The first exposure a lot of people may have had to Timothy Olyphant was in the 1999 film, Go (“Answer the question, Claire!”), which was one of a bunch of movies trying to emulate Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Now Olyphant will get to actually work with Tarantino for real in his upcoming Manson era film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Deadline reports Olyphant is in talks for a lead role in the film which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Burt Reynolds, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Kurt Russell. It’s unclear who Olyphant would be playing, and if that character would be one of the fictional ones or based on an actual figure. There’s a pretty healthy mix of both included in Tarantino’s story about a fading Western TV star who, along with his best friend and stunt double, attempt to break in to Hollywood movies.
Am I wrong in thinking Olyphant might make for a great Charles Manson? It’s not guaranteed the infamous cult leader will even figure into the story but if he does I think that’s who Olyphant will play. Call it a hunch. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood opens August 9th 2019.
I know it doesn’t seem like it sometimes, but Marvel fucks shit up, too. Case in point: Inhumans, which isn’t just some bad TV series that had low ratings and quietly vanished. Nah, it was a very public humiliation and a slow moving disaster from the start. After an abysmal first season that nobody liked, the stench of death was in the air and ABC has officially dropped the ax.
Inhumans was part of ABC’s purge of numerous shows I’ve never watched so won’t comment on. But I did watch Inhumans, and found it to be diverting enough, while recognizing that it still wasn’t up to the usual Marvel standard. That has been obvious from the start, though. Remember, Marvel’s Kevin Feige originally meant it to be a movie within the MCU with a release date for 2018. Instead, they decided to go in a different direction by hiring a director known for C-list, bargain basement movies, and teaming with IMAX to show the first two episodes in theaters.
The experiment was a disaster. They had a huge event for it at Comic-Con in July, and the buzz out of it was not good at all. Trailers made the series look shoddy, and the bad buzz continued through the series premiere to what we now know was the series finale. But we’ve known it was done a long time ago. ABC has been dead silent on its future for months, which wasn’t a good sign.
So what happens to Inhumans now? There’s always a chance they try again with a movie, but I think Marvel is filling the same niche with their Eternals project. Maybe if Agents of SHIELD returns for another season they can be folded back into that show, which is where their story first began. Or maybe another of Disney’s networks picks it up, or it becomes part of their streaming service? I really don’t want an MCU without a Lockjaw in it somewhere.
Cannes is taking place right now and there are major projects being put together all over the place. Few are going to have quite the promise of Greenland, a disaster thriller that unites District 9 director Neill Blomkamp with that Captain America guy, Chris Evans.
While there aren’t a ton of details, the film will center on one family’s fight for survival during a cataclysmic natural disaster. Blomkamp is coming off a pair of disappointments in Elysium and Chappie, not to mention his Alien sequel which never got off the ground. Evans will be done with his Marvel commitments and looking to establish himself in something that doesn’t involve the Avengers.
Expect Blomkamp to tackle some hot button social issues with this one, too. Hopefully we get more info soon. Production is set to begin later this year.
1. Avengers: Infinity War– $61.8M/$547.8M
No surprise here. Black Panther brought in a new realm of staying power for Marvel movies and Infinity War is following suit. Holding on to first place, though the contenders weren’t exactly, blockbusters they were definitely #1 material against other aging competition. Just to point out the significance of the latest Marvel endeavor here are the records they have nabbed this week alone Avengers: Infinity War topped the domestic box office for the third weekend in a row, delivered the second largest opening in China ever, became the eighth largest domestic release of all-time, fifth largest global release and became the first superhero film to ever top $1 billion internationally….not bad for the third week of release.
2. Life of the Party (Review)- $18.5M
Melissa McCarthy’s take on the Back to School scenario pulled in a super respectable 18 million. While the certified comedy star probably pulls in estimates closer to $30 mil in an opening week this really isn’t a bad pull. Scheduling killed them, the thing with a phenomenon like Marvel’s latest is that you have to account for the people that DIDN’T go in the first two weeks that are filing in now. These are the same folks that would be likely to see McCarthy on opening weekend.
3. Breaking In(Review)- $16.6M
Gabrielle Union’s new thriller, where she plays a mom who’s forced to defend her family after a break in, did about exactly what you’d expect. If not for the elephant in the room a #2 start for this film is expected.
4. Overboard– $10.1M/$29.5M
5. A Quiet Place– $6.4M/$169.5M
6. I Feel Pretty– $3.7M/$43.8M
7. Rampage– $3.3M/$89.7M
A surprise sub-$100M Dwayne Johnson film. Falling down to number 7 and making less than 5 million in it’s 5th week this looks like it will be a rare loser for the most electrifying man in motion pictures. Keep in mind though this is just domestic, the film had already made nearly $300M by the end of April in international markets, so you could say The Rock is so good that even when he loses, he wins.
8. Tully– $2.2M/$6.9M
9. Black Panther– $1.9M/$696M
It looks like T’challa’s time in the top 10 may be close to over, but don’t cry for Wakanda…at 13 weeks into it’s release it’s officially the 2nd longest running film in the top 100 and STILL in the top 10, Wakanda gonna be alright. Bear in mind that’s with a -271 change in theaters showing the movie. If you go by a per theater average it would still be close to the high five.
10. RBG– $1.1M/$2M
Harrison Ford can be a curmudgeon during press junkets, especially when it comes to talking about the characters he will forever be known for. But occasionally he can be a really good sport, and played along with Entertainment Tonight in surprising Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s Alden Ehrenreich who is taking over as Han Solo…
They probably told Ford who that Ehrenreich kid was just moments before he walked through the door. Seriously, it’s a cool and genuine moment between the two actors. Ehrenreich has gigantic boots to fill and he’s not going to please everybody. Ford was Han Solo for nearly 40 years before exiting the franchise in The Force Awakens, and he’s always going to be THE guy no matter what. That said, early reactions to Solo, which opens on May 25th, are pretty good and Ehrenreich is receiving some praise.
Captain Marvel has long been an important character in the Marvel Universe, with Carol Danvers going so far as to lead the Avengers at one point in her storied career. But in recent times she has become something greater, an inspiration to others to become heroes. One of those is Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, who has the distinction of being Marvel’s first major Muslim superhero. Introduced in 2013 during the company’s renewed push for diversity (Which has been met with divisive response, frankly), Ms. Marvel is now one of their most popular characters. And it sounds like she’s coming to the big screen.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige spoke with BBC and revealed that once they’re done with the Captain Marvel film with Brie Larson, plans are in the works for Ms. Marvel soon after…
“Captain Marvel’s shooting right now with Brie Larson. Ms. Marvel, which is another character in the comic books, the Muslim hero who is inspired by Captain Marvel, is definitely sort of in the works. We have plans for that once we’ve introduced Captain Marvel to the world.”
I don’t know how much stock you want to put into “definitely sort of”, but Feige doesn’t mention things he doesn’t have ideas for. This isn’t DC Films, y’know? He doesn’t even specifically state that she’ll be in the MCU on the big screen, that’s just an assumption because that’s Feige’s major area of concern. He doesn’t do a lot of talking about the TV side of things, or Marvel’s animated slate. So what those plans for Ms. Marvel are remain unclear. Perhaps we’ll see Kamala Khan make a cameo in Captain Marvel as a setup to a solo movie?
And is Marvel prepared for the blowback from those who seek to demonize all Muslims? Because it WILL happen. Then again they faced that reaction with the comics and it’s gone on to be one of their runaway success stories.
Captain Marvel opens March 2019. We may get some answers around that time.
This week has been a jam-packed week for our heroes within the Arrowverse. You already saw our recap of Supergirl where Kara and the DEO took on the “Trinity” of the World Killers. Although they were able to take on and seemingly defeat Pestilence and Purity, all the World Killers powers were absorbed into Reign, meaning they are not out of the woods yet (recap here). However, there are still threats that Barry and Team Flash has to take care of on The Flash, as well as Oliver and Team Arrow needing to “save the city” on Arrow.
So how did this week in the Arrowverse go?
The Flash: “Harry and The Harrisons”
With DeVoe moving closer to his goal of launching satellites that will reset everyone on the planet’s brain looming closer, the threat is very real for Team Flash. But how do you defeat someone who’s original power was to outthink you. DeVoe is literally unstoppable because he already knows you move before you do. As seen throughout the season, he’s out-thought Barry every step of the way. No matter what they do, they have always been one step behind. Adding to the fact that he has orchestrated to have powers from the bus metahumans, there’s almost no way to stop him from launching his plan.
The main goal is to stop DeVoe from launching the satellites into orbit that would cover the globe in dark matter and trigger the devolution of the planet. But since DeVoe has the powers of Kilg%re to control technology, they cannot launch any technology that would take the satellites down. Harry cannot think of a way to stop him since his intelligence is fading. Cisco cannot breach outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. They have to figure out a non-technical way of launching objects to attack the satellites. There’s only one way to do it, which would mean making a deal with the devil.
The only metahuman who has the ability to have a non-technical attack built into their powers would be Amunet Black (once again, Katee Sackhoff enjoying the hell out of this role). Able to telekinetically control a rare metal, she could use her powers to destroy the satellites. Of course, Amunet is a criminal mastermind who ruled some of Central City’s underworld in the trafficking of metahumans to the highest bidder. She tried to sell Barry (before knowing he was The Flash as she finds out this week), as well as countless others. However, they are desperate to stop DeVoe. First, they have to find out where she is, as she’s gone into hiding. After finding out her secret identity, they discover that she’s running an underground gambling operation and they need to recruit her to join their cause. Team Flash as worked with Killer Frost as well as with Captain Cold, so they could work with Amunet Black as well.
Caitlin secretly needs her help as well. When she was Killer Frost and in Amunet’s employment, Amunet used a secret splicer that could seemingly stop (and hopefully bring about) her Killer Frost persona. Caitlin keeps this a secret from the team as that’s her main goal. Knowing it’s in her best interest to not become devolved, Amunet agrees to help Team Flash, but she first needs their help. Her stash of the metallic rock she is able to control has been stolen from storage. Amunet’s former partner Norvock has stolen the metal in the hopes of selling it to the highest bidder.
Meanwhile, Harrison and Cisco has called upon the “Council of Wells” to help him regain his intelligence. However, the council is not too eager to help as they now think that Harrison is not intelligent and the council was formed for the purpose of sharing intelligence. Harrison is no longer intelligent, and therefore, kicked out of the group. Cisco decides to start up a new council, the “Council of Harrisons.” This group consists of more versions of Harrison Wells, these ones are “emotionally intelligent.” This gives actor Tom Cavanagh a chance to flex his comedic muscle for another episode as he plays various alternate earth versions of himself. Instead of getting him to regain intelligence, the group focuses on Harrison to focus on empathy as a means to defeating DeVoe. Trying to empathize with DeVoe, Harrison realizes that DeVoe hasn’t activated the device because he needs one thing: his wife Marlize, who we know has left him. It’s going to be about turning her to stop him.
Team Flash finds Norvock in the middle of making a deal with crime bosses to sell Amunet’s metal. While they are able to stop them (and get Amunet to not kill Norvock, although she kills his eye snake), Amunet goes back on the deal. Caitlin pleads with her to think about more than herself, so Amunet leaves Team Flash with a parting gift, a metallic shard bomb. She also reveals to Caitlin that the splicer she gave her was a placebo, meaning there’s no pharmaceutical means to help her bring Killer Frost back, it’s something she has to do herself.
They now have to take the fight to DeVoe to stop him.
Arrow: “The Ties That Bind”
With Oliver being acquitted last week, all of Team Arrow and the Outsiders seemed to think all is well. Unfortunately, Diaz is still running the city. He had a carefully laid out plan for taking Oliver down without him being a martyr. Since he couldn’t be taken down via legal means, Diaz has to take him down via the street. And it’s not just the vigilantes in his crosshairs now, he goes for them and their families. The episode opens with each member going through their normal routines with family: Oliver is with his son and Felicity, Diggle is with Lyla at the hospital checking on his arm, Curtis is on a date with his boyfriend, Renee is watching hockey with his daughter, and Dinah is off doing some vigilante work. All of them are ambushed at the same time by Diaz’s men. They are sparing no one as bullets are flying everywhere. Oliver was warned by Anatoly at the last minute which changes the outcome as he warns everyone, which and allows them to stop their would-be assassins. It’s not over yet for them though.
Oliver gets William to an ARGUS safe house for protection and the rest of Team Arrow goes to the Outsiders’ hideout at the old Helix headquarters. It’s a good thing they did that, because Diaz sent some of his men to the Arrow Cave as they torch it. Realizing they are hopelessly outnumbered, there’s nowhere they can go that Diaz won’t find him. Plus, Diaz is safely in a police station, and probably won’t come out. Oliver asks the team to trust him (that’s a big ask considering this season’s events) as he continues to work with Anatoly to spring a trap for Diaz.
Anatoly does just that and convinces Diaz that his best course of action would be to flee to another more secure location. He tips Oliver off to the location for all the vigilantes to spring a trap for him. As they ambush his caravan, they almost get away with it. Curtis gets the drop on him, but overcome with emotion since his boyfriend was shot in the first ambush, Diaz gets the drop on him and stabs him to escape. They realize that Diaz had dropped a flash drive in his scuffle with Curtis, and recovering that was more important than finishing the job. The flash drive must be important and Team Flash figures out that they need to get the drive.
Felicity as Overwatch, realizes that the flash drive contains all his financial records. If they gained access to it, they could know (and expose) everyone on his payroll and get a chance to take the city back. Diaz has since then gone back to the police station under the protection of the whole department. Diaz starts to suspect that Anatoly is the one who snitched to Oliver. However, Anatoly hasn’t lasted this long not to know how to talk himself out of a situation. He manages to shift blame from himself to the other member of The Quadrant as she showed up out of nowhere to pull Diaz out of trouble, which causes Diaz to kill her. He, later on, meets with other members of The Quadrant and basically tells them to “bend the knee” to him or suffer her fate. Only one remains. Diaz went from being one of Cayden James’s “henchmen,” to running the city, to now being one of two people in charge of all criminal activity across the country.
In order to get what’s on the drive, Team Arrow will need to take a serious gamble. Lyla as a member of ARGUS will head to the police station on “official” business, looking for Diaz (since the police have to keep up a presence they are an actual police force), and place a device that will sniff out the flash drive and clone it. Felicity sits nearby in a van to pick up the signal and clone the device. However, Diaz has his own techie, who figures out what they are doing. Lyla is cornered, forcing Team Arrow to come and save her. Felicity also goes in to try and get the device to continue the cloning. Diaz almost gets the drop on her but is saved by Oliver last minute.
Since they have the cloned device, Diaz is able to track them down to the Helix headquarters, where he launches an all-out assault on Team Arrow. He gasses the place as well. Team Arrow is able to escape, and Oliver blows up the headquarters, narrowly escaping death at the hands of Diaz. Felicity is forced to abandon the drive so that she and Oliver can escape alive. Oliver has only one more card to play. He approached the FBI agent who was investigating him for being the Green Arrow for help. She forced him to reveal who he truly is in the hopes that she will get the agency involved to stop Diaz.
Next week is the season finale as Team Arrow takes on Diaz in the final showdown!
After a welcome post-Infinity War break, Cinema Royale is back with a review of Melissa McCarthy’s new comedy, LIFE OF THE PARTY! Hannah Buchdahl of the Cinema Clash podcast joins me to give the film a passing grade, or send it to detention with some of McCarthy’s other comedies.
Plus, I’ll talk BILL & TED 3, new casting on Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, a GI JOE spinoff movie, CAPTAIN MARVEL casting, the live-action STAR WARS TV series, and more
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Blumhouse’s new sci-fi action film, Upgrade, starring Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus) and directed by Leigh Whannell (Saw, Insidious: Chapter 3).
SYNOPSIS: GREY TRACE, a technophobe in a utopian near-future when computers control nearly everything – from cars to crime-surveillance – is paralyzed in a freak mugging that leaves his wife dead. But when a billionaire technologist offers him an experimental paralysis cure – an implanted computer chip called STEM – Grey finds that the chip has a voice and a mind of its own. Together Grey and STEM embark on a mission to avenge his wife’s death.
The screening takes place on Wednesday, May 16th at 7:00pm at Regal Gallery Place. If you’d like to attend, complete the required steps in the Rafflecopter form below. Winners will be selected tomorrow, May 12th, and notified by email. Good luck!
It has been six years since we broke the news of Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson adapting another Capcom video game series, Monster Hunter. And in that time we haven’t heard a ton about it, but one thing seemed obvious right from jump street: his wife Milla Jojovich would probably be in it. And today that has become official.
Jojovich will get to lead yet another video game adaptation with Monster Hunter, which is set to begin shooting this September in South Africa, just like Resident Evil: The Final Chapter did. The $60M production is basically following the Resident Evil model straight down the line, employing the same highly stylized visual effects from Mr. X.
Monster Hunter is an open world RPG in which a Hunter sets out to trap and kill monsters so they can upgrade their hero and face bigger, tougher monsters. The games, which debuted a decade ago and have sold millions of copies, are largely plot free so it will be interesting to see what Anderson comes up with for the movie.
I imagine this franchise will be a lot like Resident Evil; low rewards stateside but gigantic everywhere else. But if it gives us more Jojovich kicking ass on the big screen I’m all for it. [Variety]
