So I think Channing Tatum’s X-Men spinoff Gambit is deader than the original Thunderbird. Deader than Moira MacTaggert. Deader than Maggott. Just yesterday Gore Verbinski dropped out of the project, making him the third director who has left since development began what seems like an eternity ago. But apparently 20th Century Fox aren’t ready to give up yet. They’re simply going to delay its release date a few months, however it’s not so they can look for a new director.
According to THR, Gambit’s release date has been bumped from February 14th 2019 to June 7th 2019. Why? Because Fox thinks, since the movie is a comedy, that it will play better in the summer.
Wait, it’s a comedy?
Yeah, that’s it. The trade says Gambit will have a “heavy comedic tone” and center on a heist. Don’t get me wrong, Gambit is a funny character at times and we know Tatum is one of the funniest dudes around. This could be great, but you’d think Fox would be more concerned about not having a director. They’re still looking for Verbinski’s replacement, but I think when all is said and done it will be Disney who gets the final word on whether Gambit becomes a reality.
This shouldn’t come as a shock that some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and power players have been circling Quentin Tarantino’s Manson-era film. Jennifer Lawrence, Tom Cruise, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and of course Samuel L. Jackson are all in the mix to be a part of it in some way, but today brings the first official casting and it’s a reunion with Tarantino’s Django Unchained star, Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio, who was among the first names Tarantino sought, has joined the untitled movie set in 1969. This is a huge get because DiCaprio doesn’t just agree to anything; he generally makes one movie a year or sometimes none at all. And if the film needs to hit $375M just to break even, as cost projections suggest, then having a star like DiCaprio may do the trick.
Details on the film remain slim, and so too is DiCaprio’s role. The story, set against the backdrop of the Manson family’s murder of Sharon Tate (possibly played by Robbie) and her friends, follows a male TV actor and his sidekick, also his stunt double, as they try to break into the movie business.
HBO is turning up the heat on the small screen with their adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic, Fahrenheit 451. Today they’ve set it off with the first teaser, which doesn’t actually show stars Michael B. Jordan or Michael Shannon, but it does have a couple of guys in police uniforms and a bunch of burning books. Good thing there are a couple of new photos, as well.
The film is directed by 99 Homes director Ramin Bahrani, and also stars Star Trek Discovery‘s Sofia Boutella, Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s Laura Harrier, and Bad Moms‘ Lily Singh. The story takes place in a dystopian future where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any they come across. Jordan and Shannon play firemen on opposing sides of the issue, and the temperature between them both is bound to rise.
It’s a world where facts are things to be hated, which sadly sounds a little too much like our own reality right now.
“I don’t know what the fuck it is. It’s kind of different and strange.” This line from one the more quintessential indie films, My Art, I believe, perfectly sums up the movie in question and if it weren’t for the details of the job, I would probably describe the movie as just that and be done with it. However, because this is supposed to be a review, I suppose that I should go into a bit more detail about the movie.
My Art follows the story of Ellie, played by Laurie Simmons, as she spends one summer, house sitting for a friend in Upstate New York. During her time there, she meets and befriends gardeners and locals of the small town, who in turn end up helping Ellie with a film project whose focus is on her reimagining and reinvention of classic, Hollywood movies.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about this movie once I began to really think about it is the fact that Ellie does seems to become more alive as she falls deeper and deeper into her project. Before she leaves for the summer house, the audience gets a feeling that Ellie may not necessarily be extremely happy or clear on her life or the direction that it’s going in. Instead of letting that take her into an existential and depressive down spiral she is able to find solace, meaning, and even love in the process of making something that she still doesn’t know where exactly it will all end up. The filmmakers could have easily turned her filmmaking process into a source of negative, internal conflict ripe with cynicism and irony that we have all come to expect from entertainment that has and continues to live within a postmodern world, but they instead provide a sense of sentimentality and authenticity to the characters and their stories that is refreshing.
One thing that particularly makes this movie stand apart from other is the integration of classic, Hollywood movies that are redone with Ellie and the other characters of the movie taking the place of the original actors. The viewer will come to understand that, among other things, this movie is also an homage to that time in cinematic history as well. Even though there were scenes that did leave me a bit confused as to how they exactly fit into the larger story because there were those moments that were reimagined that weren’t apart of any actual, specific shoot that the characters were doing; however, after having more time to really sit and think about it, I see how those moments, if anything, add to the sense of nostalgia and longing that I know is present throughout the movie.
This movie is different and it is strange. There is almost this kind of aloofness to it that I can’t quite put my finger on but can sense. So, for that reason I know that it’s not necessarily for everyone. There are also times when things felt a little too scripted; lines felt a little too forced and the execution of others sometimes fell a bit flat. The movie is also on the slower side, but all in all there was something that was still quietly intriguing about the whole experience that I would say if you’re open to that you should give it a chance, if you’re able to.
Those of us who are packing our snow gear for the annual trip to Sundance got a welcome surprise last month when Lynne Ramsay’s latest, You Were Never Really Here, was a last minute addition to the lineup. The film, which stars a grizzled Joaquin Phoenix as a war veteran who tracks down missing girls for a living, turned a lot of heads at Cannes and now it’s set to make another big impression. Here’s the synopsis:
A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.
Joining Phoenix are Alessandro Nivola, Judith Roberts, Ekaterina Samsonov, John Doman, Alex Manette, and Dante Pereira-Olsen. Hopefully I’ll get a review for you all soon. You Were Never Really Here opens April 6th.
Who doesn’t love a good home invasion movie? They aren’t easy to pull off, but when they’re great they are REALLY great. High Tension, You’re Next, Funny Games, When A Stranger Calls…these are some great flicks. Another underrated one? David Fincher’s Panic Room, even though it was kinda polarizing when it came out in 2002. Well now we’re getting what looks like a twist on the same formula with Breaking In, only this time the angry mother is Gabrielle Union not Jodie Foster, and she’s trying to break into the house not out of it. Can’t say the title is misleading, at least.
Directed by formerly red-hot James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), the film stars Union as a mother who must bust into her impenetrable luxury home to rescue her kids who have been taken hostage. Frankly, I’m in just to watch Union unleash some maternal fury on a bunch of bad guys.
Ever since a second season of HBO’s Big Little Lies looked more like a reality, the chances of Reese Witherspoon having time for other projects dwindled. In November we first started to hear that she may have to drop out of the long-developing sci-fi drama Pale Blue Dot, which has Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley behind the camera. And now today Witherspoon has been officially replaced by a fellow Oscar winner.
Natalie Portman has stepped into the lead role, playing an astronaut who returns home from space, only to slowly lose her sanity upon returning to her seemingly perfect home life. The last time we saw Portman lose her sh*t was in Black Swan and we saw how that worked out.
Kevin Hart is teaming up with Ride Along and Think Like a Man director Tim Story once again, this time on My Own Worst Enemy. The action-comedy comes from London Has Fallen writer Chad St. John, and finds Hart as an agent given a kill order and gets help from an unlikely source. Story will direct, with shooting set to begin this summer. This film is part of a huge deal Hart and Story have inked with Universal, coming on the heels of Hart’s $500M+ success with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. [Deadline]
Brooklyn director John Crowley is putting together a stellar cast for his adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Goldfinch. Jeffrey Wright and Luke Wilson are the latest to join the previously cast Ansel Elgort, Sarah Paulson, and Aneurin Barnard in the story of Theo Decker (Elgort), a young man who survives a terrorist bombing at an art gallery that kills his mother, escaping with the titular Golden Age painting. Wilson will play Theo’s deadbeat dad who commits his a series of art forgeries, while Wright takes the role of Hobie, a role that Ralph Fiennes was previously sought for. Willa Fitzgerald is also in talks to play Kitsey Barbour, daughter of a rich family that takes Theo in. [Variety]
Tonight me and the hundreds of critics in the Broadcast Film Critics Association put our heads together, got all dolled up, strolled into a hangar in Santa Monica, CA and awards the 2018 Critics Choice Awards. The big winner of the night was Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water, which earned him Best Director, Best Picture, Best Production Design, and Screenplay.
Clearly gaining in momentum is Martin McDonagh’s divisive Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which saw Frances McDormand win for Best Actress, Sam Rockwell for Best Supporting Actor, and Best Ensemble.
In some of the “fun” categories, Wonder Woman won for Best Action Movie, Best Comedy went to The Big Sick, and the Best in Sci-Fi/Horror was awarded to Jordan Peele’s Get Out.
Full list of winners, including for TV, is below:
FILM
BEST PICTURE
The Shape of Water BEST ACTOR
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour BEST ACTRESS
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Allison Janney, I, Tonya BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri BEST DIRECTOR
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Jordan Peele, Get Out BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, Jeff Melvin, The Shape of Water BEST EDITING
(TIE)
Paul Machliss, Jonathan Amos, Baby Driver
Lee Smith, Dunkirk BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Darkest Hour BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
War for the Planet of the Apes BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Coco BEST ACTION MOVIE
Wonder Woman BEST COMEDY
The Big Sick BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
James Franco, The Disaster Artist BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya BEST SCI-FI OR HORROR MOVIE
Get Out BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In The Fade BEST SONG
“Remember Me” from Coco BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
TELEVISION
BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ted Danson, The Good Place, NBC BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Walton Goggins, Vice Principals, HBO BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory, CBS BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us, NBC BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale, HulU BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
David Harbour, Stranger Things, Netflix BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu BEST LIMITED SERIES
Big Little Lies, HBO BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TV
The Wizard of Lies, HBO BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES
Ewan McGregor, Fargo, FX BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies, HBO BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES
Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies, HBO BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies, HBO BEST TALK SHOW
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Rick and Morty, Adult Swim BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES
Born This Way, A&E BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES
Shark Tank, ABC BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES
The Voice, NBC BEST REALITY SHOW HOST
RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race, VH1
Things have gotten so chaotic over on the X-Men side of the Fox lot you’d think Scarlet Witch had them with a hex bolt. Earlier today we learned Gambit had lost its third director when Gore Verbinski left, and now Fox is shaking up the entire release date schedule to compensate.
The biggest move is Josh Boone’s New Mutants, which shifts from its April 13th date all the way to February 14th 2019, which used to be the old Gambit slot. Believe it or not I see this as a good thing. Boone’s film is going for straight-up horror, a departure for the mutant franchise, and I think having more time to properly push that angle is a plus.
Finally, Deadpool 2 has been moved up a few weeks to May 18th, just a week before Solo: A Star Wars Story. Some may see this as a dangerous choice but I don’t think Solo will be the powerhouse other Star Wars movies have been. At least, not enough to hurt the R-rated merc with the mouth. Besides, I have a feeling Solo isn’t going to make its date and may get bumped further into summer.
With so much going on at Fox right now I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more moves. Stay tuned.
