‘Summer Of Soul’ Trailer: Questlove’s Documentary Shines A Light On Black Woodstock And Its Place In Music History

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June 16, 2021

If you’re kicking off a festival of any kind, you want a film that rouses the audience and really sets an energetic, upbeat tone. That’s what Amir “Questlove” Thompson’s doc Summer of Soul did earlier this year at Sundance, taking viewers back to a time and place many never knew existed: the 1969 Harlem Music Festival, better known as Black Woodstock.

The film features incredible never-before-seen footage of R&B, funk, and soul icons including Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, and The 5th Dimension.

Longtime fans of Questlove can see why he’d want this to be his directorial debut, as he’s always been a purveyor of music knowledge and this is a moment in history that deserves to be acknowledged. That’s what makes Summer of Soul so extraordinary, that it literally had to be unearthed from a dusty basement for this movie to exist.

Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) hits theaters and Hulu on July 2nd.

In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now. “Summer Of Soul” shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past, and present.

“Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised),” is the first official project under the recently announced Onyx Collective brand. The winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival will be released theatrically by Searchlight Pictures and will begin streaming on Hulu in the U.S. on July 2, 2021. The film will also stream internationally through the Star offering on Disney+ on a date to be confirmed.

‘Pussy Island’: Zoe Kravitz’s Directorial Debut To Star Channing Tatum As A Billionaire Tech Mogul

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Travis Hopson

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June 16, 2021

Zoe Kravitz and Channing Tatum have come up with a movie titled Pussy Island. For me, that’s all I need to know. But there’s more, because not only will Tatum have one of the lead roles, but Kravitz will make her directorial debut. The project is being shopped around Cannes and with these two attached, it’s bound to attract a lot of attention.

The screenplay was developed by Kravitz and Tatum so the latter could help shape his tech billionaire character. The plot, in conjunction with that title, sounds a little bit like some Jeffrey Epstein shit. Here’s how Deadline describes it:

“Frida is a young, clever, Los Angeles cocktail waitress who has her eyes set on the prize: philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King (Tatum). When she skillfully maneuvers her way into King’s inner circle and ultimately an intimate gathering on his private island, she is ready for a journey of a lifetime. Despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s more to this island than meets the eye. Something she can’t quite put her finger on. Something that is a bit terrifying.”

Kravitz wrote the female lead with herself in mind, but with aims to give it to another actress so she could focus on directing…

“The title means a lot of things,” Kravitz said. “I started writing this story in 2017. As a woman in general, and a woman in this industry, I’ve experienced some pretty wild behavior from the opposite sex. The title was kind of a joke at first, this place where people would go, bring women, party and hang out. The story evolved into something else, but the title wound up having multiple meanings. And it alludes to this time and place we claim to not be in anymore, in terms of sexual politics. People are evolving and changing but there is still a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths from past behavior. It’s a nod to that, but it’s also playful, and a really playful film in a lot of ways. I like that the title leads with that and has some heavy meaning beneath it.”

Tatum has been keeping a low profile of late, but will be heard voicing George Washington in historical satire America: The Movie. He’s currently filming adventure-romance The Lost City of D alongside Sandra Bullock. Kravitz, who voiced Catwoman in The Lego Movie, will play the character in Matt Reeves’ live-action The Batman.

Kristen Wiig To Star In ‘The Husbands’; Gina Rodriguez To Direct Boxing Drama; Julia Butters Joins Spielberg Childhood Film

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Travis Hopson

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June 16, 2021

Kristen Wiig is set to star and produce The Husbands, an adaptation of the upcoming novel by bestselling author Chandler Baker who will make her feature screenwriting debut. The story “follows an overworked mother who, while house-hunting in a nice suburban neighborhood, meets a group of high-powered women with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to take on a legal case involving the untimely death of one resident’s husband, she risks exposing not only the secrets at the heart of her own marriage, but the true secret to having it all, one worth killing for.” Wiig was last seen in Barb & Star Go To Vista del Mar, and is currently writing a Cinderella Evil Stepsisters film with co-star Annie Mumolo. She’s also set to star in a MacGruber 2 series for Peacock. [Deadline]

Gina Rodriguez is making her first move behind the camera, as she’ll direct, star, produce and co-write an untitled boxing drama. The film is based on star Ryan Garcia’s experiences as a Mexican-American boxer, but will center on fictional character Alex Guerrero (Garcia), whose struggles with mental health rival his toughest bouts in the ring. After a chance encounter with a World Champion propels him into the spotlight, he must prove to himself and the world that he has what it takes to come out on top. Playwright Bernardo Cubria is co-writing the screenplay. Rodriguez has been keeping busy with lately, appearing in the films Awake, Someone Great, Kajillionaire, and voicing Velma in the animated SCOOB!. [Deadline]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood breakout Julia Butters has joined Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film loosely based on his childhood in Arizona. Butters will play a character inspired by the director’s sister, with Gabriel LaBelle as the young filmmaker, Michelle Williams as his mother, Paul Dano his father, and Seth Rogen his favorite uncle. Spielberg will direct and co-write the script with Tony Kushner. Coming up for Butters is a role in Netflix’s star-studded The Gray Man alongside Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas. [Deadline]

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‘Atlas’: Jennifer Lopez Teams With ‘San Andreas’ Director For Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller

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Travis Hopson

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June 16, 2021

Jennifer Lopez is looking to make the most of her new first-look deal with Netflix, signing up for what is likely to be a huge blockbuster film for them. How do we know? Because it will be directed by Brad Peyton, the guy behind San Andreas and Rampage.

Deadline reports Lopez will star in Atlas, a sci-fi thriller that Peyton will direct for Netflix. The story comes from comic book writer Aron Eli Coleite (Ultimate X-Men) and follows Atlas, “a woman fighting for humanity in a future where an AI soldier has determined the only way to end war is to end humanity. To outthink this rogue AI, Atlas must work with the one thing she fears most — another AI.”

Sounds a little bit like the recent Netflix film Outside the Wire, so it’ll be interesting to see what sets this one apart and how Lopez fits into it.

Next up for Jennifer Lopez is the rom-com Marry Me. Peyton is a producer on the Jason Momoa action thriller Sweet Girl, also on Netflix.

‘The Tomorrow War’ Interview: Chris Pratt And Edwin Hodge On Amazon’s Summer Blockbuster

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Travis Hopson

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June 15, 2021

Chris Pratt has more experience fighting aliens than most. Whether it’s as Star-Lord in any of the Marvel films, or voicing Emmet in The Lego Movie, stopping extraterrestrial invasion is just sort of his thing. The Tomorrow War is Amazon Studios’ biggest blockbuster of the season, and personally, it ain’t a blockbuster if it doesn’t have somebody saving the world from an extinction-level event, and who better to call when the world needs saving than Pratt?

In The Tomorrow War, Pratt plays ex-soldier and family man Dan Forester who is recruited to fight against an alien threat 30 years in the future. With a wife (Betty Gilpin) and daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) to protect, Dan joins with others in a volunteer force to ensure combat the threat and ensure a future for the next generation.

Joining Pratt in The Tomorrow War is Edwin Hodge as Dorian, a veteran of the wars whose standoffish personality hides a secret that fuels his lust for battle.

I was fortunate to spend a few minutes talking with Chris Pratt and Edwin Hodge about The Tomorrow War, the physical toll of being in such an action-packed film, their thoughts on the creature designs, and more.

The Tomorrow War hits Amazon Prime Video on July 2nd. Check out my interview below, and look out for more on the film later this week!

Netflix’s ‘Persuasion’: See First Images Of Dakota Johnson And Henry Goulding In The Jane Austen Drama

By

Cortland Jacoby

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June 15, 2021

After the success of 2020’s Emma, many studios have jumped aboard the Jane Austen train. Netflix currently has two Austen adaptations in the works The Netherfield Girls, which is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion, a retelling of the book of the same name. The latter stars Dakota Johnson as heroine Anne Elliot, Cosma Jarvis as Captain Wentworth and Henry Golding as Mr. Elliot. Suki Waterhouse and Richard E. Grant’s roles in the film have yet to be announced.

If you are unfamiliar with Persuasion, its the story of Anne Elliot, a middle daughter who is constantly put upon by her once-wealthy family. At nineteen, she falls for a penniless and station-less naval officer, Fredrick Wentworth who then proposes to her. When she approaches her father and a family friend about the engagement, she is advised against going through with the marriage and breaks Wentworth’s heart .

Seven years later, Wentworth comes back from, now a rich and distinguished Captain in want of a wife. Anne is still single, now officially a spinster and still in love with him. However, the reunion is not a happy one as the Captain wants nothing to do with her. Throughout the events of one summer, the two must reconcile their pasts in order to find individual happiness in the future. Yesterday, Netflix dropped the film’s first three stills.

When the project was first announced back in April, the official press release described this retelling as a “modern, witty approach,” which many fans of the novel took as a modern adaptation. This would make sense considering Searchlight Pictures announced all the way back in September that they were releasing a version of Persuasion with Succession’s Sarah Snook taking on the role as Anne Elliot. A few months later it was announced that Joel Fry (Yesterday, Cruella) would be playing Captain Wentworth with Mahalia Belo directing and Jessica Swale writing the screenplay. Like its competition, it will be released in 2022.

Personally, I’ve been more excited for the Searchlight version of Persuasion and these photos prove to me that I’m on the right track here. With Netflix confirming the production will have the traditional setting, it feels more like Also I hate to say it, this cast is too conventionally pretty! Jarvis will be the most swole Captain Wentworth ever to hit the screen, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Also, Anne Elliot is not meant to be conventionally attractive hence why she is a spinster at 27 and no one around her is surprised by it. There’s supposed to be something quiet, a little plain and nuanced about the character. Dakota Johnson is gorgeous and I’m sure she will downplay her charm for the role, but Sarah Snook feels like better casting, understatedly beautiful with reserved sadness. So far based on look and past roles, the leads of the Netflix version feel miscast.

But we will see what both adaptations have in store for us in 2022. Check out the photos below.

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‘Love Child’: Rachel Weisz And Colin Farrell To Reunite For Todd Solondz’s Oedipal Comedy

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Travis Hopson

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June 15, 2021

Todd Solondz, known for his dark, controversial comedies such as Welcome to the Dollhouse, Life During Wartime, and Storytelling, is embarking on his first film since 2016’s Wiener-Dog, and it’s one he’s been developing ever since. THR reports Solondz will direct Love Child, which will reunite The Lobster co-stars Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell.

The film is described as “dark and hilarious twist” on the story of Oedipus, centering on “a precocious kid who schemes to rid himself of his brutish dad so he can have his mom all to himself. But things go awry when a handsome stranger appears.”

A previous version of the film was going to reunite Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez, but that was back in 2017 and never came together.

“This is my first movie with a plot and my first movie taking place in Texas,” quipped Solondz. “It’s fun and it’s sexy and it’s shaped by the Hollywood movies that made me want to become a filmmaker. I’ve loved Rachel and Colin’s work forever, and am so honored to be able to excite their passion for serious and unexpected work as well.”

Disney+ Moves Ahead With ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Prequel Series About Gaston And LeFou
Josh Gad, And Luke Evans To Return; Liesl Tommy To Direct, Alan Menken Composing The Score

By
Travis Hopson
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June 15, 2021

It’s official, just as we knew it always would be. Disney has greenlit a Beauty and the Beast prequel series for Disney+. Luke Evans will return as Gaston with Josh Gad as LeFou in the 8-episode show, joined by Briana Middleton (George Clooney’s The Tender Bar) who will play LeFou’s stepsister, Tilly.

When a secret from Tilly’s past comes to light, it sends her, Gaston, and LeFou on a dangerous journey across the kingdom where they’ll face threats from the past and present.

On board to direct the first episode is Liesl Tommy (Respect), with Gad, Edward Kitsis, and Adam Horowitz acting as co-showrunners and writers for the series. And because this is Disney and Beauty and the Beast, Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken will provide music. Glenn Slater, a Grammy Award winner for Tangled, will provide lyrics for the first episode, which goes to tell you how much music will play a role.

Production begins in spring 2022.

‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ Trailer: Karen Gillan And Lena Headey Star In Netflix’s Shoot ‘Em Up Flick

By

Travis Hopson

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June 15, 2021

Some of the baddest women to ever grace the screen join forces in Gunpowder Milkshake, an action flick that’ll come blasting onto Netflix later this summer. Lena Headey and Karen Gillan star as an estranged mother/daughter duo of assassins who must work together when a mission goes bad, putting themselves and an 8-year-old girl in the middle of a gang war. Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, and Angela Bassett co-star, along with Paul Giamatti as the villain, of course.

The film is directed by Big Bad Wolves director Navot Papushado, who explained to IGN all of the movies that influenced Gunpowder Milkshake…

“Maybe it will be easier to mention a few of the filmmakers whose movies inspired Gunpowder. Filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa, Jean Pierre Melville, Alfred Hitchcock, Sergio Leone, Buster Keaton, Michael Mann, Sam Peckinpah, Jackie Chan, John Woo, Ang Lee, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Jacques Demy, Luc Besson, Robert Zemeckis and many, many others. I guess you can say that Gunpowder is the fusion between the classics I adore so much and the movies I grew up watching as a kid in the ’80s and ’90s.”

Gillan chimed in and noted the many similarities to John Wick, while still managing to be its own thing…

“It sort of exists in a fairly similar world to John Wick. They’re going to pick up their weapons from a place and using code words,” Gillan said. “I would say the film is pretty different tonally. It’s definitely slightly weirder. It’s more bonkers. It’s really stylized. So I would say that there’s like a level of Tarantino feel to it. Maybe like Kill Bill more so than John Wick.”

Gunpowder Milkshake hits Netflix on July 14th.

Synopsis: Sam (KAREN GILLAN) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (LENA HEADEY), an elite assassin, was forced to abandon her. Sam was raised by The Firm, the ruthless crime syndicate her mother worked for. Now, 15 years later, Sam has followed in her mother’s footsteps and grown into a fierce hit-woman. She uses her “talents” to clean up The Firm’s most dangerous messes. She’s as efficient as she is loyal.

But when a high-risk job goes wrong, Sam must choose between serving The Firm and protecting the life of an innocent 8-year-old girl – Emily (CHLOE COLEMAN). With a target on her back, Sam has only one chance to survive: Reunite with her mother and her lethal associates, The Librarians (MICHELLE YEOH, ANGELA BASSETT and CARLA GUGINO).

These three generations of women must now learn to trust each other, stand up to The Firm and their army of henchmen, and raise hell against those who could take everything from them.

Arcadia’s Problems Just Got ALOT Bigger! Check Out The Trailer For ‘Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans’

By

John Nolan

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June 15, 2021

You know what I love about children’s entertainment? It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to be fun. With adult films and TV there’s so much emphasis put on plausibility and logic, it can’t just be cool or fun. The trailer for Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, a feature film spin-off of the popular Netflix series by Guillermo del Toro, proves this point. There’s no other way that you get a film that centers on a motley crew of humans, trolls and aliens (with giant robots) fighting giant Titans, all with magic sprinkled throughout. That’s exactly what it looks like we’ll be getting with the upcoming film which is the first feature in the series that’s been around since 2016. Following the previous three series, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, 3Below: Tales of Arcadia, and Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans sees the characters from it’s predecessors join forces to save Arcadia from an order of Titans who want to seize control of the magic that binds them all.

One thing is for sure, Guillermo del Toro really likes the whole kaiju fighting giant robots thing. Sure, these aren’t exactly kaiju but the effect is the same. I’ve passed over the Trollhunters series countless times while looking for something to watch with my kids, after seeing the trailer below I’m regretting that decision. The animation looks amazing and, as crazy as the story seems to be, it looks like a ton of fun. Check out the trailer below and look for Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans on Netflix, July 25th, 2021