Because the end of a beloved television series doesn’t mean much anymore, Downton Abbey fans didn’t have to wait long before their favorite characters returned on the big screen. 2019’s film was a surprising hit with nearly $200M worldwide, winning over longtime viewers and newcomers to the Crawley clan such as myself. The pandemic delayed the sequel’s release until next year, but today the upstairs/downstairs lives on the posh Yorkshire estate are back in a new teaser trailer.
Downton Abbey: A New Era returns virtually the entire cast from the first movie including Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Matthew Goode, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Maggie Smith even though the fiery Dowager Countess Violet Crawley was revealed to be suffering from a terminal illness.
While details of the story have remained fairly secret, this footage does reveal that Violet’s “mysterious past” with a man is going to play a role because now she’s come into some prized land in the south of France.
Series creator Julian Fellowes is back to write the screenplay, because nobody knows these characters and this little slice of English history better. Simon Curtis takes over as director, replacing Michael Engler. Curtis is best known for his films My Week with Marilyn, Woman in Gold, and Goodbye Christopher Robin.
Downton Abbey: A New Era opens on March 18th 2022.
What was that about shitty reviews for Eternals? It hasn’t mattered much at the box office, as Chloe Zhao’s Marvel epic topped with another $27.5M, sliding 61% in week two. That gives the film $118M domestic and a worldwide total of $284M.
Paramount’s Clifford the Big Red Dog didn’t need to sit up and beg for audiences to show up for it last weekend. The family-friendly film opened in select theaters and streaming on Wednesday, earning $16M for the traditional weekend and $22M overall. That’s above projections and a pretty good start for the $60M=budgeted film with no big stars other than, well, the beloved canine himself.
3. Dune– $5.5M/$93.1M
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune may be crawling to pass $100M here in the States, but overseas it continues to be a powerhouse with $258M internationally and $351M worldwide.
4. No Time to Die– $4.6M/$150.4M
James Bond continues to make a killing with No Time to Die. The 25th Bond film has now surpassed $700M worldwide, and with it $558M overseas to be the biggest international hit of the pandemic era.
Powered by Best Picture frontrunner buzz, Kenneth Branagh’s black & white coming-of-age film Belfast opened to a strong $1.8M in just 580 locations. How this fares for the long haul will depend on continued word of mouth about its Oscars chances.
Say His Name! We’re happy to offer our readers the chance to win a Blu-ray of Candyman, from director Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele!
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II leads an incredible buzz-worthy cast in CANDYMAN, which also stars Teyonah Parris (If Beale Street Could Talk, “Wandavision,” forthcoming The Marvels), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (“Generation,” “Misfits”) and Colman Domingo (HBO’s “Euphoria,” Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Assassination Nation). A bold, expansive take on the tragic and terrifying urban legend, CANDYMAN is produced and co-written by Academy Award® winner Jordan Peele and directed by rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta, the first Black woman to helm a #1 film at the box office!
To enter, simply complete the Rafflepress contest form below. One winner will be selected on November 20th and notified by email.
Candyman will be available on Blu-Ray, DVD, 4K UltraHD on November 16th. Check out the included features below.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES ON 4K UHD, BLU-RAYTM, DVD AND DIGITAL:
ALTERNATE ENDING
DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES
SAY MY NAME: Filmmakers and cast discuss how the horror at the center of Candyman is both timely and timeless, which is a tragedy in and of itself.
BODY HORROR: We explore director Nia DaCosta’s influences in the subgenre of body horror, and what Anthony’s physical transformation means to the story.
THE FILMMAKER’S EYE: NIA DACOSTA: Take a closer look at director Nia DaCosta, and how her singular voice and perspective were perfect to tell this story.
PAINTING CHAOS: Filmmakers reveal how Anthony’s artwork evolves throughout the film and how they strived for authenticity in recreating Chicago’s vibrant art scene.
THE ART OF ROBERT AIKI AUBREY LOWE: Composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe reveals some of the unconventional methodology he used to create the unique and haunting soundscapes sounds of the film.
TERROR IN THE SHADOWS: A behind-the-scenes look at how the analogue shadow puppetry scenes were created and an unpacking of why this ancient artistic medium was the most conceptually relevant for depicting the legends’ cycle of violence.
CANDYMAN: THE IMPACT OF BLACK HORROR: A roundtable discussion moderated by Colman Domingo about the nuanced relationship Black Americans have with Candyman, the horror genre and the overall idea of monsters and victims.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to experience the first two episodes of Amazon’s anticipated series, The Wheel of Time, starring Rosamund Pike and based on the epic fantasy novels! This special event will be hosted by a Wheel of time superfan, and includes a photobooth plus free popcorn and soda!
SYNOPSIS: Set in an epic fantasy world, The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young villagers, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn…the one who will either save or destroy humanity.
The screening takes place on Monday, November 15th at Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. Doors open at 7:00pm which is when the photo ops will be available, with the screening to begin promptly at 8:00pm. If you’d like to attend, simply go to the Gofobo site here.
Enjoy the show! The Wheel of Time premieres on Amazon Prime Video beginning November 19th.
Following news that Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron film has been delayed indefinitely, attention has turned towards the Star Wars project by Marvel Studios chief, Kevin Feige. Nobody knows anything about it, really, other than Loki writer Michael Waldron working on the script. But rumors began to surface that Oscar-winning Nomadland and Eternals director Chloe Zhao might be involved. Well, that’s not looking to be true.
THR’s“insiders insist that no, Chloé Zhao is not directing Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movie, or any Star Wars movie.”
Whether that has anything to do with the lukewarm critical response to Eternals is unclear. It’s always possible she was never going to direct it in the first place, which is what I think is going on here. The bigger question for me isn’t what’s up with Feige’s Star Wars movie, but whether Zhao will stick around for an Eternals sequel.
It has been a Marvel-ous 24hrs of news springing from Disney+ Day. But that’s over now, and some attention needs to be paid to one of the most crucial MCU films arriving on the silver screen, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Unfortunately, the update can be seen as a bit of a mixed bag.
According to THR, the Doctor Strange sequel is going back for six weeks of “significant” reshoots and additional photography in Los Angeles. That’s more than the typical production budgets into the schedule and suggests a couple of things. Either something REALLY doesn’t work within the screenplay and it needs to be rewritten and those scenes reshot. Or something major has been added that requires these changes.
Considering all of the secrecy surrounding this film and all of the Multiverse stuff Marvel is doing right now, my money is on the latter.
Director Sam Raimi, writer Michael Waldron, and star Benedict Cumberbatch are on board for the reshoots. But what about co-star Elizabeth Olsen who is said to play a major part as Scarlet Witch? Maybe these new scenes involve Xochitl Gomez, who is set to make her MCU debut as the reality-hopping America Chavez?
You’d think the Sorcerer Supreme could simply wave his hands and fix any problems with his own movie.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens May 6th 2022.
In a time where children are taken from their parents by the government and schooled to forget their language and culture, Niska (Elle-Maija Tailfeathers) lives in the woods to keep her 11-year-old daughter, Waseese, safe. The world that Cree-Métis filmmaker Danis creates for Niska and Waseese in Night Raiders is not that different from America’s and Canada’s unsavory pasts.
The similarities between the actual histories of North American indigenous tribes and this sleek futuristic dystopia are blatant and purposeful. Goulet’s 2043 version of the world is still rooted in our own in terms of look and aesthetic. This directorial choice makes Niska’s decision to surrender her child to the state after she suffers an accident even more heartbreaking. When she regrets her actions, she meets the Night Raiders, a Cree Vigilante group determined to free kids from these government-run schools before they become brainwashed.
Goulet’s heart seems to bleed into this film. Heartbreaking and well-acted, the first time filmmaker raises real questions about indigenous schools and the current state of their communities all over the continent. She stretches a tight independent film budget to create a crisp and refreshing modern sci-fi fable. It’s no wonder Night Raiders played at this year’s Berlin and Toronto International Film Festivals.
Without intending to, the filmfalls prey to many of the YA post-apocalyptic film adaptations that audiences were bombarded with five years ago. Its opening scene starts with a young girl running through the woods that then tries to kill a bird with a slingshot. After failing to do so, she asks her mother what the difference is between a vampire and a werewolf. In a 30 second period, the film unintentionally references both The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga.
The staccato nature of the film’s pacing also impedes the viewer’s experience. Fast action scenes are interspersed with long bouts of dialogue. It fails to hold the intensity that its premise sets up, telling us about what is happening rather than showing.
Night Raiders is one of many native and indigenous projects gaining traction this year. Shows like Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs have gained praise for their Native representation in front and behind the camera with all native writer’s rooms and the first Indigenous showrunners. Taika Waititi, who is Māori and produced the latter show, came aboard Night Raiders as an executive producer.
Whether or not the success and critical acclaim of these recent projects are an indicator of Indigenous stories breaking into the mainstream remains to be seen. However, Goulet’s script proves that audiences have been missing out on a whole different perspective of filmmaking due to the lack of representation in Hollywood.
Night Raiders is in theaters and on-demand. Watch the trailer below.
The last year has been particularly tough for the theatre community. As Broadway has been dark due to COVID, it’s made especially difficult for performers a career path that is famously tough to navigate. How many movies are there about struggling stage actors and playwrights? Many of them owe something to Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM!, the revered Rent creator’s exasperated ode to that struggle, his fear of growing old and washed up by the age of 30, and pain of losing so many friends to AIDS. Larson himself would die suddenly at the age of 35 on the eve of Rent‘s first preview night. His legacy looms large and clearly weighs on director Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has crafted a joyous, roaring tribute that couldn’t have come at a better time for theatre lovers who have been so bereft for so long. While Miranda’s directorial debut is a pretty big deal in itself, the plaudits will surely come for tick, tick…BOOM! star Andrew Garfield.
Garfield dazzles in capturing Larson’s existential angst, early midlife crisis, and boundless confidence in what must have been a very challenging role. Early on, a partygoer asks Larson what he does and his response is “I’m the future of musical theater.” It would sound like a joke coming from anyone else, but not Larson. Set in 1990 just a few days shy of Larson’s 30th birthday, he’s being crushed by the weight of deadlines and expectations. He’s due to present the first showcase of his futuristic rock opera Superbia, which is crucially missing a second act song. Like so many starving artists out there, Larson waits tables at a busy diner but longs to focus on his craft. He can’t give up on the dream like his best friend Michael (Robin de Jesus) did to become a hotshot advertising exec. At the same time, Larson has a big decision to make regarding his ex-dancer girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), who supports his dream but needs a little bit of that same respect coming her way.
Inescapable is the presence of legendary playwright Stephen Sondheim (played by Bradley Whitford), who made it big by the age of 27 so Larson is already behind the eight-ball. A pretty good example of Larson’s massive ego, and the anvil of burden he placed on himself, just comparing his upstart career to Sondheim’s. But part of the film’s appeal is that it isn’t the tired old formula of artistic success, but of Larson’s artistic discovery. Throughout the many catchy tunes and clever numbers, Larson’s distant, rather silly sci-fi musical overtakes his life even as we know it’s not the project he’ll ultimately become famous for. We know that one’s a dud. And without spelling it out, we see the components of his life that will emerge as priorities and later inform his work, not only in the production of tick, tick…BOOM but with Rent.
And so the film is an unusual journey, especially for those unfamiliar with the source material. Although Garfield himself is intensely likable, Larson is the kind of self-involved self-proclaimed genius we know needs a good wake-up call. Miranda and writer Steven Levenson do a great job of exposing Larson’s many flaws, and the personal cost of his singular focus on the art. His close-knit friendship with Michael frays, especially after a hilariously heightened bit where Larson takes a job as part of a focus group peddling a disgusting fat substitute. Here, Larson grapples with his obvious talent at coming up with catchy slogans and jingles, a skill that could give him a comfortable life. But would it make him happy? The pull between art and commerce weighs heavy. Larson also begins to push Susan away, prioritizing the work over their shared connection.
It’s easy to see Miranda seeing a lot of himself in Larson, and the pressure of being a fresh-faced wunderkind who would shake up the industry. The contours of a passion project are everywhere, both the good and the bad. On the upside, Miranda’s debut feature retains a boundless playful energy throughout, including a bumpin’ ’90s hip-hop interlude by The Roots member Tariq Trotter aka Black Thought. You can see Larson’s influence, from a rhythm and cultural diversity standpoint, in everything Miranda has done throughout his career. Miranda is best when given the room to indulge in cinematic flourishes, as seen in the number Boho Days, the camera zipping through Larson’s shabby, over-crowded apartment. As Garfield zips and darts between a room full of his co-stars, he exudes the endless charm that Larson had to convince people that maybe he really is the future of stage musicals, after all.
If this were a simple stage production it would probably come easy for Miranda, but as a filmmaker he must find also find a way to use the chosen medium to its fullest. I’m not completely convinced he does that, framing the film confusingly around a staged workshop in which Larson is joined by singers Roger and Karessa (Joshua Henry and Vanessa Hudgens, both voices booming over Garfield’s), while adding a handheld camera aesthetic that intrudes into contemporary scenes at unusual moments. Like so much in tick, tick…BOOM it will make instant sense if you are a Larson devotee. The same goes for a fan-servicey bit during the tremendous rendition of “Sunday”, in which a crowded weekend brunch also becomes home to a veritable Murderer’s Row of popular stage favorites. You’ll need to see the film multiple times just to catch every single reference, every single cameo. It’s all quite a lot of fun and also very distracting, giving the impression that Miranda is flexing his Rolodex’s muscles a little too much. Even the minor role Miranda leaves for himself will have you looking at it sideways like “You just couldn’t help yourself, couldja?” By comparison to the dazzling direction by Jon M. Chu on In the Heights, I’d be lying if I said Miranda’s compares. He’s still growing as a filmmaker, and part of that growth will be shedding a tendency towards staginess.
Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM has taken many forms on the stage, and now Miranda has developed his vision of it for the screen. Given the gigantic impact Larson had on a good many playwrights and filmmakers, there will undoubtedly be others. But what’s special about this one that Miranda has created is the pure love and admiration everyone involved has for Larson, both the man and what he would come to represent. The show’s title suggests that Larson’s time to be a success was running short before everything would explode. While it would sadly prove prophetic, Larson’s time is far from over because he fought so hard to leave his mark on the world and the art that he loved more than anything. Tick, tick…BOOM can be melancholic and a little bit scattered, but it is ultimately a round of applause for a man who never got to bask in the glow of his immense success.
Tick, tick…BOOM! is in select theaters now, and Netflix streaming on November 19th.
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This image released by Netflix shows Robin de Jesus, from left, MJ Rodriguez and Ben Levi Ross in a scene from "Tick, Tick...Boom!" (Macall Polay/Netflix via AP)
Pete Buttigieg was a small town Mayor from South Bend, Indiana who ran in a large Democratic pool for the 2020 Presidential election. Although the election race did not end in his favor, it did not stop him from successfully acquiring a position at the Capital that will further contribute to an already well established resume’. Recently appointed U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg serves as the first openly LGBTQ+ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in U.S. history. He is pet co-owner of adopted dogs, Buddy and Truman as well as co-parents with newly adopted twins Gus and Penelope with husband, Chasten Buttigieg. Their monumental story of hope, love, and determination have attracted attention from all walks of life including, Emmy Award Winning director, Jesse Moss. Moss was instantly inspired by their mission and was able to gain permission to document Pete and Chasten’s campaign for presidency. His latest documentary film, Mayor Pete will take viewers inside Pete Buttigieg’s headline-generating campaign in the attempt to serve as the youngest and first openly gay U.S. President.
Jesse Moss is an Emmy Award and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning director. His last film Boys State, co-directed with Amanda McBaine, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Former President Barack Obama included Boys State among his favorite movies of 2020. Moss’s earlier work The Overnighters was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and released by Drafthouse Films and Netflix. His other work includes the Netflix series The Family, and the ‘Payday’ episode of the Netflix series Dirty Money. He has twice been nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. I was fortunate enough to interview him for his newest film, Mayor Pete. Please check out my transcribed phone interview for a more in depth break down of why Moss chose to film this particular documentary.
Mayor Pete is a wonderful “behind the scenes’ ‘ documentary that keeps to a simple, honest, and straight to the point agenda which is very much reflective of the genuine aspirations that both Pete and Chasten are striving for. An informative yet intriguing glimpse into the lives of an honest and highly driven couple who care deeply for the future of America. The film gently pulls back the curtain to Pete and Chasten’s incredible journey that they honestly reveal to be an enormous feat to accomplish. Not too many political figures are welcome to the idea of letting anyone see what goes on behind closed doors. From the earliest days of the campaign, to Pete’s triumphant victory in Iowa and beyond, this film reveals what really goes on inside a campaign for the highest office in the land. Pete, Chasten, and their perfectly unique and deeply dedicated campaign team are willing to bare the good, bad, and ugly truth of it all. Jesse Moss brilliantly and respectfully captures this endeavor and I say, given the risk and circumstances, the film is definitely worth a watch.
Mayor Pete will be available worldwide on Amazon Prime Video November 12th.
Let’s be honest; the Star Wars side of Disney+ Day has been pretty lame. But the Marvel shit has been off the hook. And it continues with more announcements of animated shows that could be very cool.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year appears to be an animated series set during Peter Parker’s first year of high school as he’s coping with his newly-gained powers. Excuse me for wishing this was actually about his first year as a freshman in college, but I always like this stuff to be more mature. Anyway, it’s unclear if this will be centered on the Tom Holland version we’ve been following, or some alternate universe Spidey.
The synopsis says the series “follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots. Executive producer Jeff Trammel serves as head writer.”
Fans have been demanding it, and now it’s gonna happen. Marvel Zombies is coming to Disney+ as an animated series, as well. Whether this is a spinoff of What If…? we don’t know yet, but the synopsis suggests it will be an expansion of that episode featuring undead versions of our favorite heroes and villains.
Marvel Zombies: an animated series from Marvel Studios that reimagines the Marvel Universe as a new generation of heroes battle against an ever-spreading zombie scourge. Directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews.
