Nicolas Cage Teases Transition To Directing In Three Or Four Years

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April 20, 2018

Nicolas Cage’s near 40-year career may be winding down. Or at least that’s what he wants us to think. The actor, who has become a punchline over the last few years, spoke to Complex about his new film, Primal, and says he’ll be transitioning away from acting in the future…

“Directing is something I look forward to down the road. Right now, I’m primarily a film performer and I’m gonna continue doing that for three or four more years and I’d like to focus more on directing.”

Cage will be turning his energies towards directing and producing through his Saturn Films label, so even if does step away from acting he’ll be plenty busy. That’s not going to be good enough for me. While I’ve taken my share of shots at some of his choices there is absolutely nobody who entertains like Cage. Whether he’s in a good or bad movie Cage always brings his best, and he works his ass off in sometimes three or four movies annually. My joke is that the first movie I see every single year is a lousy Nicolas Cage movie and that is almost always true.

When Cage finds the right material he can be as good as any actor. I’ll put his Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans up there with some of the best gonzo performances ever, and I don’t even need to talk about Raising Arizona, Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off and others. His recent turns in Mom & Dad and Mandy show that Cage has learned to embrace this latest career phase as a B-movie icon ala Bruce Campbell. He can roll with the punches.

Plus, now that I’ve interviewed him and we are such good friends he can’t go. There are too many years and too many movies left for it to end.

‘Anon’ Trailer: Clive Owen Gets Hacked In Andrew Niccol’s New Sci-Fi Film

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John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

Andrew Niccol is a filmmaker with big social ideas, which we’ve seen him explore successfully in films like Gattaca and Lord of War, and not quite as well in Good Kill or About Time. No matter what he’s always thought-provoking, and his latest film Anon is about as timely as they come since it deals with privacy in a world where technology has made that impossible. Hope he sends a copy to Mark Zuckerberg.

Starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried, Anon is a Netflix film set in a world where privacy and anonymity no longer exist. Owen, looking more hangdog than ever, plays a detective on the hunt for a murderer, only to discover a woman with no identity, no past, and is invisible to the cops.

Niccol always seems to latch on to whatever the hot button issue of the moment is, and in this case it’s the impact of social media on our privacy rights. Whether he can combine that with sci-fi elements he favors remains to be seen, but this looks kinda corny to me. I’m a bigger fan of Niccol’s than most and will always give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s surprised me too many times not to.

Anon hits Netflix on May 4th.

Michelle Williams Joins ‘After The Wedding’ Remake With Julianne Moore

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John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

Michelle Williams’ dramatic performance have earned her four Oscar nominations, but lately she’s been taking it pretty light by appearing in musical The Greatest Showman and this weekend’s Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty. But she’s back to showing her serious side, as Variety reports she’ll join Julianne Moore in the remake of Susanne Bier’s After The Wedding.

Moore’s husband writer/director Bart Freundlich will reimagine Bier’s Oscar-nominated drama, tweaking it to make it a story with two female leads. Williams plays the bankrupt owner of an orphanage in India who travels to New York City to receive a large charitable donation from a wealthy American businesswoman (Moore), only to be faced with deep secrets from her past. Diane Kruger was previously reported for Williams’ role but that appears to have fallen through or a mistake.

Bier’s film starred Mads Mikkelsen and was nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars. You can bet this updated take will be positioned as an awards season contender, as well.

‘Infinity War’ Rumors, Three New Clips, And Its Near Record-Breaking Budget

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John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

If I’m gonna break my promise, might as well do it big. Avengers: Infinity War is on the mind of pretty much everybody, and there are no shortage of rumors and footage around for those who want to find it. While I said I wouldn’t post anymore about it until the screening was over, the caveat was if they were too big to ignore. I think these items qualify, starting with a slip of the tongue by the Winter Soldier himself, Sebastian Stan.

Speaking with Independent, Stan seems to have the caught the same blabbermouth disease Josh Brolin is afflicted with. He talks about one particular scene, a scene that includes EVERYBODY, including some people who haven’t been announced at all…

“There was one scene, I think, we had where everybody was there. I can’t really talk about that scene, but I knew it took them three months in planning this scene to have everyone there,” he said. “You look around and you just saw everyone from Samuel L. Jackson to Michael Douglas to Michelle Pfeiffer. Everybody was there.”

Samuel L. Jackson, eh? Well that would seem to confirm the Nick Fury rumors from a few weeks ago. And Michael Douglas as Giant-Man and Michelle Pfeiffer as Jane Van Dyne? Wait…why would she be there? Isn’t she lost in the Quantum Zone? How does that work? Having re-read the interview a couple of times he does seem to be talking about Infinity War, but those comments would have made more sense if it was Avengers 4. Maybe all of the touring has him confused? To be fair, the actors are getting asked about both movies at the same time and we’re seeing some crossover in their answers. Call this a rumor for now.

Another bit of information has to do with the Infinity War‘s budget. I mean, come on. With the list of superstars this movie had to pull together we knew it was going to be expensive enough to put a dent in Tony Stark’s bank account. Turns out Disney may need those stars just to break even. WallStreetJournal puts the final budget near $300M, which may sound like the most ever but it’s not by a longshot. That distinction goes to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at $378M. With Infinity War expected to open with $200M+ I think they’ll be okay.

And finally, here are three new clips from the film, all bringing you a different angle on this massive flick. In the first scene we get a fight between Avengers Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow against the Black Order’s Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. This is the piece that seems to confirm recent speculation about Peter Dinklage’s role, so listen closely for that.

The next clip puts Black Panther breakout Shuri (Letitia Wright) in the spotlight as she makes a case for being the smartest person in the MCU. While scanning Vision (Paul Bettany) alongside Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, the youthful Wakandan scientist shows up her elder and lets him know about it.

Finally, a bit more humor (There’s going to be a lot, apparently), as Stark finds himself on the receiving end of a slap courtesy of Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) cloak. You can’t take that thing anywhere.

That’s all for now. Avengers: Infinity War opens April 27th.

Review: ‘Super Troopers 2’, The Boys Are Back Without Missing A Beat

By

John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

We are closing in on 20 years since the cult classic comedy,
Super Troopers graced our screens – 17
years and 3 months but who’s counting – and it has been worth the wait. Super Troopers 2 manages to bring
back the whole Broken Lizards gang, and a few others from the first movie, getting
them mixed up in some (barely) international shenanigans that will leave you
satisfied and smiling. The film picks up an undisclosed amount of time after
the first one ended. If you remember *spoiler alert* the first film left off with
the fellas bringing justice to the corrupt officers of the Spurbury Police
Department. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough for the Vermont Highway Patrol to
not become a victim of budget cuts, but they do get to take over as officers of
the Spurbury Police Department enabling them to keep their hilarious hijinks going.

Their stint as Spurbury officers was ill-fated and
due to some mysterious “Fred Savage Incident” they were all fired. Rabbit (Erik
Stolhanske), Mac (Steve Lemme), and Farva (Kevin Heffernan) are now working
construction – with Farva being the construction manager and getting a kick out
of bossing the other two around and playing with his caulk. Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar)
has embraced becoming a woodsman – cutting down trees, growing a giant beard,
and being one with nature. Foster (Paul Soter) ended up marrying Ursula (Marisa
Coughlan), who is now the Spurbury Police Chief. The gang is getting back
together to go across the border into Canada and meet Captain O’Hagan (Brian
Cox) for a fishing trip. Well, it turns out that the Captain has a little more
in store for them than just a fishing trip. There is some nonsensical reason
having to do with a mix-up in our country’s border that leads to the U.S. absorbing a Canadian town. Captain O’Hagan has negotiated that the Vermont Highway
Patrol be resurrected to oversee the transfer of power from the local Mounties
to the U.S. Police force. Of course, things don’t go as swimmingly as everyone
would have hoped and a ton of hilarity ensues.

Following the blueprint of Super Troopers, the entire Broken Lizard crew penned the script
with Jay Chandrasekhar directing. These guys know each other’s strengths and
how to play their characters off of one another. Super Troopers 2 is chalk full
of cameos including Sean William Scott, Damon Wayans Jr., and of course, Jim
Gaffigan. Some hilarious performances from Rob Lowe, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and
Will Sasso – who all play various authority figures from the Great White North –
also bolster the film. There is nothing intellectually stimulating about the
movie, and it is better off that way. Just like the first one, it is about a
group of ridiculous State Troopers that act a fool. Broken Lizard found a
formula that works for them and I couldn’t be happier that they stuck to it for
Super Troopers 2. South Park already proved that a comedy
can be based around making fun of Canadians and be hilarious, and Super Troopers 2 just hammers home that
same sentiment. If you enjoyed Super Troopers than you should go to the theaters, grab some popcorn, turn off your brain, and watch the ridiculous ride that is Super
Troopers 2 – you’ll thank me later.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Jesse Plemons To Play Another Villain In Disney’s ‘Jungle Cruise’

By

John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

There are going to be a lot of villains taking up seats on this Jungle Cruise. Not long after Edgar Ramirez boarded the Disney adventure as a bad guy, Other People and Game Night star Jesse Plemons has joined as another.

Plemons joins what is shaping up to be a stellar cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Jack Whitehall. The film is based on the Disney theme park attraction and is seen as the start of a new franchise, just like Pirates Of The Caribbean. Johnson plays a boat captain escorting siblings to a tree that supposedly has healing properties, but others are after it, too.

Shooting on Jungle Cruise begins this summer with Jaume Collet-Serra behind the camera. He’s the guy who usually does those thrillers with Liam Neeson where he’s stuck in a moving vehicle. How has Neeson not been cast for this one yet?

International Trailer For Hirokazu Koreeda’s Cannes Entry, ‘Shoplifters’

By

John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

For me and other fans of Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda this is a great moment in time. The filmmaker was just confirmed to be directing a new film with French icons Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve, and his courtroom thriller The Third Murder will hopefully be stateside soon. But the kicker is that he’s returning to Cannes with his latest family drama, Shoplifters, and we have an international trailer for it.

Reunited with the stars from many of his previous films, Koreeda tells the story of a family of shoplifters who invite an orphan into their tight-knit group. Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Kengo Kora, Sosuke Ikematsu, Chizuru Ikewaki, Yuki Yamada, Yoko Moriguchi and Akira Emoto round out the cast. Here’s the synopsis, followed by the trailer which is in Japanese but you’ll get the idea.

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them…

Teaser For Lars Von Trier’s Cannes-Bound ‘The House That Jack Built’

By

John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

It used to be that you could count on just about every Lars Von Trier making its debut at Cannes, but in 2011 he was banned from the festival after some comments he made went over like a fart in a crowded elevator. He hasn’t been back since, but the last few days there have been rumblings of his latest, The House That Jack Built, making its way to the festival. And now it’s been confirmed, with a teaser to back it up.

Starring Matt Damon and Uma Thurman, the film centers on the murderous career of a hyper-intelligent serial killer. The brief 23-second teaser doesn’t show much, but it’s creepy enough with Dillon’s evil smirk covered in blood.

Cannes hasn’t let The House That Jack Built be part of the official competition slate but this is a good start to mending fences.

Taron Egerton Is Elton John In Paramount’s ‘Rocketman’ Biopic

By

John Nolan

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April 20, 2018

While it would have been amazing to see Tom Hardy transform into Elton John for biopic Rocketman, that’s not going to happen. The film is moving forward at Paramount, though, only it will be with Kingsman: The Secret Service star Taron Egerton playing the legendary entertainer.

Egerton will don a flashy pair of glasses and tickle the ivories as Elton John in a film that will follow the flashy entertainer’s growth from a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to a global superstar, through his influential and enduring musical partnership with his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin. The film is quite a reunion for Egerton, as Matthew Vaughn will produce and Dexter Fletcher is on board to direct. Vaughn directed Egerton in both Kingsman movies, while Fletcher was at the helm of 2016’s Eddie the Eagle.

Shooting begins in August, and apparently Egerton will be performing the songs himself. Maybe he picked up a few pointers on the set of Kingsman: The Golden Circle which had Elton John in a bizarre supporting role as himself. [Deadline]

‘Band Of Robbers’ Directors To Take On ‘Masters Of The Universe’ Next

By

Travis Hopson

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April 20, 2018

Is it really worth getting excited about the announcement of new directors for Masters Of The Universe? A movie based on the popular ’80s line of action figures has been in the works for years, with multiple names attached including John M. Chu, McG, and most recently David Goyer who wrote the latest script. Now Variety reports brothers Aaron and Adam Nee will take the helm, but let’s see if it actually happens.

The Nee Brothers are actually a pretty inspired choice. They last directed Band of Robbers, an offbeat crime comedy featuring grown-up versions of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I was kinda lukewarm to it but it has grown on me upon further viewings because it’s such a fun idea to play with, and the Nees recognized that. Hopefully they can bring the same spirit to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe because characters like Ram Man, Skeletor, and Beast Man should be a little bit silly.

The film previously held a December 18th 2019 release date but that will definitely be changing. Not that the Nees couldn’t get it done in time I think, but because it runs up against a little something called Star Wars: Episode 9.