Ever since Aaron Sorkin was announced to be writing and directing The Trial of the Chicago 7, it’s been a film many have seen as an obvious awards contender. While it took some time to finally get moving, the all-star cast assembled made up for the wait: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Rylance, Michael Keaton, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Strong are among those telling the story of the counter-culture icons arrested for staging a protest against the Vietnam War during the ’68 Democratic National Convention.
Vanity Fair has dropped the first images, showcasing the talent that will be this movie’s calling card. A lot has been made of Cohen’s uncanny resemblance to activist Abbie Hoffman, and that definitely holds true based on what we see here.
Sorkin directs from his own screenplay, but this was originally going to be a film for Steven Spielberg to direct. Paramount acquired the rights, but grew skittish about the budget, which put the movie in limbo. When COVID-19 shut down theaters, they saw the opportunity to sell it off to Netflix, who jumped at the chance to acquire such a high prestige drama.
Also in the cast are Kelvin Harrison Jr., Noah Robbins, Daniel Flaherty, William Hurt, Thomas Middleditch, JC MacKenzie, Caitlin Fitzgerald, and more. The Trial of the Chicago 7 hits Netflix on October 16th, just in time for awards season.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are together again, and all is right with the world. The duo who became beloved fan-favorites for their Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) are reuniting for Amazon horror-comedy series Truth Seekers, and we’re getting a first-look at their ghostbusting antics.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Truth Seekers panel during Comic-Con @ Home, Amazon has dropped the series’ first images. Pegg and Frost play paranormal investigators who stumble upon a vast global conspiracy. The series was written by Pegg, Frost, joined by Sick Note creators James Serafinowicz and Nat Saunders. Malcolm McDowell, Emma D’Arcy, Samson Kayo, and Susan Wokoma are also in the cast.
Amazon has yet to give Truth Seekers a release date, but don’t be surprised if that is announced during the panel.
SYNOPSIS: Truth Seekers is a horror comedy series about a team of part-time paranormal investigators who team up to uncover and film ghost sightings across the UK, sharing their adventures on an online channel for all to see. However, as they stake out haunted churches, underground bunkers and abandoned hospitals with their array of homemade ghost-detecting gizmos, their supernatural experiences grow more frequent, more terrifying and even deadly, as they begin to uncover a conspiracy that could bring about Armageddon for the entire human race.
Those waiting for updates on Baby Driver 2 might be dismayed that Edgar Wright’s name keeps popping up for completely different projects. Well, then this isn’t going to make them feel any better, because Wright has agreed to direct and exec-produce Stage 13, a ghost story that isn’t the horror movie we typically associate with dead spirits.
Deadline reports that Wright will develop, produce, and direct Stage 13, a feel-good ghost story written by SNL alum Simon Rich. The story follows the ghost of a silent film actress who continues to haunt the titular backlot soundstage decades after her death. When she meets a struggling movie director, they form a friendship and team up to make their mark on the world.
Next up for Wright is his psychological thriller Last Night in Soho, which was recently pushed to next spring due to COVID-19. He recently inked a deal with Netflix to develop TV projects, and has kidnapping film The Chain coming up with Kingsman writer Jane Goldman. Rich wrote the upcoming Seth Rogen comedy An American Pickle, and created such shows as Man Seeking Woman and Miracle Workers.
Over the last few days there has been a lot of talk about the future of Solo: A Star Wars Story, more than one might think for a movie that basically derailed the entire franchise. Most of the conversation has centered on star Alden Ehrenreich, for obvious reasons, but perhaps if Lucasfilm were to decide to return to that movie’s characters it would be one everybody agrees with pitch-perfect: Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian.
A new rumor discussed on the Kessel Run podcast says Donald Glover will return as Lando in an upcoming Disney+ series. Details are few, but the hosts suggested the title could be Calrissian Chronicles.
Glover’s take on Lando was right on point. He had the cool, and the swagger of a young Billy Dee Williams, and fans wanted to see more of him immediately. Which is why it was so disappointing when Solo failed at the box office, because it shutdown some potentially great ideas and characters.
You know the drill, though. Take this with a grain of salt until it appears in the trades or is announced by Lucasfilm. I want to stress, because I’ve been getting hit up a lot on Twitter about this being “confirmed”, that this is simply a rumor from a fan podcast for now. But let’s all keep our fingers crossed that it’s true.
We can finally announce that Donald Glover will be reprising his role as Lando in a future #StarWars series! What do you guys think of this news?? pic.twitter.com/TyQGjM0kdn
One of the many over-arching fears of Ridley Scott’s classic Alien, was if the dreaded creature somehow made its way to Earth. In the new sci-fi chiller Sputnik, those fears are realized at a time when the world is left vulnerable due to the Cold War and a contentious space race.
The ’80s-set horror is directed by Egor Abramenko, and follows a Russian cosmonaut who returns to Earth from a disastrous mission with no memory of what happened and carrying an unknown parasite that only comes out at night. While the government works to keep the mission’s true purpose a secret, the alien passenger threatens to destroy the world.
Sputnik hits VOD, select theaters, and digital on August 14th.
SYNOPSIS: Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna (Oksana Akinshina, Lilya 4-Ever) is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought to a secure science research facility to assess a very special case, that of Konstantin Sergeyevich (Pyotr Fyodorov, The Darkest Hour), a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has returned to Earth with a unique condition: there’s something living inside of him that only shows itself late at night. The military has nefarious plans for it. Tatiana wants to stop it from killing Konstantin. And the creature itself thrives on destruction.
Who missed the weasel? C’mon, be honest if you’re of a certain age then you have to list at least one Pauly Shore movie among you guilty pleasures. For me it was either Son in Law (early Carla Gugino, what!?) or Jury Duty. I’m not saying they were good, but they were fun to watch.
Well good news folks, the upcoming Lionsgate comedy Guest House has Pauly getting back to his old ways and he’s brought a bunch of folks you haven’t seen in a while with him! Let’s check the official synopsis:
A newly engaged couple finds the home of their dreams and it quickly becomes a nightmare when the previous owner’s friend continues squatting in their guest house. It leads to a turf war that ultimately ruins their house, their marriage and their lives.
Fun right? As you’ll see in the trailer below it’s not just the marquee stars like Charlotte McKinney, Mikaela Hoover, and Aimee Teegarden that you should concern yourself with, it’s the likes of Steve-O, Bobby Lee, and Billy Zane that’s going to have you hitting ‘Rent’ when this hits VOD. Could it be horrible? Sure…but I’m thinking it’s more likely to become a guilty pleasure in a lot of people’s minds. Nostalgia works!
Guest House hits On Demand and Digital September 4th, 2020
Guest House
Director: Sam Macaroni
Writers: Sean Bishop, Troy Duffy
Stars: Liz Katz, Mikaela Hoover, Aimee Teegarden
An R-rated sex comedy from Karen Maine, writer of the progressive, challenging, and funny Obvious Child? One might think the provocatively-titled Yes, God, Yes would offer more than an Afterschool Special’s take on a young Catholic girl’s awkward exploration of her own sexuality. While the film maintains a perky, upbeat tone throughout and makes plenty of masturbatory allusions, there’s very little to get hot and bothered over.
Maine’s directorial debut stars Stranger Things‘ Natalia Dyer as Midwestern Catholic schoolgirl Alice. If there’s any question about the time period, the screeching sounds of the America Online login will snap you into reality. It was a time when we were just learning what “cyber” meant in the AOL chat rooms. Alice, a typically lustful teen who is still reeling from Father Murphy’s (Timothy Simons) dorky assertion that men are like microwaves and women are like conventional ovens when it comes to sex, is an easy target for an online horndog. She doesn’t understand why she revs up faster than other girls. There isn’t any help forthcoming from her school’s sex education classes, and one can only watch the sex scene from Titanic so many times. So Alice does the only thing she can think to do, which is attend a Bible school retreat where she hopes to renew her faith, and maybe, finally, learn what the heck it means to “toss someone’s salad”, an act she’s been accused of committing by pretty much the entire school.
Inspired by Maine’s own upbringing as a Catholic girl in Iowa, the film largely takes place at this retreat where youths share their feelings under the watchful eye of judgmental adult…and God, of course. They’re taught that God sees everything; sex before marriage is a mortal sin, and that includes masturbation. For a timid, confused girl like Alice, this is all too much, especially when she notices the hot, hairy-armed hunk leading her group. What is a good Catholic girl like her to do?
You won’t be shocked to learn that the Catholic Church can be hypocritical when it comes to matters of sex. If that’s a revelation to you, then maybe Yes, God, Yes is a movie that will strike home. But for others, the messages within are pretty soft, with Maine offering few insights for someone who has such a personal connection. The truest moment in the movie comes during a lesbian bar scene, in which Alice, after downing a wine cooler like a pro, has an eye-opening chat with a former Catholic about how ridiculous its teachings can be. This feels like Maine really getting something off her chest that she has been holding in. Too bad the rest of the movie isn’t nearly as confrontational of the subject matter. Not that we need blunt depictions of sex or anything, but there’s no reason for this movie to be rated-R and kept from the demographic who might get the most out of it. There’s hardly anything racy in it at all, other than Alice’s clumsy attempts to pleasure herself.
Maine acknowledges the time period in ways that help the movie feel authentic, however. Set in 1999, VHS tapes are still in wide use, Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” plays in the background like a Sunday hymnal, and of course, AOL is still a thing and with it all of the gross “age/gender/location” requests that come with chatting. The use of setting is well-done without becoming a distraction, with the use of music particularly inspired.
What’s really at stake here for Alice, though? That’s something Yes, God, Yes never clearly answers. Is it her eternal soul? Eh, probably not. In fact, Maine goes out of her way repeatedly to confirm that Alice is completely normal, and that the people around her are the weirdos. While that’s a sentiment I agree wholeheartedly with, it doesn’t make for a compelling film that Alice faces no real challenges and has no crisis that forces even a little bit of reflection.
The relationship between Hulu and Elisabeth Moss has been good for everybody, so why mess it up now? Already the home of Moss’ series The Handmaid’s Tale, the actress will produce and star in a neo-noir series for Hulu titled Black Match.
Variety reports Moss and her newly-launched production company Love & Squalor Pictures have teamed up with Hulu fo neo-noir anthology series Black Match. Details are slim, but it’s being described as “a psychosexual neo-noir thriller set in modern day Los Angeles.” Moss will take the lead role and produce, with Ian McCulloch writing the scripts. Mike Barker, who directed Moss in multiple episdodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, and has an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Talisman in the works, will direct the series.
This being an anthology, it’s unclear how big Moss’s role will actually be. She already has a lot on her plate. A new season of The Handmaid’s Tale is coming up, she’ll play an ax murderer in true crime series Candy, and will reunite with director Daina Reid for ghost story Run Rabbit Run.
Voicing Disney’s first-ever Polynesian princess in Moana was the breakthrough role for Auli’i Cravalho, but since then she has only been seen in a handful of TV shows. Now she has a movie all to herself thanks to Netflix with All Together Now, directed by Hearts Beat Loud filmmaker Brett Haley.
Netflix has revealed the first look at All Together Now, which was originally-titled Sorta Like a Rock Star, based on the book by Silver Linings Playbook author Matthew Quick. Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids) was the first director attached, only for it to switch studios and move to Bryce Dallas Howard who planned it as her feature debut. Quick would later come aboard to adapt the screenplay.
That’s a lot of backstory, but it only goes to show that a lot of people were interested in making this movie a reality. Cravalho plays a teen juggling her musical aspirations with high school life, while also supporting her mother, who is struggling to keep it together.
The cast surrounding Cravalho is filled with veterans, including Fred Armisen, Carol Burnett, Justina Machado, and Judy Reyes. Also in the cast is Runaways star Rhenzy Feliz.
Haley, who everybody knows at this point is a director I absolutely love, is probably best known for his music comedy Hearts Beat Loud. But before that he directed two terrific movies geared towards an older audience: I’ll See You In My Dreams followed by The Hero. Earlier this year he directed teen romance All the Bright Places for Netflix, making this a continuation of their partnership. Here’s hoping it continues because Haley’s movies are never going to make a ton of money at the box office, but they are perfect for the streaming crowd. Haley just recently agreed to direct Grease prequel film, Summer Lovin‘.
All Together Now hits Netflix on August 28th.
SYNOPSIS: Amber Appleton (Auli’i Cravalho) remains an optimist even when her personal life is far less stable than it appears on the surface. A musically gifted high school student with aspirations to attend Carnegie Mellon, Amber balances her beloved high school drama club helmed by Mr. Franks (Fred Armisen) with working long hours at a donut shop to help support herself and her down-on-her-luck single mom (Justina Machado). She also spends time at the local retirement community, giving care and attention to her favorite pessimistic resident (Carol Burnett). When new obstacles present themselves that threaten her dreams, Amber must learn to lean on the strength of her chosen family to move forward.
M. Night Shyamalan is building up one hell of an ensemble for his next secret project. It was previously announced that the twist-king had signed on Abbey Lee, Eliza Scanlen, Alex Wolff, Vicky Krieps, Ken Leung and future A-lister Thomasin Mckenzie (my favorite surprise from JoJo Rabbit), well we learned today he’s adding some real top-level acting talent in the form of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu MamaTambien). The face that Shyamalan is still able to pull casts together at all is a true testament to perseverance and beliving in your product in Hollywood. What a roller coaster this guy’s career has been, from being the hottest filmmaker in the world, to being talked about like a one-trick pony, all the way back to self-financing a super-successful trilogy of original comic-book style movies. Anything I say about this movie will obviously be an educated guess, at best, due to Shymalan’s notorious secrecy when it comes to even the slightest details about his film. Honestly, it’s kind of surprising that we have so much casting news as it does bring to light a change in the narrative. M. Night almost always deals in movies that focus on 1 or 2, sometimes 3 different characters but this is looking like a rather large ensemble already, and we don’t even know if major casting is complete. We do know one thing, that we really won’t know anything for a while. While the film was announced to have a July 2021 release date, the simple fact is that shooting can’t start for at least another month…and that’s IF COVID gets under control in the States. I’d say to take this, and any other release dates announced with a big ‘ole grain of salt.
