Early this year, we learned of the voice cast for Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio. On that list of names was Ewan McGregor, except we had no idea who he would be playing in the latest adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Well, now McGregor has revealed his role, and he’ll be providing words of wisdom to the marionette who wishes to be a real boy.
In an interview with ACE Universe, McGregor confirmed he’ll be voicing Jiminy Cricket in Del Toro’s Pinocchio. Not only that, but he’s already completed most of his work before COVID-19 shut everything down…
“That I had started working on before I left for New York. So some of that is recorded,” said McGregor. “And of course, it’s stop-frame animation, so it’s going to take them a great long time to make that film. But my first part of that, which is recording his dialogue, is sorta done. There may or may not be a song that needs to be recorded. I’m not sure I’m at liberty to discuss that.”
McGregor is part of a cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Ron Perlman, Christoph Waltz, and David Bradley.
Because this is stop-motion, expect a long production time. That should give Del Toro time to finish his next movie, Nightmare Alley, before committing fully to Pinocchio.
We’ve been stuck in the house for MONTHS at this point. In a COVID world, all of our entertainment has been consumed via TV, whatever streamers we subscribe to, and the occasional VOD release. But as many states are entering whatever phase they are in, life will (hopefully) return back to normal. And normal for us film lovers, means being able to go back to the movie theaters. And it seems that Warner Bros is single-handedly trying to salvage that experience for all of us.
We already know that Tenant’sJuly 17th release date has been pushed back a couple of weeks, delaying everyone’s chance to get out of the house and back in the theaters. It appears that the WB is working on overdrive to have us once again fall in love with the theater-going experience. According to SlashFilm, to help kickstart excitement for everyone going back to the theaters, Warner Bros is re-releasing Inception in theaters on July 17th to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the mind-boggling dreamscape thriller. And for the first time, audiences will be able to finally see footage for the upcoming Dune film from Denis Villeneuve. There will be some footage as well for Wonder Woman 1984, Godzilla vs. Kong and others, but this will be the first time we get to see anything from Dune, which is probably good enough to put some butts in seats. Warner Bros gave the announcement via press release:
“This special anniversary theatrical event will also give audiences a never-before-seen look at footage from Nolan’s highly anticipated film Tenet, which will debut worldwide two weeks later, on July 31. Moviegoers will also be treated to an exclusive sneak peek of select films on Warner Bros.’ upcoming slate.”
In addition to the Nolan sci-fi thriller, they have other heavy hitters on the horizon including Wonder Woman 1984 and Godzilla vs. Kong. But no movie is more anticipated probably this year more than Dune. Once considered “unfilmable” (although it had uneven adaptions by David Lynch and the SyFy Channel), the Denis Villeneuve adaptation of the science-fiction classic is still on board for a December 18th release date. Normally, a trailer would have been seen by now for such an anticipated film, but these aren’t normal times. Lucky for us, Warner Bros is sweetening the pot a little bit for us. Hopefully, soon enough, we will get a full trailer for the Denis Villeneuve flick, but in the meantime, we will be able to get our first look at the Atreides and Harkonnen families, the Bene Gesserit … and some sandworms!!!
The Inception re-release hits theaters July 17th and Tenant hits theaters July 31st.
As a huge fan of James Gray, it pains me when a movie as great as Ad Astra gets overlooked. It was his biggest film by far with a star-powered lead actor in Brad Pitt, so you’d think it would have a tough time flying under the radar…and yet it did. So it seems that for Gray’s next film, the Reagan-era New York drama Armageddon Time, he’s turning up the star power to an even higher level.
Deadline reports Robert De Niro, Oscar Isaac, Anne Hathaway, and Donald Sutherland are joining the cast of Armageddon Time. This comes just weeks after we learned Cate Blanchett would be part of the cast. Damn. The film takes inspiration from Gray’s time at the prestigious Kew-Forest School where Donald Trump was an alumnus and his father Fred Trump served on the school board. And yep, Trump’s daddy will be a character in the film.
Gray talked to Deadline about the Trump connection to the film, and how their presence made an impact…
“The private school, yes Donald Trump went there and Fred Trump was on the board of trustees. It’s symbolic about what the school represented at the time, entrenched in this white protestant ethic. I found it very foreign to me, a product of the public school system in New York City of the ‘70s. It’s about that transition and how it reflects on what the American society was and sadly still is. How we are separated along the lines of class and ethnicity. The film is really about that, my transition in school from one to the other. The implications of it are quite large. The world really became clearly divided to me, based on the haves and the have-nots. I didn’t write the script last week, but rather many months ago and it’s weird in that a lot of what we’re seeing right now is playing out of many of the themes that it was my ambition to explore in the first place. This obsession I have with examining American ideas of class mobility, to do it in a context that is humane with social impact.”
I was trying to think of all the past connections between them, but I’m tired an the first thing that came to mind was Hathaway and De Niro in The Intern. That’s pretty sad. There’s probably a lot more.
No word on when this will roll, but I have a feeling Gray isn’t done stacking together his cast. Let’s hope it gets moving sooner rather than later.
When Lonely Island’s comedy Palm Springs hit Sundance about a thousand years ago (okay, it was in January but it feels like a thousand years), it was met with such tremendous buzz that Neon and Hulu came calling, checkbooks wide open. The film became the most lucrative acquisition in festival history, with a big theatrical release planned. Well, then COVID-19 happened, and the anticipated film is now going straight to Hulu next month.
Following in the footsteps of Groundhog Day and most-recently Happy Death Day, the time-loop premise of Palm Springs has been given a twist. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti play singles forced to relive the same crappy wedding day over and over again. What’s worse, it’s not even their wedding! Hijinks ensue, of course. J.K. Simmons, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, and Peter Gallagher co-star, with Max Barbakow making his directorial debut.
SYNOPSIS: When carefree Nyles (Andy Samberg) and reluctant maid of honor Sarah (Cristin Milioti) have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
Babyteeth, the confident and heartbreaking debut feature from Shannon Murphy, sounds like one of those YA cancer dramas that have become all-too prevalent of late. But this isn’t another story of star-crossed, terminally-ill lovers who meet in the same hospital room, trading kisses as easily as they trade gallows humor. Rarely does it tread into the drippy sentimentality we expect, but like those aforementioned films it does feature at least one performance sure to turn heads: Little Women actress Eliza Scanlen.
Prepare for another tear-jerker of a role from Scanlen, who plays the wide-eyed 15-year-old Milla. With her wild, colorful hair we know she’s not as innocent as she looks, and that’s after we learn of her unspecified cancer diagnosis. She’s struggled with it for a long time, and her parents, retired musician Anna (Essie Davis) and psychiatrist Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) are so protective they ignore their own demons. When Milla chances into a meeting with the tattooed, rat-tailed Moses (Toby Wallace), we know the 23-year-old is instant trouble. But the chemistry between them is just as quick and just as obvious.
For all of Moses’ problems, like being a drug addict, a thief, and a liar, his adoration for Milla is clear. That’s something it’ll take some time for her parents’ to accept, even after she let’s him shave her head prior to a new round of chemo treatments. It’s a simple act, but sensitive, intimate one that shows a deepening bond. Even when Moses messes up, which he does almost as a self-destructive reflex against such intimacy, Milla can see more of him than what is on the outside.
Murphy and her cast shows their deft handling of characters’ emotions, aided by a perfectly-balanced script by Rita Klanejais, in Moses’ first dinner with the entire family. While Milla is over-the-moon with first love energy, her father is considerably less thrilled but analytical of the situation. Meanwhile, Anna finds the whole thing pretty hilarious, a side effect of being too doped up to care that their dinner guest probably is, as well.
In lesser hands, that scene would’ve exploded into screaming matches and sitcom hysterics. We keep waiting for Babyteeth to follow suit, but Murphy never allows the film to settle into just one thing. Breaking each period in Milla’s life into segments, her story unfolds like chapters in a dizzying melodrama. While never completely out of mind, her cancer simmers underneath every interaction and confrontation. The happy times between young lovers are fit to boil over with excitement; while the tragedies darken with a terrifying sense of finality. At its core, Babyteeth is about people trying to get as much out of life as they can, for fear that they may lose it all someday soon.
There are moments of humor, as well, mostly provided by Moses who stumbles into the occasional scheme that falls flat. Stylistically, Murphy’s many chapter breakdowns have a tendency to disrupt the film’s momentum, although the terrific cast always pull each scene back on track. Scanlen’s portrayal of Milla is bright and open, as if she’s devouring everything the world has to offer and more. Wallace is just as good at maintaining Moses’ rough edges while a sensitivity resides beneath the scarred exterior. But the final act really belongs to Mendelsohn and Davis, and we only get a sense of how reserved they’ve been when the final moments explode with acts of betrayal and mercy. That Babyteeth doesn’t devolve into conventional norms of the genre is a testament to all involved in this devastating film about people trying to make due with the life they’ve been given, even when hope seems out of reach.
The last couple of movies directed by Ben Stiller, the unfortunate Zoolander 2 and The Secret World of Walter Mitty, have not gone over well. But perhaps he’ll knock it out of the park for his next gig behind the camera, a “high-concept thriller” starring Oscar Isaac. That’s a pretty good place to start.
THR reports Stiller will direct Isaac in London, a Lionsgate movie penned by Oscar-winning writer Eric Roth (A Star is Born, Forrest Gump) and adapted from a mysterious new Jo Nesbø short story. Isaac will also produce the film, which has no available plot details at this point.
Taking into account Nesbø’s wheelhouse, we may be able to glean certain details. Nesbo is the author behind the Harry Hole detective novels, one of which was adapted into the grim crime flick The Snowman. If he’s behind this, expect it to be pretty dark. At the same time, Stiller seems an unusual choice for that kind of material, while Isaac should be pretty well at home.
Eight years ago Sean Durkin became a fresh new voice in thrillers with his cult film Martha Marcy May Marlene. After showing such early promise, he vanished from the scene (except for the UK series Southcliffe) and hasn’t been heard from until this most-recent Sundance. He returned with The Nest, which may sound like another deep dive into a terrifying, paranoid world…and you’d be right, but not like as you’d expect.
The Nest stars Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Charlie Shotwell, and Oona Roche as a family who see their lives upturned by a move into an English manor. The culture shock and uncertainty they experience sends tremors throughout the household, and threatens their hopes at a fresh start.
I saw the film a few months ago while in Park City and found it to be better, and far more accessible than Durkin’s prior stuff. You can check out my review here.
SYNOPSIS: Rory (Jude Law), an ambitious entrepreneur and former commodities broker, who persuades his American wife, Allison (Carrie Coon), and their children to leave the comforts of suburban America and return to his native England during the 1980s. Sensing opportunity, Rory rejoins his former firm and leases a centuries-old country manor, with grounds for Allison’s horses and plans to build a stable. Soon the promise of a lucrative new beginning starts to unravel, the couple have to face the unwelcome truths lying beneath the surface of their marriage.
Train to Busan won accolades all around the world when it was released four years ago, not the sort of thing one would expect from a movie about a zombie outbreak aboard a passenger train. Now director Yeon Sang-Ho returns to the undead with Peninsula, which is more of a followup than a sequel, taking place four years later and expanding on the post-apocalyptic world. The story follows a soldier named Jung-seok who survived the initial outbreak but must return to a destroyed Korea on a retrieval mission, only to become trapped there with other survivors looking to escape.
While the original movie was notable for taking the zombie genre in a different direction, trapping passengers in a claustrophobic, seemingly hopeless scenario, Peninsula is doing something else altogether. With its open-world setting it has the feeling of a true action flick of blockbuster scope, and in the hands of Sang-Ho it should more than live up to its predecessor.
Peninsula hits theaters in Korea this summer. No official stateside release date just yet.
*UPDATE* Following on the heels of Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, we won’t have to wait long before his next project smacks us in the face. HBO has announced they’ll release Spike Lee’s collaboration with David Byrne, an adaptation of the musician’s Broadway show American Utopia. While there’s no firm release date, it’s expected to be later this year. Original story is below.*
Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has already had the chance to work with one directing legend, Jonathan Demme, on the iconic concert film Stop Making Sense. Now many decades later he’s teaming up with a director who has often been compared to Demme, the great Spike Lee, on a film version of his 2019 Broadway production of David Byrne’s American Utopia.
American Utopia is based on Byrne’s 7th solo studio album and is a walkthrough his legendary career, incorporating several Talking Heads hits into the soundtrack. So think of it as a combination stageplay and a rock concert movie, which should be interesting to see in the hands of Lee. This won’t be his first time tackling such material. He filmed the 2008 Broadway production of musical Passing Strange and debuted it at Sundance the following year.
Here’s what Byrne had to say about teaming up with Lee…
“Pinch me. This couldn’t have worked out better for this project. Spike Lee directing and Participant producing — two socially engaged teams, well, three if you count us in the band, coming together in what I feel will be something moving, important, and unlike anything anyone has seen before.”
It’s unclear when Lee and Byrne will get moving on this, but the director is currently in post on his upcoming film, Da 5 Bloods.
Dave Franco is following in his brother James’ footsteps by embarking on a directorial career, and his first shot out of the gate is the creepy vacation horror, The Rental! While the film doesn’t actually release until July, ArcLight Cinemas and IFC Films are doing something special by hosting a one-night-only drive-in event this Thursday, June 18th. On that day we’ll also see the full trailer’s debut, but for now here’s just a teaser to set the stage.
The Rental is directed by Franco and stars Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand as couples on an oceanside getaway who come to suspect that their host is spying on them. Before long, their celebratory weekend becomes more sinister as long-held secrets are revealed and they begin to see one another in a new light.
For those living in California, The Rental will be receiving a special one-night-only early screening at the Vineland Drive-In on Thursday, June 18th at 8:30pm. The event will be followed by a post-screening Q&A with Dave Franco himself. As is the order of the day, all safety protocols and social distancing measures are in effect to ensure the health of those who attend…
“Each $55 ticket package includes entry for one car. There is no passenger limit for this event. A signature ArcLight Caramel Corn and a regular popcorn will also be complimentary. Vineland’s concession stand will be closed for this event; however, moviegoers are invited to bring their favorite movie pairings with them.
Safety protocols will be in place in order to protect our guests, employees, and community. Each car must ensure that there is one space held between their car and the next. Guests will be asked to practice social distancing at all times”
For tickets and further information you’ll want to check out the event page here.
So this show is a bit on the expensive side, and I’m not completely sure I understand why social distancing makes sense for a drive-in, but it does look like you get a lot in return and you can bring the whole gang. That works out.
The Rental hits select theaters and VOD on July 24th.
