Remember that Jimmy Olsen Superman spinoff series we’ve been hearing about since last summer? Well, now we know what it is. HBO Max has ordered the eight-episode series The People V. Gorilla Grodd, a mockumentary of true-crime docs that will cast a humorous light on the Metropolis justice system.
The DC Studios/Warner Bros. Television collaboration will reunite the Daily Planet staff seen in James Gunn’s Superman: Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover reprises her role as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce returns as Perry White.
New additions to the DCU are Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, who was announced some time ago, along with Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.
It’s the perfect superhero vehicle for American Vandal creators Tony Yacenda and Perrault, who worked with Tatro on that series, a true-crime parody.
The series will center on Grodd, a super-intelligent ape, who is convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Olsen and the Daily Planet team investigate the case as part of an eight-part documentary on whether Grodd was wrongfully convicted.
Grodd has already made an appearance in Gunn’s DCU during an episode of Creature Commandos.
DC Studios co-chairs Gunn and Peter Safran praised the cast’s chemistry in a statement, “Between Skyler’s wonderful performance and the fantastic chemistry of the Daily Planet cast, we knew coming out of ‘Superman’ that this would be a fun world to explore. We’re excited to work with the brilliant Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda to take the audience down some of the darker and funnier streets and alleyways of the DCU as Jimmy spotlights the Metropolis criminal justice system for his docuseries.”
I thought this Jimmy Olsen spinoff was a horrible idea at first, but this totally changes my mind. The tone sounds similar to Marvel’s She-Hulk, which was often a send-up of legal dramas. Sounds pretty good to me.
I would say to take this with a grain of salt, even though it’s coming from director Jon Turteltaub himself, but he wouldn’t be the first to mislead fans about a project he really wants to happen. According to Turteltaub, National Treasure 3 has been greenlit by Disney, promising a return of Nicolas Cage’s treasure hunter.
The news was revealed (via Inquirer) in Philly at a taping of the National Treasure Hunt podcast. Turteltaub added that the fans in attendance were the first he’s told the news to, and that “to whatever extent we can, everyone’s back”.
He also said that Disney likes the script, but declined to say who the screenwriter was. Back in 2020, Bad Boys for Life writer Chris Bremner was hired for the job, so it might be him.
Regardless, I’m definitely in favor of more National Treasure. They had Nicolas Cage back when he was still a mainstream star, and he got to run around historical landmarks and solve puzzles, find treasures, play the hero…basically, these movies were The Da Vinci Code only much lighter on the brain. And they were hits, too. The first National Treasure in 2004 made $347M, 2007’s Book of Secrets did even better with $457M. Problems with drafting a script Disney liked was the only reason a third movie wasn’t done sooner.
Expect Jerry Bruckheimer to return as producer. Likely, he was the driving force behind this happening at all, just as he has been for more Pirates of the Caribbean.
In the meantime, Disney released the short-lived spinoff seriesNational Treasure: Edge of History, led by a young woman and tied to the original movies only through cameos by Justin Bartha and Harvey Keitel.
Turteltaub has been around a long time, his first movie was in 1988. But he doesn’t have a super long resume even though he’s directed some big hits and iconic classics such as Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping, Phenomenon, Last Vegas, and most recently The Meg in 2018.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day swung to the top for the fourth week in a row with $39M. That makes $854M domestic, just a few million away from surpassing Avengers: Endgame to become the #2 all-time stateside release and the #1 movie ever for Marvel Studios. Worldwide, it has now hit $2.22B and is on the verge of surpassing Titanic for #4 of all-time. Wow.
Sony’s second film in the top 10, Insidious: Out of the Further, opened with $25M domestic. That’s about average for the 15-year-old franchise and the 6th movie, and generally not too bad considering it lacks the Rose Byrne/Patrick Wilson star power. Reviews weren’t great, although at 58% that’s the best Rotten Tomatoes score from critics since the first one hit 66% back in 2010. Audiences liked it a bit better at 70%.
The promise of Jason Statham kicking butt on the high seas was only enough for Mutiny to bring in $7.5M. That’s on the low end of recent Statham flicks, like A Working Man and The Beekeeper, which were better reviewed and opened in the $15M-$16M range. However, it’s slightly better than Shelter‘s $5.5M debut earlier this year.
After three weeks, A24 finally expanded its Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony nationwide to 1,642 theaters. The result was a 576% jump from last week, but only $5M and a 6.6M total for the well-reviewed film starring Dominic Sessa and Antonio Banderas. Currently, it has 95% from critics on RT and 92% from audiences, so it could have a solid run based on word-of-mouth.
8. The Fast and the Furious– $3.1M
Yes, THAT one, the OG Fast and the Furious from 2001, was re-released in celebration of its 25th anniversary (!!!), and audiences were clearly hyped for the fond old days when Dominic Toretto actually was a street racer. Universal Pictures can add another $3.1M to the film’s lifetime haul, which is over $200M.
Black Bear released the raunchy female comedy Spa Weekend into just over 2000 theaters, bringing in $3M. The film stars Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau, and Anna Faris as best friends and busy moms whose relaxing vacay at a luxury spa turns chaotic. It’s from the writers of The Hangover and the guys who directed Bad Moms, so I’m surprised it didn’t get a wider rollout. Then again, 34% critical on RT isn’t a good way to start, although it’s at 76% with audiences.
10. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma– $1.9M/$3.6M
Cracking into the top ten after three weeks with $1.9M is MUBI’s queer horror Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, the film about an indie director rebooting a classic horror franchise and entering a psycho-sexual fling with its original star has received strong reviews across the board, including from yours truly.
Also…Vertical released its adaptation of Enid Blyton’s children’s novel The Magic Faraway Tree (review), starring Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, and Rebecca Ferguson. Opening in 1,611 theaters, it just missed the top ten with $1.3M. However, it’s doing much better overseas, as expected, earning $32M internationally.
Focus Features debuted in 268 theaters the trippy sci-fi film Hot Spot (review), starring Noomi Rapace and from the director of The Lure. It opened with just $250K for a $932 per site average.
Lastly, there was a lot of buzz surrounding the release of NEON’s horror, It Ends, about a group of friends on a terrifying late-night drive. But it seems a lot of that energy was from critics, who have it at 94% on RT, while audiences only had five theaters to choose from to see it. Those who had the opportunity took it, as the film hit $60K for a $12K per site average. [BoxOfficeMojo]
I’ve been a fan of Annabelle Wallis since she played Jane Seymour in Showtime’s The Tudors, a show that also gave us Henry Cavill and Natalie Dormer. Pretty good company. She’s had a lot of big roles ever since, but has rarely been asked to push the action like in Mutiny, starring alongside Jason Statham.
In Mutiny, Statham stars as Cole Reed, a former commando turned private security operative who witnesses the murder of his billionaire boss and is framed for the killing. The only way to clear his name and get revenge is to board a cargo ship and uncover a deeper conspiracy in international waters.
Wallis stars as Angie Ellis, a hard-working mom and skilled sailor who, as the only female on the ship’s crew, is already under threat when Reed arrives and starts stirring up trouble.
It’s not often that Statham has a female co-star fighting beside him, but Wallis more than holds her own. While speaking with her about Mutiny, Wallis talked about the fun she had working with Statham, and finally carrying some of the action herself, something she wants to do more of in the future. We also talked about her character, Angie, and how being a parent away from her kid impacted the choices she makes on the ship.
Mutiny is open in theaters now. You can check out my interview with Annabelle Wallis below, and my review of the film here!
Noomi Rapace has always been fearless, and has consistently played fearless characters on the screen. Whether it’s Lisbeth Salander, defining that rebel on the big screen in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or Elizabeth Shaw in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, one of seven identical sisters in What Happened to Monday, Rapace is an actress who isn’t afraid to be bold, which is why she has a legion of fans across the world, myself included. Rapace takes on another challenge in Hot Spot, playing an activist cyber witch in Agnieszka Smoczynska’s trippy sci-fi thriller.
In Hot Spot, society is controlled by a sentient Artificial Intelligence known as “The Head”, which is in charge of every aspect of human life. Refuse to plug in, and face the consequences. When a murder takes place at a refugee compound, The Head sets a detective on the case, only for him to encounter Rapace’s Rana, a cyber witch who forces him to rethink everything he thought he knew about the world and himself.
This was my second time speaking with Noomi Rapace, and once again I found her engaging and really invested in the subject matter, which is about the prevalence of AI in our own lives. I also spoke with Hot Spot director Smoczynska and Rapace’s co-star, Andrzej Konopka, about the film’s wild ’80s aesthetic, the cool vintage costumes and soundtrack, and influences from other classic sci-fi movies.
Hot Spot is in theaters now. Check out the interview below and my review here!
Looking back at the careers of Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy, it can be hard to find a lot of joyful stuff. Obviously, Garfield played Spider-Man for a few years so that’s not completely the case. And there’s something inspirational to be found in their previous film together, 2017’s Breathe, about a disabled man overcoming life’s challenges. But in terms of experiences that are purely innocent, sweet, and allowing for them to have fun like kids, The Magic Faraway Tree was something they both had needed for a long time.
That was the sentiment I got while talking with Garfield and Foy about The Magic Faraway Tree, a contemporary adaptation of Enid Blyton’s beloved book about a family who flee the city to the English countryside. There, they discover a magic forest and a giant tree that can transport them to many wondrous worlds full of extraordinary people.
In my conversation with Garfield and Foy, we talked about The Magic Faraway Tree being a kind of escape for them. We also talked about how the film is placed in a modern setting where kids are too occupied with their smartphones and tablets to experience the world around them. And, of course, I had to ask them which of the many worlds in the story they’d love the most: a world of desserts or birthdays? Desserts for me, please!
I also spoke with director Ben Gregor on the challenge of bringing a book beloved by millions to the big screen.
The Magic Faraway Tree is in theaters now! Check out my interview below, and the review here!
Sometimes, when you interview stars of a movie about friendship, you can tell that these people don’t really care for one another. The first thing that hit me while talking with the cast and creatives of the new comedy, Spa Weekend, is how close they are as actual friends. This was true whether speaking with the cast: Leslie Mann, Michelle Buteau, Isla Fisher, Anna Faris, and Adam Devos, or with directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore along with producer Suzanne Todd. That feeling, that you’re truly sitting among friends, is what audiences who check out the film this weekend will come away with.
Spa Weekend stars Mann, Fisher, Buteau, and Faris as childhood friends, now busy adult moms dealing with work, kids, divorces, and other stressors in their daily lives. When three of the friends decide to get away for a luxurious spa getaway, the uninvited loose cannon of the group also shows up, turning this relaxing vacay into a chaotic roller coaster that might just be what they all need.
Ahead of the film’s release, I had a chance to speak with the stars, directors, and producer of Spa Weekend at an event hosted by Black Bear Pictures and Getaways by Southwest. We talked about everything, from the ladies’ own wild experiences shooting the film at an actual spa, unexpected goat encounters, shooting comedies for female audiences rather than for men, and so much more.
Spa Weekend is in theaters now. Check out the interviews below and my review here!
The Magic Faraway Tree is based on the beloved series of novels by Enid Blyton, which predate C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. These books are so popular in the U.K. that most school-aged children read them at a young age, but director Ben Gregor and writer Simon Farnaby, the latter known for the Paddington movies, weren’t afraid to give Blyton’s story a contemporary spin while keeping the enchanting, wondrous, and adventurous spirit that readers have loved for generations.
Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy reunite (they starred in Breathe together in 2017) in The Magic Faraway Tree as parents Tim and Polly Thompson. When a comical mishap causes Polly to lose her high-paying job in London, they take the opportunity to round up the kids, Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), middle kid Joe (Phoenix Larouche) and Fran (Billie Gadsdon), all obsessed with their gadgets and smart devices, and whisk them to the countryside. The children aren’t pleased. There, free-spirited Tim plans to grow tomatoes to open a pasta sauce business inside of their ramshackle new home. Little do they know, they are living next to an enchanted forest, and at its center is a massive, magical tree that leads to faraway worlds full off quirky characters such as the fairy Silky (played by Bridgerton‘s Nicola Coughlan) and the robust Moonface (Nonso Anozie). Of course, there’s also evil that lurks, with Rebecca Ferguson as the villainous Dame Snap.
The Magical Faraway Tree leans heavily into nostalgia and light-hearted fun, mostly through the unpredictable worlds that come and go with the tick-tock of a clock. It’s easy to see why kids would daydream of venturing to a world of snacks, or a world of birthdays where your every wish is granted. Even when the threat of danger looms, it never really feels like anything too serious is happening. It always feels like a pleasure trip for these kiddos, which separates this film from Narnia and Harry Potter, where the threats are often very mature. Garfield and Foy, who have starred in their share of very heavy dramas recently, seem to be having a blast with a film that allows them to smile, laugh, and be silly again.
On the one hand, it’s nice to have a movie that just wants to offer kids a joyful, whimsical experience. Older kids, and adults for that matter, might find The Magic Faraway Tree a bit unsophisticated for the same reason. That said, its message, about putting the devices down and experiencing the great, big, wonderful world that’s out there, is one that still resonates.
The Magic Faraway Tree opens August 21st from Vertical.
Adulting is tough. Being a hard-working mom with little time to chill with your besties is even tougher. Which of us couldn’t use a relaxing getaway? Spa Weekend, the latest female ensemble comedy from Bad Moms duo Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, isn’t breaking the mold with this over-the-top treat, which boasts an impeccable cast of leading ladies in Leslie Mann, Anna Faris, Michelle Buteau, and Isla Fisher.
Mann stars as overworked, powerhouse attorney Jane, who is so busy she never thinks about her own needs. Faris is beleaguered PA Sophie, bullied at work by her man-child of a boss; while the hilarious Buteau is Coco, a bitter and angry divorcee who would rather fight with her ex-husband Roger (Dominic Ona-Ariki) and make fun of his new, older girlfriend. Friends since childhood, the trio decide they need some tie away from it all to celebrate Jane’s birthday.
Put-upon PA Sophie (Faris), overworked attorney Jane (Mann) and embittered divorcee Coco (Buteau) are childhood besties who, as fraught adults, could use some long-overdue downtime, so it’s off to a luxurious spa in Palm Beach to kick back, enjoy the view of the hot Aussie yoga instructor, Kai (Adam Demos), and have some fun. They didn’t count on one thing; the arrival of excluded chaos-bringer Mel, played by an unhinged Isla Fisher, who was invited on the down low by a regretful Sophie.
Moore and Lucas, writers of The Hangover and creators of the Bad Moms franchise, don’t stray far from the chaotic formula with Spa Weekend. That’s partially a problem, as the duo tends to write their movies with the same type of gags whether they are done by men or women. But female friendships are very different from the kind that guys have, and it would’ve been nice to see that reflected. At the same time, it’s tough to complain when the catastrophic Mel is shouting “hoes before bros!!” embarrassingly at her besties, or when the group is getting roughed up by aggressive goats at yoga class.
There will be squabbles among the group, secrets revealed, and lots of talk about love and sex. Jane, a hottie with a “stripper body” as Mel calls her, thinks her time for love has passed, but finds an unexpected connection beyond physical with Kai. And while Kai is clearly there just to be eye candy, Demos is such a charmer that the character becomes something more than that. It’s easy to see why he would dig Jane, and why she would dig him.
The best arc of all belongs to Buteau’s Coco, however, and perhaps I feel this way partially due to personal experience, but it rang true with me. Coco is perpetually angry since the divorce, and while most comedies would have pegged Kai as the bad guy, that’s not true here. He’s a genuinely good guy, but understands that love wasn’t enough to save their marriage. Coco needs help, and he wants her to get it, not for them to be reunited but so that she can be happy. Coco, who had a tough childhood, is reluctant to accept that kind of help. She’s pissed at Roger, but is also still attracted to him, so when he shows up at the spa due to one of Mel’s crazy schemes, the sexual sparks light up again. This only makes their relationship more complicated, as things always are with divorced couples.
Buteau and Fisher are Spa Weekend‘s greatest standouts. Fisher gets the flashy, unpredictable role similar to Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover. While her humor is more of a frenzy, Buteau’s Coco cuts like a knife with her sharp, blunt observations. Ultimately, all four women are great together, especially the more Fisher is allowed to go off the cuff.
That said, Spa Weekend could’ve used a bit more edge. Lacking the raunch and lowbrow gags of Bad Moms, it comes across as too tame to appeal to both men and women on a large scale. While it’s fun to see these friends being chased by spa security in golf carts, or throwing a stripper party that goes off the rails, it’s all just mildly amusing. In truth, the best part of this Spa Weekend is seeing Mann, Faris, Buteau, and Fisher connecting like true friends do. It truly feels like they are just hanging out and enjoying one another’s company, cracking jokes and learning life’s simple truths.
Female comedies are a rarity these days. For every successful Bad Moms or Girls Trip movie, there are years with nothing at all. It’s a shame because they tend to do extremely well, probably because they come around so infrequently. Spa Weekend is light and entertaining, the kind of easygoing time that you can have with your friends over brunch, sipping mimosas.
When a huge blockbuster film is about to come out in theaters, the trailer you see online is only a small sample of the complete media. Actually, what you see in the trailer is just the highlight of all the media material, as behind the scenes a whole range of other versions, international editions, HD stills, scenes, behind-the-scenes shots, B-roll footage, press releases, press material, poster materials, and, in a few cases, critics get the whole movie delivered as a screener.
The main concern is handling all that material across studios, distributors, publicists, and entertainment platforms without leaking the content to the public. And most commonly, this material is handled by people in different countries and time zones, all aiming for the same deadline when the embargo is lifted.
Embargo, The Silent Deadline
For journalists who cover entertainment, an embargo can turn a Tuesday at the office into a war-room scenario. Studios may send out films early via digital copies (like screeners, etc.), allowing them to take a peek. Still, your piece cannot be published until a certain deadline and time. The same restriction is imposed upon trailers and first-look pictures
There can’t be one reason, such as the potential leak of such a trailer, ruining a surprise, giving up an important character, or even destroying an expensive advertising campaign. A leaked screener can be much worse, particularly if it includes unfinished visual effects, post-credit scenes, or plot elements the studio is deliberately hiding at this time.
The Motion Picture Association’s Content Security Best Practices document illustrates the degree to which the industry is treating the matter by outlining security requirements for various stages like production, post-production, marketing, and distribution.
Reasons Email is Not Adequate
Send along a high-definition feature film or a bunch of gigabytes of B-roll, and you’d immediately realize that email is not the way to go.
These days, entertainment-related files are simply too hefty and not fit for normal attachments. Even materials for publicity that seem rather low in number can accumulate into large quantities if an outlet is bombarded with dozens of photos, various video formats, and supporting documents for several upcoming releases.
This is why the film industry and PR agents must rely on mechanisms that cater to the delivery of vast volumes of files. The preferred way of working would be for the right people to view only the relevant assets, without having to deal with a lot of confusing email attachments or the hassle of physical drives between team members.
Sure, the publicity team in Los Angeles, who have to deliver the media assets to the editor in New York, to critics in London, or to media people who work with totally different schedules, will rely on an infrastructure that does not fail regardless of the place of their audience.
Security Has to Follow the File
It’s not just a matter of moving the file that is a challenge. It’s about keeping track of what happens after it has been shared.
With a secure media sharing solution, businesses can limit who can see, control who gets what, and even revoke access on embargo ends or when projects change. But besides that, it needs robust file protection, since they often contain the fruits of many months or even years of expensive creative work.
As for handling this kind of exchange, enterprise cloud storage can provide secure storage for large volumes of confidential media with full control.
There is a different facet as well: data regulation or compliance. If media content includes the recording of interviews, the name of the interviewee, details of the contributor, any other personal data, then a company’s responsibility towards ensuring privacy can come in.
Provenance Is Part of the Story Too
Preventing leaks is only a part of security. Media organizations are getting interested in the origins of their digital assets and the possibility of any alterations to them.
Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), which works worldwide, created technical standards to store content provenance information in a way that it can be verified. They have Content Credentials, which are supposed to keep the provenance history intact when the media passes through different stages of editing and publishing.
Such a system would be valuable mainly at a period when promotional images, clips, and digitized works will change their owners many times before arriving at the audience.
The Infrastructure Behind the Curtain
For viewers, a movie trailer premiere or a first-look review might seem like just one event: the video is posted, the article is released, and the conversation begins.
Actually, there is a perfectly orchestrated series of upload permissions, encrypted transfers, embargo instructions, and access controls. Publicists send out only necessary materials to the relevant outlets; editors get their copies from there, critics receive their screeners, and marketing teams schedule the world time for the product launch to match perfectly.
It is quite a hidden system that usually draws no attention. And that’s the way it should be, probably. When it runs smoothly, no one notices it. The trailer is released at the right time, the review is published at midnight, the press junket coverage goes live, and the film fans see the next big movie moment.
So, every refined film story has the other side to the story, which is essentially an enormous digital operation of logistics that ensures that only the correct media is delivered to the correct individuals at the right time without any leaks or premature releases.
