‘Only Murders In The Building’ Teaser: Steve Martin, Martin Short, And Selena Gomez Team Up For Hulu’s Murder Mystery Series

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May 18, 2021

Two of The Three Amigos and a Wizard of Weaverly Place are coming together to solve a mystery in the new trailer for Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building. That’s right Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are about to solve a comedic Murder Mystery.

Not much is revealed in the official teaser except the three all live in the same building and have a lot of secrets. According to the show’s official website, Martin plays Charles a ’90 TV detective who has run out of acting jobs and turns to true crime for entertainment. Hopefully he will be channeling a bit of his character from Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. Short will play Oliver, a theater director looking for his next big production, this time in the form of a podcast. Gomez plays the most mysterious character in the bunch. Mabel is vague about her past and horrible at making friends but still wants to work with the older gentlemen to solve who killed their neighbor. I will personally watch anything with Martin Short is in, but the true crime element seems even more intriguing.

The official synopsis is as follows:

Steve Martin, Martin Short ad Selena Gomez star as three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcasts of their own to document the case, the three unravel the couple secrets of the building which stretch back years. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.

Only Murders in the Building will premiere on Hulu August 31st.

Leslie Odom Jr. Is Latest To Join Star-Studded ‘Knives Out 2’ Cast

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Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

Leslie Odom Jr. to play Sammy Davis Jr. in DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

Last week, we were treated to an almost daily helping of amazing casting news for Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel. It’s clear he’s looking to top the first film’s excellent ensemble, and I think he’s doing just that. Especially with this latest addition of Tony and Grammy award winner, and Oscar-nominated One Night in Miami star Leslie Odom Jr.

THR reports Odom Jr. is the latest to join Knives Out 2. With Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, and Kathryn Hahn already on board, with Daniel Craig returning as detective Benoit Blanc. It’s unclear if Craig will be the only one to reprise his role from the prior film, but I know a lot of people are hoping to see Ana de Armas back again.

Of course, we know nothing about Odom’s role because details on the plot are being zipped-up tight. I’m just going to call it now: Odom did it. He’s guilty. Of whatever the crime may be. He’s just such a talented guy that I really want to see him squaring off with Craig.

Shooting will begin soon, in Greece, which adds another wrinkle to this whole thing. Netflix shelled out big money to acquire the next two Knives Out films, so who can blame Johnson for getting a little exotic?

‘Nemesis’: Mark Millar Says Emerald Fennell Wrote The Anti-Batman Story’s Most Recent Script

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Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

It seems like every other week there’s news on some project that sprung from the mind of comic book writer Mark Millar. Already we’ve seen multiple franchises launched based on his work, such as Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Kingsman, while Netflix has a hit series in Jupiter’s Legacy right now. But one adaptation that has been percolating for nearly a decade is Millar’s anti-Batman comic, Nemesis, and it may have some Oscar-winning help that we hadn’t previously known about.

According to Millar, not only is Nemesis still in the works at Warner Bros., but Promising Young Woman writer/director Emerald Fennell wrote the most recent script. The news was revealed during an interview with Forbidden Planet that you can watch below.

This is pretty big. Fennell won an Academy Award for her Promising Young Woman screenplay, and is also known for her work on Killing Eve. She’s currently attached to write a Zatanna movie for Warner Bros., as well, so she’s definitely finding her place in the superhero genre.

Nemesis is basically a “What If?” story, in which the strongest, wealthiest, smartest, most capable man on the planet isn’t a hero but instead a deranged Joker-level villain. You know all of the meticulous planning and investigative skill Batman brings to bear to keep the people of Gotham safe? Well, imagine that kind of brain power put to evil on an international scale. Pretty fucked up shit.

At one point Joe Carnahan (Boss Level) was attached to direct, with Michael Fassbender eyeing the title role. It’s been a long time since then, though, and probably the casting is back to square one. Still, the involvement of Fennell is reason to stay hyped for this and let’s hope more info comes soon.

‘The Nowhere Inn’ Trailer: Carrie Brownstein And St. Vincent Star In The Trippy Meta-Comedy About Celebrity Gone Wild

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Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

Another holdover from the 2020 Sundance Film, The Nowhere Inn is a really tough film to categorize. Part mockumentary, part meta psychological thriller, but also with a lot more elements weaved in, it stars Carrie Brownstein and Grammy winning recording artist St. Vincent, and sorta makes fun of their real-life friendship. Oh, and Dakota Johnson is in it, too. Yeah, this one’s pretty weird, and you can see for yourself in the new trailer.

Basically, The Nowhere Inn is about an attempt by Brownstein and Annie Clark aka St. Vincent to make a documentary about the latter’s life, but shit goes haywire along the way and we learn a lot more about the artist than she wants out there in public.

I’m always down for celebrities who can poke fun at themselves, but there’s also a reason I passed up on seeing this one when given the chance. It just didn’t look very funny, I have no interest in St. Vincent, and Carrie Brownstein’s brand of humor doesn’t often work for me. It might be something to check out now that it’s arriving in theaters and VOD on September 17th.

From real-life friends Annie Clark (a.k.a. GRAMMY award-winning recording and touring artist St. Vincent) and Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney) comes the metafictional account of two creative forces banding together to make a documentary about St. Vincent’s music, touring life, and on-stage persona. But they quickly discover unpredictable forces lurking within subject and filmmaker that threaten to derail the friendship, the project, and the duo’s creative lives.

‘The Ice Road’ Trailer: Liam Neeson Takes On A Dangerous Rescue In Netflix’s Wintry Thriller

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Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

Remember when Liam Neeson said he was done doing action movies? Yeah, not so much. He’s been ripping through them lately, especially during the pandemic, with two films, Honest Thief and The Marskman, arriving while everything has been shut down. Before that he gave us Cold Pursuit, in which he played a snowplow driver. Perhaps Neeson has a thing for mixing the genre with wintry climates because now he’s back in similar terrain with The Ice Road.

Quickly shot and completed in Winnipeg in February 2020 just ahead of lockdowns, The Ice Road stars Neeson as an expert ice driver on a rescue mission over a frozen ocean to save trapped miners. Yep, this is in Neeson’s wheelhouse alright!

The film is written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, a veteran of the action genre with writing credits on Con Air, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Armageddon. He also directed my favorite Punisher movie with Thomas Jane as the Marvel antihero.

Also starring Laurence Fishburne, Ray McKinnon, Marcus Thomas, Benjamin Walker, Amber Midthunder, Matt McCoy, and Holt McCallany, The Ice Road hits Netflix on June 25th.

After a remote diamond mine collapses in the far northern regions of Canada, an ice driver leads an implausible rescue mission over a frozen ocean to save the lives of trapped miners despite thawing waters and a threat they never see coming.

‘Home Team’: Taylor Lautner Is Back In Adam Sandler-Produced Comedy Based On NFL Head Coach Sean Payton

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Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

Taylor Lautner (dramatic pause) IS BACK!!! Seriously, the once-superstar actor and Twilight heartthrob has basically shunned the spotlight ever since. Occasionally, he’ll pop up in something random but it’s been five years since his last film, the little-seen drama Run the Tide, with his last major effort the atrocious Adam Sandler “comedy” Ridiculous 6. And whether anybody else liked that one or not, Lautner is coming back to work with Sandler again on another Netflix comedy.

Deadline reports Lautner will join Kevin James in Home Team, which is loosely-based on the experiences of New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton during his suspension from the 2012 NFL season for a bounty-hunting program he had started. James will play Payton.

Adam Sandler is producing, while the cast includes Rob Schneider, Jackie Sandler, Gary Valentine, Tait Blum, Maxwell Simkins, Jacob Perez, Bryant Tardy, Manny Magnus, Liam Kyle, Christopher Farrar, Merek Mastrov, Isaiah Mustafa, Christopher Titone, Ashley D. Kelley, Lavell Crawford, Allen Covert, Anthony L. Fernandez, and Jared Sandler. The film is co-directed by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane.

I’ve always been interested in the way Lautner so completely pulled himself out of the public eye, while his Twilight co-stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have managed to find a balance. Perhaps this is the start of him easing back into the acting groove, although this is probably not the kind of movie that flexes a lot of creative muscles. Maybe if somebody offers him Tracers 2?

‘Uprising’: Travis Knight To Direct Vampire Action-Thriller At Netflix

By

Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

It’s been a few years since Laika president Travis Knight branched off from animation to direct Bumblebee, scoring arguably the most popular movie in that long-running franchise. While he was attached to direct Uncharted for a while, delays caused him to drop out, and now Knight has finally landed on his next project, a vampire thriller set up at Netflix.

Deadline reports Travis Knight will direct Uprising, a vampire film based on the book A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond Villareal. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives, detailing how society is destroyed by an epidemic that leads to the creation of vampires.

Knight has been attached to helm The Six Billion Dollar Man, but it has been in development for nearly two decades so it’s tough to count on that one going anywhere soon.

‘Pet Sematary’ Follow-Up Lands Lindsey Beer As Director And Writer

By

Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

In 2019 a Pet Sematary remake hit theaters and it did quite well, earning over $100M worldwide when reviews were just so-so. That was apparently good enough, because earlier this year we learned about a follow-up, a prequel, that would head straight to Paramount+. Now it has one of Hollywood’s hottest writers on board making her directorial debut.

According to Deadline, Sierra Burgess is a Loser writer Lindsey Beer will direct the Pet Sematary follow-up. Their report mentions nothing about it being a prequel, however, so those plans may have changed. Beer will also take a shot at the script, rewriting the draft from Jeff Buhler, who penned the previous film.

The story is based on one of King’s scariest novels, and centers on a family that moves to a Maine town, only to find a pet cemetery behind their home. Little do they know there’s also a Native American burial ground that returns to “life” anything buried there, human or animal, only they come back twisted and evil.

It’s unclear where this next film will go. The original 1989 Pete Sematary was directed by Mary Lambert, so in a way Paramount’s hiring of Beer is a return to putting a female touch on the material. Lambert also directed the 1992 sequel, which wasn’t based on any of King’s works, and I think there’s a good chance that’s the approach Beer will take.

Beer is crazy busy with about a half-dozen projects on the way including a film based on the M.A.S.K. toys and cartoon, a live-action Bambi movie, and an adaptation of The Kingkiller Chronicle.

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Trailer: Ben Platt Brings The Award Winning Broadway Musical To Life On The Big Screen

By

Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

Ben Platt is only 27 years old and yet that’s still enough time for his career to come full circle. It was his Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning performance in Dear Evan Hansen that made him a modern-day Broadway legend, leading to roles on the big screen. And now his biggest film yet arrives this fall and it’s, of course, an adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, which we now have a trailer for.

Although he’s probably aged-out of the title role, Platt returns as the title character, a high schooler with social anxiety disorder who uses the death of a classmate to gain the attention from others he had always sought.

The film is written by Steven Levenson, who wrote the book version of the acclaimed stageplay. Chbosky knows a thing or two about emotionally-wrought teen dramas, having directed the adaptation of his novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. La La Land and The Greatest Showman duo Benj Pasek & Justin Paul provide the music and lyrics.

Also starring Kaitlyn Dever, Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Danny Pino, Colton Ryan, and Amandla Stenberg, Dear Evan Hansen opens September 24th.

‘Good On Paper’ Trailer: Comedians Iliza Shlesinger And Margaret Cho Star In The Netflix Rom-Com

By

Travis Hopson

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May 18, 2021

Comedian and 2008 Last Coming Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger has been on the rise, and Netflix has been a big part of it. Not only has she done five standup specials with the streamer, but she also had a role opposite Mark Wahlberg in Spenser Confidential, having previously worked with him on the hit comedy Instant Family. And now Shlesinger takes the starring role in Good on Paper, a Netflix rom-com in which she shares the screen with Margaret Cho.

The premise for this one is pretty simple. The story follows a stand-up comic who finally decides to take a chance on love with a guy who seems perfect, but she questions whether he’s everything he appears to be.

Shlesinger and Cho star in the film, joined by Rebecca Rittenhouse (Unfriended: Dark Web), Matt McGarry (How to Get Away with Murder), Britney Young (GLOW), The Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron, and Taylor Hill (The Neon Demon). The film is directed by Kimmy Gatewood.

Good on Paper hits Netflix on June 23rd.

After years of putting her career ahead of love, stand-up comic Andrea Singer has stumbled upon the perfect guy. On paper, he checks all the boxes but is he everything he appears to be?