC’s superhero films, featuring prominent comics team the Teen Titans, which includes Batman’s sidekick, Robin. Maybe audiences didn’t get it, or fans of the episodic TV series figured they were better off staying home and watching reruns on cable.  The reviews have been through the roof (our reviewer dug it, too) and I thought maybe it would attract a crowd who weren’t necessarily into comic books. Clearly I was wrong. On the plus side, Warner Bros. only shelled out $10M for this one. If only they had spent that much on Justice League, eh?
6. Ant-Man and the Wasp– $8.4M/$183.1M
7. Incredibles 2– $7.1M/$572.7M
8. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom– $6.7M/$397.5M
9. Skyscraper– $5.4M/$59.1M
10. The First Purge– $2.2M/$65.4M

Peter Dinklage Is Starring In A ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ Film At Sony

By
John Nolan
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Peter Dinklage hasn’t let his Game of Thrones schedule stop him from taking gigs elsewhere. Last year he starred in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and in a few weeks you’ll be able to see him in Reed Morano’s excellent post-apocalypse drama I Think We’re Alone Now. But with the HBO series winding to a close, Dinklage has decided to take on an adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin soon after.

The Sony production will of course be based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale that, like all of their works, is more screwed up and twisted than kids know.  Patrick Ness, author/screenwriter of A Monster Calls and the Chaos Walking trilogy, will co-write the script with Karen Rosenfelt. The German tale follows a young maiden whose boisterous father brags to the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The greedy king then locks her away in a tower and demands that she do so or have her head cut off in the morning. Enter the imp Rumpelstiltskin, who arrives and does the deed for her in exchange for her necklace. Over the next couple of nights the process is repeated, the stakes growing more dire each time. Dinklage will both star in and produce the film, which hardly sounds like family friendly material. No word on a director just yet.

Chances are this won’t be Dinklage’s first project after Game of Thrones’ final season wraps, but it’ll be a high priority for the studio nonetheless. [Variety]

‘Iron Fist’ Punches Back With New Trailer For Season Two

By
John Nolan
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The first season of Marvel’s Iron Fist took a critical beatdown the likes of which Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage avoided. While those shows received praise, and their stars highly-regarded by fans, Iron Fist and its star Finn Jones were largely ridiculed as outliers. I’ll never forget when The Defenders cast was introduced at Comic-Con last year it was only Jones who was met with a resounding silence. After a well-received Power Man/Iron Fist teamup episode recently, and new showrunner Raven Metzner (Sleepy Hollow) brought on to lead Iron Fist season two, the kung-fu hero may be looking to rally.

The first trailer for Iron Fist season two already has me won over because it finally gives us the classic costume. I was wondering how and when they would work it in. The teaser is short, but it shows Danny Rand (Jones) and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) walking down a New York street where everything seems to remind him of a past experience in Kun Lun. In one scene we see what appears to be Danny battling Davos (Sacha Dhawan) for the mantle of Iron Fist. It may start off graceful but sure doesn’t end that way.

I’m expecting Metzner to really dig into the myth and the lore of the Iron Fist, while taking the character into grittier corners of Marvel’s street-level brand. I’m optimistic. Sadly, it’s been confirmed that Rosario Dawson won’t be appearing in season two, but you can expect Alice Eve, Simone Missick, Tom Pelphrey, and Jessica Stroup.

Iron Fist season two hits Netflix on September 7th.

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