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Spielberg Enlists Seth Rogen As His Favorite Uncle In Upcoming Semi-biographical Film

By
John Nolan
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For 40 years the name Spielberg has been synonymous with excellent filmmaking and the true magic of Hollywood. With a heavyweight industry icon like that it was only a matter of time before a biopic of some sort was made, so who better to make it then the man himself? As we earlier reported Steven Spielberg is writing and directing a film loosely based on his formative years growing up in Arizona and had cast none other then Michelle Williams to play the role based on his mother. It seems the cast is continuing to round out and it does not appear they are going for unknowns to fill these roles. It’s now being reported that Seth Rogen has signed on to the picture to play the filmmaking icon’s favorite uncle.

Things are moving fast on this project, so we can fully expect to see more casting announcements soon. Filming is set to start this summer and they are hoping for a July 2022 release.

I love the idea of this movie, in a way Spielberg’s time as a child is already a well known tale. His is the protoypical “Young boy without a ton of friends spends all of his time making movies with his parents old 8mm camera” story. It is quite literally the template for any fictional story that needs to portray a character as having a lifelong love of filmmaking. That being said, it’s not the Spielberg movie I want to see. I understand the want to portray your childhood, watch any Amblin movie pretty much and it’s obvious the love Spielberg has for that period of endless wonder and imagination in every persons life, however there is a much more interesting period in the directors life. The movie I want wouldn’t be a one-subject biopic but rather an ensemble piece following “The Movie Brats” in the early 70s. Sure, they didn’t have the looks of the brat pack, but a group consisting of Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Brian DePalma carries some weight. A film about these guys coming together and fighting their way through the Hollywood system to become the legends we now know them as…I need to see THAT movie.

‘Shazam: Fury Of The Gods’ Casts Helen Mirren As The Villain Hespera

By
Travis Hopson
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Dame Helen Mirren is now goddess Helen Mirren. The screen legend has now joined the DCEU as the villainess Hespera in Shazam: Fury of the Gods, meaning she’ll be squaring off against star Zachary Levi. That should be fun.

Mirren joins the sequel to 2019’s Shazam, with Levi returning as the title superhero. Asher Angel returns as Billy Batson, who transforms into the muscled-up supe when he recites the magic word “SHAZAM!!”, giving him the powers of multiple gods. Of those abilities, one is the stamina of Atlas, the Titan who in Greek myth was punished with having to hold the Heavens on his shoulders.  Hespera is one of Atlas’ daughters, so perhaps she’s coming to reclaim her father’s gift?

Also in the cast are Jack Dylan Grazer, the recently-cast Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Adam Brody, and Faithe Herman. David F. Sandberg is behind the camera, with Shazam: Fury of the Gods set to open on June 2nd 2023.

 

‘Our Man From Jersey’: Halle Berry Joins Mark Wahlberg In Netflix’s Blue Collar Spy Film

By
Travis Hopson
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Netflix is keeping it in the family for their upcoming spy film, Our Man from Jersey. The streamer picked up the film for a hefty sum last year, with Spenser: Confidential‘s Mark Wahlberg attached to star. And now they’ve added Halle Berry to the cast, continuing her relationship with Netflix, who is set to release her directorial debut, MMA drama Bruised.

The duo of Berry and Wahlberg would’ve meant instant blockbuster back in the day, but now they’re perfect as Netflix continues to ramp up their star power. Our Man from Jersey is described as a “blue collar 007” film, with a script by Safe House writer Dave Guggenheim. No other plot details are known, and the film still is without a director.

As Collider rightly notes, Berry doesn’t often sign up for anything unless she knows who is behind the camera, which suggests a couple of things. Either Netflix has a director in mind already, and has made this clear to Berry. Or perhaps Berry is interested in directing the film herself? It’s not as if she’s a newbie to spy movies, right? We all remember her as Jinx in Die Another Day.

Jamie Foxx’s Mike Tyson Project Is Now A Series With Antoine Fuqua Directing And Martin Scorsese Producing

By
Travis Hopson
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Jamie Foxx has been talking about his Mike Tyson drama for at least seven years, but this particular passion project just couldn’t get off the ground. And that was even with Foxx claiming that Martin Scorsese would direct what, at the time, was envisioned as a feature film. But with so much need for content out there now, we’re seeing these pet projects come to fruition more often, and the same has happened for Tyson, albeit in a different form.

A press release confirms Foxx will produce and star in Tyson, only now it’ll be a limited series penned by Colin Preston and directed by Antoine Fuqua. Scorsese is still attached as an exec-producer.

The series is an authorized biographical look at Tyson’s life and career, growing up in the mean streets of Brownsville, to learning to stay out of trouble with the help of legendary trainer Cus D’Amato, and winning the World Heavyweight Championship at the age of 20.

Foxx, who is 53-years-old, just one year younger than Tyson is right now, is expected to play the boxer at all ages, so how is that going to work? We could be looking at some extensive digital work done on this show, something Scorsese knows a great deal about after The Irishman.

This one is still very early on, with no network home just yet. But the moment does seem to be right for this to happen, something Tyson himself has taken note of…

“I have been looking to tell my story for quite some time,” said Tyson. “With the recent launch of Legends Only League and the excitement from fans following my return to the ring, now feels like the perfect moment. I look forward to collaborating with Martin, Antoine, Jamie, and the entire creative team to bring audiences a series that not only captures my professional and personal journey but also inspires and entertains.”

 

We Haven’t Heard The Last of the Snyder Cut. A Black and White Version Is Coming to HBOMax

By
John Nolan
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I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League, or Zack Snyder’s Justice League as they’re officially calling it has been a rousing success. Outside of the 4 hour runtime fans across the board were left wanting when looking for negative critique’s of Snyder’s Opus. Yesterday we posted about an additional Joker scene that didn’t make the cut, on the cusp of that we’ve learned that there is another cut of the film coming. In the spirit of giving in to Snyder’s every whim, WB and HBOMax are set to release a black and white cut of the film to the rising giant amongst streaming services. Why? Yeah, no clue….there’s literally no change to the film outside of the color palette. I worry that the success of this film has proven the wrong point, it’s made it look like everyone should just give the directors everything they want if they want a succesful project, while that worked here it certainly won’t always. Check out this quote from Snyder:

“The ideal version of the movie is the black and white IMAX version…That, to me, is the most fan-centric, most pure, most Justice League experience”

No, Zack, buddy I love you but there’s no way that’s accurate. There’s literally no history to black and white with this property and it in no way elevates a fans appreciation. If anything it diminishes it. Comic fans, outside of a few exceptions, expect colorful, explosive spectacle. I’m not sure what you guys thing, let me know in the comments, but this highlights the one place that Snyder really needs to be reigned in, he goes full monty on the artsy takes every single time. Sometimes it works, like the slo-mo he’s so famous for. Sometimes it doesn’t, like a bunch of Norwegians singing Aquaman off back to the ocean.

 

 

 

Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, & Bill Murray To Go On ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ For Peter Farrelly

By
Travis Hopson
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The name Peter Farrelly carries a lot more respect on it now that he’s an Oscar-winning filmmaker. The Best Picture award given to his film Green Book wasn’t without controversy, however, with many saying it was just another movie by a white director putting a pretty face on racism. Whatever one thinks about Farrelly, there’s a lot of attention on what he’s doing next, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, which looks to be assembling one Hell of a cast and may have a generous backer in Apple.

Deadline reports Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, and Bill Murray are in talks for The Greatest Beer Run Ever. Damn. That’s the kind of star-powered lineup that would attract a streamer like Apple, which is in talks to produce and distribute the film.

Based on the book The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty and War, the film is set in 1967 and tells the true story of author Chick Donohue as he leaves New York City to have a beer with his buddies fighting in Vietnam. Farrelly will co-write the script with Brian Currie and Pete Jones.

Farrelly’s Green Book star Viggo Mortensen had been eyeing a role but that seems to have fallen through. I’m guessing that part has gone to Crowe.  Efron is expected to play Donohue.

My guess is Farrelly will take heat for depicting with kids gloves the Vietnam War. Just call it a hunch.

 

DC Readers: RSVP To A Free Screening Of ‘Bad Trip’

By
Travis Hopson
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This one’s comin’ in hot! We’re happy to offer our readers the chance to attend a free virtual screening of Bad Trip, the Netflix prank comedy starring Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery, and Tiffany Haddish!

SYNOPSIS: From the producer of Jackass and Bad Grandpa, this hidden camera comedy follows two best friends as they go on a cross-country road trip full of hilarious, inventive pranks, pulling its real-life audience into the mayhem. Bad Trip stars Eric André, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish and Michaela Conlin. The film is directed by Kitao Sakurai from the minds of Dan Curry, Kitao Sakurai, and André – and produced by André, Jeff Tremaine, David Bernad, and Ruben Fleischer.

The screening takes place on Thursday, March 25th at 7:00pm. HOWEVER, THE DEADLINE TO RSVP IS TONIGHT AT 7:00pm EST. To do so, simply RSVP for the event here. Enjoy the show!

Bad Trip hits Netflix on March 26th.

 

‘Cruella’ Moves To Disney+ And Theatrical Release In May; ‘Shang-Chi’ Heads To Labor Day Weekend

By
Travis Hopson
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You don’t move a film like Black Widow to a day-and-date release in July without causing some ripple effects, and Disney wasted no time in making them public. So let’s get to the biggest one, which is that Cruella, which stars Emma Stone as a younger version of the Disney villainess, will now open in theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on May 28th.

Also seeing a major shift is the Pixar film Luca, which is being released similar to Soul in that it’ll be a straight Disney+ release only, no theatrical and no extra fee for subscribers.

Other changes include the Ryan Reynolds video game comedy Free Guy, which will open theatrically on August 13th. The King’s Man, the Kingsman prequel starring Ralph Fiennes, arrives on December 22nd. Deep Water, which stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, heads to 2022 on January 14th, while Kenneth Branagh’s sequel Death On the Nile sets sail on February 11th 2022.

Also, now that Black Widow has taken its July slot, Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has found a new home on Labor Day weekend, September 3rd. Historically, that’s one of the worst weekend dates of the movie year. I don’t know if we should read anything into that or not, but the mighty Marvel machine is undefeated and historical trend rarely applies.

‘Black Widow’ To Hit Theaters And Disney+ Simultaneously In July

By
Travis Hopson
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I don’t think anybody believed for a second that Black Widow would arrive in May, as Disney has been saying. The anticipated Marvel film has been punted around for a year ever since the COVID-19 breakout, and for casual viewers paying attention it made no sense that they didn’t just shift to a Disney+ rollout the way Disney had done for Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon. Well, True Believers, you turned out to be right in the end.

Disney has moved Black Widow to July 9th, but it won’t just be in theaters. It will instead be released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ through Premier Access, meaning you’ll likely pay $29.99 to see it from home.

So what else does this mean? Well, the Black Widow box office likely just took a massive hit. However, we should note there’s no metric for a Marvel film on Disney+ so it could kick some serious ass. We just don’t know. This being the first Marvel feature since 2019 you can bet people will do whatever they can to see it, whether in theaters or the comfort on their homes.

Scarlett Johansson stars in Black Widow, in a story that explores her Russian past and that of her family, played by Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour. Cate Shortland is behind the camera.

The question now is what this means for the future of Marvel Studios features. Is this what we can expect from the rest of Phase 4?

Regal Cinemas To Begin Reopening In April After Striking Exclusivity Deal With Warner Bros.

By
Travis Hopson
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Just in time for the release of Godzilla vs. Kong, the last major theater chain yet to announce a reopening strategy has now corrected that. Cineworld’s Regal Cinemas will begin a phased reopening of their U.S. theaters beginning April 2nd. Not only that, but they’ve struck an exclusivity deal with Warner Bros. beginning in 2022.

So here’s the gist: a limited number of Regal Cinemas will begin to reopen on April 2nd for the launch of Godzilla vs. Kong, a film that pretty much demands to be seen on the big screen. Two weeks later, Regal will go even wider to showcase the release of Mortal Kombat.

As part of this new arrangement, Warner Bros. films will have a 45-day exclusivity window at Regal Cinemas from the start of 2022. So reading into that, we can guess that WarnerMedia’s move to release all of their films simultaneously in theaters and HBO Max will come to an end this year. That is something the studio had always planned, and should bring to a close what has been a very contentious decision on their part.

Of course, who can say how things will actually look next year. Theaters have spent all of 2020 and a good chunk of 2021 just trying to stay alive. The entire distribution model has shifted away from theaters to streaming, and it’s going to take more than some fancy deal-making to change more than a year of learned behavior. [THR]

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