‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flies To Christmas, ‘A Quiet Place 2’ Set For This Fall
'SpongeBob' Heads To Late Summer

By
Travis Hopson
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April 2, 2020

So the summer movie season may be a shambles, but there’s an unexpected vacancy around the holidays. With no major franchises set for this Christmas, it leaves an opening for some of the films delayed by the coronavirus to stake a claim, and that’s exactly what’s happening.

Deadline reports Top Gun: Maverick has flown away from its June 23rd release date and touched ground on December 23rd. Paramount made the decision to keep the anticipated Tom Cruise film in 2020 rather than pushing it to 2021 as some other studios have done with their projects. Right now, the current crop of competition it will face is Coming to America 2, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and the Dune remake from Denis Villeneuve.

Paramount has also found a new home for A Quiet Place II, which had been pulled from its March 23rd date. They have now settled on September 4th for John Krasinski’s horror sequel. Krasinski returns to direct, with Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds returning for more silent terror.

Rounding out today’s moves is The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On the Run which goes from May 22nd 2020 to July 31st. That one’s interesting because it’s only a couple of months, and another change could be necessary. Might Paramount decide to send Spongebob to digital if that’s the case? Seems like a good candidate for it.

Stephen Williams Director Of ‘Watchmen’ TV Series Tapped For Universal Horror Film

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April 2, 2020

Ok, I’m jumping way out on a ledge here but it’s backed by somewhat solid logic. Whenever the Universal monsters are brought up I make it a point to, well, point out that the Creature from the Black Lagoon has never got the love he deserves. Couple that with the success of The Invisible Man just last month AND the news that Stephen Williams, director of the acclaimed Watchmen TV show for HBO, has been tapped to direct a horror movie for Universal and you have…not a lot to go on. BUT, what if I told you that said horror movie was titled Don’t Go In The Water and is being described as a “suspenseful monster movie”…things are starting to add up! Still, while it’s not a long shot it’s far from confirmation. It does only make sense for Universal to go this route if they’re to make another go at their monster slate, everyone else is either played out or has already been done in the last 10 years. If I’m right, and really even if I’m not, Williams is a solid choice to bank on. What he did with Watchmen was pretty damn amazing, and shows a solid talent for adapting things we know into something we didn’t know we wanted.

SXSW And Amazon Join Forces To Bring The Canceled Festival Online

By

Travis Hopson

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April 2, 2020

SXSW was one of the first major festival events to fall due to the coronavirus outbreak. It was, sadly, a sign of things to come, and who knows when it will end. However, there’s some good news. A partnership with Amazon has breathed new life and revived SXSW from the dead. Enter: Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection.

Yep, Amazon and SXSW have partnered up for Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection, which will bring select movies from the festival to stream on the Prime Video platform. The films will be free to watch for a 10-day period, and available to movie fans globally. No subscription fees required, so you don’t even need to be an Amazon Prime member. All that is needed is a free Amazon account.

Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke says, “We’re honored to be able to provide a space for the SXSW filmmakers to share their hard work and passion with audiences for the first time. It’s been a privilege collaborating with Janet Pierson and the SXSW team to bring these diverse and inspiring films to viewers around the country. We are supporters of SXSW and other independent film festivals, and hope this online film festival can help give back some of that experience, and showcase artists and films that audiences might otherwise not have had the chance to see.”

SXSW Director of Film Janet Pierson added, “Ever since SXSW was canceled by the City of Austin, we’ve been focused on how we could help the incredible films and filmmakers in the SXSW 2020 Film Festival lineup. We were delighted when Amazon Prime Video offered to host an online film festival, and jumped at the opportunity to connect their audiences to our filmmakers. We’re inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the film community as it searches for creative solutions in this unprecedented crisis.”

This is pretty cool, but it all depends on the filmmakers who get involved and what films they bring. Amazon’s hope is to begin screening SXSW films later this month.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Back On Track With ‘King Arthur’ Writer

By

Travis Hopson

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April 2, 2020

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+ is back on track. After getting derailed when writer Hossein Amini was forced off the project, Variety now reports Joby Harold has been brought in to pen the series.

Harold is probably best known for writing King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. He’s also one of the writers helping to develop Paramount’s Transformers franchise and is currently writing Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. This is his first crack at series TV, and it’s a Hell of a place to start.

Up until now, it was unclear what the future held for Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi who made social distancing cool before it was cool. We’ve known all along that Ewan McGregor would return as the character he played in the Star Wars prequels, with stories set in the gap between those films and the original trilogy. When Amini left, Lucasfilm/Disney put the series on indefinite hold, an act which McGregor played down. Throughout all of this, Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian) stayed on as director.

It’s unclear when filming will begin, but with everything in flux right now it sure seems like a long wait is in order.

‘Black Widow’: Scarlett Johansson Says To Expect A “Tonal Shift” From The MCU

By

Travis Hopson

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April 2, 2020

Having followed the adventures of Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff since Iron Man 2, we probably have an idea what to expect from a Black Widow movie. But Johansson says fans may be in for a surprise, telling Total Film (via GamesRadar) that it’ll be different from what anything else in the MCU…

“I think part of Kevin Feige’s genius is that he always thinks about what fans expect out of these films and then gives them something that they never could’ve dreamed of. The idea of Natasha Romanoff in a family drama is the least expected thing, and I had to wrap my head around what that was going to be because there’s such a big tonal shift.”

We’ve seen glimpses of the family dynamic in all of the previous trailers, but mostly they’ve emphasized the Mission: Impossible-level action. With Cate Shortland behind the camera it would be foolish to not have personal drama play a big role. That’s also why you bring in actors like Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour, because it’s what they do best.

Black Widow was recently pulled from the schedule, and Disney has yet to provide a new date.

‘Minions’ Sequel Bumped A Year To July 2021
Move Forces Universal To Rethink 'Sing 2' And 'Wicked' Release Dates

By
Travis Hopson
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April 2, 2020

You’re going to be waiting a full year longer to see the Minions on screen once again. After pulling Minions: The Rise of Gru from its July 3rd 2020 date due to theater closures, Universal has decided to move (via THR) the animated sequel all the way to July 2nd 2021.

The decision is interesting because Universal made a completely different choice when it comes to Trolls World Tour, which they decided would go straight to streaming later this month.

So a move like this causes a domino effect. The July 2nd date now occupied by Minions had been for Sing 2. Now that animated musical has been shuffled to December 22nd 2021. However, that date belonged to the adaptation of Broadway musical, Wicked, which has now been pulled off the schedule entirely.

Review: ‘Clover’
The Luck Of The Irish Isn't Quite With Jon Abrahams' Loud, Familiar Mob Comedy

By
Travis Hopson
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Actor/director Jon Abrahams hasn’t given himself an easy out with the mob comedy, Clover. The genre is so overstuffed with Tarantino stereotypes and cliches that creating something new is a lost art. While there are a few laughs to be had in this darkly comic caper, originality is a target that isn’t even aimed at, much less hit.

Abrahams and fellow indie stalwart Mark Webber play Irish-American brothers Mickie and Jackie. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: one brother is a hard-working, respectable sort, while the other is a total loser and epic screwup. They own a struggling bar, and made the mistake of going into hock with local tough guy mobster Tony Davolio (Chazz Palminteri playing every Chazz Palminteri role ever), and just when they have the money Jackie goes and loses it all gambling. Well, Tony wants his dough, and after a not-so-veiled threat, convinces the bumbling brothers to go out on a simple job with his son, Joey, to collect from another deadbeat. Long story short: the mark ends up dead, but also so does Joey, killed by the target’s over-eager young daughter, Clover (Nicole Elizabeth Berger).

Much of the film involves Mickie, Jackie, and Clover racing to avoid being killed by Tony’s army of goombahs. They enlist a slew of colorful associates for help, portrayed by actors who chew into their roles like a sausage stromboli. There’s Tichina Arnold as the streetwise, tough-talking club owner, Pat; a chameleonic Jake Weber as the poison-making madman Terry; and Jessica SZohr as Angie, who buries her fondness for Jackie under a tough exterior. The supporting cast are far more entertaining than the two leads, whose constant bickering wears old quick. Also a lot of fun are Erika Christensen and Julia Jones as a pair of beautiful assassins, hired by Ron Perlman as a rival mob boss who gives a terrific opening rant about the orderliness of wolves. Seriously, it might be worth the price of admission all by itself.

Unfortunately, there’s little else for Clover to hang its hat on. The action is gory but isn’t particularly inspired. It also blurs the comedic tone, making it unclear what Abrahams hopes to accomplish. Hype for the film has emphasized Clover as a potential badass herself, but that largely goes unfulfilled despite an enthusiastic performance by Berger. She’s one of the few actors who doesn’t have to shout their dialogue to get anything across, which is a nice change of pace for a movie that is too loud considering everyone is trying to be sneaky.

Clover pics

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San Diego Comic-Con 2020 May Still Happen This July
Organizers Are "Hopeful", But I'm Not Sure It's A Wise Idea

By
Travis Hopson
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April 2, 2020

As the world stays at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, many festivals and conventions have either been delayed our outright canceled. Those who make the annual trek to San Diego for Comic-Con every summer have been keeping a close eye on whether it will be next to move. But as for now, the event seems to be going on as scheduled.

San Diego Comic-Con organizers tweeted they are “hopeful” the pop culture event takes place from July 23rd-26th as intended…

As we continue to monitor the situation with local authorities, we will post updates on our social channels! Until then, remember: “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” — Christopher Reeve 2/2

— San Diego Comic-Con (@Comic_Con) April 1, 2020

Organizers have already postponed another fan event, WonderCon, as well as Comic-Con Museum activities.

While none of the major studios have officially pulled out of Comic-Con, with so many of the major upcoming releases delayed it’s a question if any would actually appear. Even if the show goes on without a hitch, it’s unclear if any of the biggest films would show up.

Speaking as a ten-year vet of Comic-Con, it’s not the most sanitary of places under the best of conditions. We’re talking one space jammed with over 100,000 sweaty people, many of whom can’t go home to bathe for fear of losing the place in line they’ve been holding for two days. Do you really think Gal Gadot is going to show up for that? Even if she wanted to, do you think producers at Warner Bros. would let her? Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh comin’ to be part of that at a time like this? Doubt it.

I want Comic-Con to happen just like everybody, but a delay works just as well. And if it comes to it that a cancellation is necessary, so be it if that means keeping people safe. And just imagine how hyped Comic-Con 2020 will be after a year’s absence!

‘Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula’ Teaser Sets Up Apocalyptic Sequel To The South Korean Zombie Hit

By

Travis Hopson

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April 2, 2020

If you thought Train to Busan took the zombie thriller to a whole new level four years ago…well, you were right. But that is nothing compared to what South Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho has in store for the upcoming sequel, Peninsula, which looks to to blow the damn hinges off.

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, is a sequel in only the loosest of terms. It expands on the “stuck on a train” narrative and takes a wider perspective of the zombie outbreak, set four years after South Korea was devastated by it. An entirely different set of characters attempt to survive the post-apocalyptic wasteland, while a soldier with a traumatic past embarks on a dangerous covert mission.

Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun lead the new cast, with Sang-ho back to direct.

SYNOPSIS: Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in TRAIN TO BUSAN, the zombie thriller that captivated audiences worldwide, acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho brings us PENINSULA, the next nail-biting chapter in his post-apocalyptic world. Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula opens this summer.

Study Shows Moviegoers Will Take Their Time Returning To Theaters

By

Travis Hopson

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April 2, 2020

There’s some good news and bad news for the movie industry once this coronavirus pandemic is in our past. A new report by EDO (via Deadline) says audiences are likely to return at normal levels once things return to normal. However, they won’t be in any hurry to rush back into theaters.

The study shows that 70% of people interviewed were likely to return to cinemas once the outbreak has cleared, with 45% of those “very likely” to do so. That’s great news for a theatrical industry hit hard by “shelter in place” orders and social distancing.

On the downside, these same people aren’t in any hurry. Of the 70% who expect to come back into theaters, 45% said they would wait “a few weeks” before they do. Another 11% says they’ll wait “several months”, while only 20% say they’ll rush the cinemas once doors reopen.

If you think about it, there never should’ve been any expectation of a quick return to normalcy. The situation we’re in now is going to take months, and a lot of people are going to be out of work during that time. The last thing on anybody’s mind at the end of this is going to be movies, it’s going to be getting back on their feet financially, getting back into the groove of working, etc.

So the point is that there is indeed good news on the horizon, just not any time soon.