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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years ago

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The Weekend Warrior July 16, 2021 - SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY, ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, PIG, ROADRUNNER, GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE, and More!

We’re starting to get into the thick of summer where we’re likely to get two or maybe even three wide releases a week, and that’s definitely the case this weekend, even if it’s likely that Marvel’s Black Widow will continue to run rampant and should stay at #1 for a second weekend in a row. I also was busier than usual due to the Emmy nominations yesterday, but I now hopefully have a few easier months until the actual Emmys. (Famous last words.)

We actually have two sequels this week, one a sequel to a movie from a few years back and the other a sequel (of sorts) to a movie from 1996, so yeah, released a few months away from the 25th Anniversary of its predecessor. That always goes well.

We’ll start with SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY (Warner Bros.), the long-awaited sequel/reboot of the 1996 movie that captured Michael Jordan at the height of his popularity and paired him with the Looney Tunes i.e. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, etc. For years, Warner Bros. and various parties have been trying to make a sequel, but it took basketball superstar, Lebron James and no less than Ryan (Black Panther) Coogler, to finally get the sequel made.

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip, Barbershop: The Next Cut), the sequel involves James and his son Dom (newcomer Cedric Joe) having issues that are taken advantage by an A.I. named Al G. Rhythm (played by Don Cheadle) who brings James and Dom to the Warner Bros. “Server-verse” for a basketball game that teams James with the Looney Tunes against his son and a group of super-powered NBA and WNBA stars i.e. The Goon Squad.

Yeah, it’s a similar concept as what led to the 1996 movie that capitalized on Jordan’s popularity and threw in other NBA greats like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing, plus a little Bill Murray, and then lots of Warner Bros’ popular toon characters. That original movie opened with $27.5 million in 2,650 theaters in mid-November 1996 against the second weekend of Mel Gibson’s Ransom, but it went on to gross $90.4 million domestically with the bump from the holidays (which A New Legacy doesn’t have). In some ways, the movie was a response to the success of the 1988 hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which included many of the Looney Tunes, despite it being a Disney movie.

Looney Tunes movies (and even movies based on WB properties like the Cartoon Network) haven’t done particularly well since the first movie with Looney Tunes: Back in Action opening in November 2003 with just $9.3 million and grossing just $20.5 million domestically, which isn’t good. Space Jam: A New Legacy is Warner Bros’ first attempt to bring its toons back to theaters, and the company will be watching it closely since it has already started production on Coyote vs. Acme, a CG animated film featuring the age-old nemeses.

As far as basketball movies, the comedy Uncle Drew, which also starred Lil Rel Howery oddly, that opened with a decent $15.4 million in the summer of 2018 and grossed $42.6 million domestically, but that’s without the name brand of “Space Jam” or the beloved toons that will be a bigger selling point to kids than the basketball.

Working in Space Jam’s favor is that it’s a movie both for adults who were kids when the first movie came out, as well as modern-day kids who love sports or the toons, and that should help drive business over the weekend. What is likely to hurt is that the reviews, so far, have been absolutely TERRIBLE - 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, and while that might not put off the kids, it certainly will put off their parents.

The movie is also debuting simultaneously on HBO Max, just like other Warner Bros. movies this year, although as we’ve seen with Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat, that doesn’t necessarily hamper how a movie might do in theaters. One thing that’s changed is that Disney announced its PVOD numbers from Black Widow’s Disney+ debut over the weekend, which might change people’s tunes about feeling the need to go to theaters to see a movie like this, and that certainly might affect Space Jam’s opening weekend, but I think it will mean an opening in the mid-to-high $20 millions vs. something in the mid-$30 millions. It also doesn’t have too much family competition until Disney’s Jungle Cruise in two weeks, so it should be able to make $70 million in domestic theaters even with it being readily available on HBO Max.

Mini-Review: I’ll freely admit that I don’t have the long-term nostalgia for the original Space Jam of so many others. In fact, I only saw it for the first time a few days ago on my TV set, which may be the way many will see Space Jam: A New Legacy due to the fact that it’s on HBO Max. It’s just another casualty of my ‘90s when I wasn’t seeing many movies and also wasn’t going to see “kids’ movies.” But I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Looney Tunes, and HBO Max even did a pretty good job with its revival last year with some new shorts.

Unfortunately, this is more of a Lebron James/Warner Bros jam, to the point where you might wonder whether Lebron dictated how he wanted to be depicted to the gaggle of writers, and then Warner Bros came in and said, “Make sure to mention how great all our other properties are as well!”

The general plot involves Don Cheadle’s dumbly pun-named Al G. Rhythm -- I promise you’ll cringe everytime you hear that name -- trying to get attention by creating a showstopping basketball game between James and his son in a video game designed by the latter, and for whatever reason, it’s James who turns to Bugs Bunny to put together a team. It’s nearly 30 minutes before we finally see the Looney Tunes together, and that’s probably the best part of the movie, as Bugs goes to visit different worlds in the Warners “server-verse” to find his compatriots. I won’t spoil some of the movie worlds it visits, but these are some of the movie’s funniest scenes, although the laughs are fleeting since they’re relatively short gags. They're ruined by the movie going overboard in an attempt to throw James into some of these worlds, particularly the DC Comics superhero-verse, which seems like it might be influenced by the cartoons but never quite achieves that style of animation.

An hour into the movie, the Tune Squad is turned into 3-dimensional CG, as they face the Goon Squad team of NBA and WNBA all-stars transformed into creatures with superpowers. It's just unable to recover as the movie’s last hour focuses on that game, which is fine other than the fact that it's an awkward combination of the CG players with the audience being all sorts of background cosplayers acting as if they were found on Hollywood Boulevard or Times Square. This is the first time in a long time where I felt that the background actors ruined every scene... and then, of course, James and Cheadle are in there in a guise that seems to be a mix of human and CG.

I’ve been a fan of director Malcolm Lee for quite a long time, but Space Jam: A New Legacy is just an absolute disaster of a mess. Not that any of that matters much, because James is clearly a better ball player than he is an actor, and that fact keeps any of the movie from really gelling or offering much in terms of fun or excitement. I wanted to like the movie or find out what so many kids seemed to enjoy about the original movie 25 years ago, but sadly, that just never happened.

Rating: 5/10

The movie I’m looking forward to the most this week and will probably have seen by the time I write this is the high-concept horror sequel, ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS (Sony), which follows up a little over two years since the original Escape Room. This one is also directed by Adam Robitel and starring Taylor Russell and Ben Logan as survivors of an escape room created by an evil corporation doing experiments to see how people will act. The movie benefitted from putting terror into a very familiar and popular world of escape rooms, which obviously have not been quite as prominent since COVID racked the land.

The original Escape Room opened the very first weekend of January 2019, which has seen a lot of horror hits over the years, and it proved to be a wise move by Sony since it opened with $18.2 million despite the lack of any big stars. It also had better legs than most horror movies, grossing $57 million domestically and $98 million overseas. It also did quite well in DVD and Blu-ray sales, which meant that the sequel was greenlit fairly quickly.

Unlike Space Jam: A New Legacy, the Escape Room sequel is coming out a little over two years since the first movie, which is good since more young people will remember it. Another advantage it has is that it’s ONLY playing in theaters, plus it’s also getting a full 9-hour advantage by opening on Thursday afternoon, so it could make quite a bit of money before Space Jam shows up and takes over the second spot behind Marvel’s Black Widow. It’s also PG-13 so teenagers who might not have much interest in other movies out there (or they’ve already seen them) will be able to see the movie as a group without adults.

That said, I’m not quite sure the Escape Room sequel can open anywhere near the first movie only because it’s getting a summer release where it might not be getting quite the attention of other high-profile movies out there. I’d like to think it can pull in somewhere around $15 million and maybe moviegoers will surprise me since that first movie was generally popular and its sequel can’t be viewed on some streamer day and date. We’ll see if it can then translate that into a $35 to 40 million domestic total, since I’m not sure it can match the take of the original at least domestically.

My review for Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is over at Below the Line, and you'll see that I liked it quite a bit.

This Week’s Top 10 Predictions:

Since I don’t think that Space Jam: A New Legacy will make $40 million this weekend, that keeps Black Widow at the top for a second weekend in a row.

1. Black Widow (Marvel/Disney) - $35 million -57%

2. Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.) - $27.8 million N/A

3. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) - $15 million N/A

4. F9 (Universal) - $6 million -48%

5. The Boss Baby: Family Business (Universal/DreamWorks Animation) - $4.8 million -46%

6. The Forever Purge (Universal) - $3.8 million -47%

7. A Quiet Place Part II (Paramount) - $2.4million -28%

8. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (Focus) - $2.1 million N/A

9. Cruella (Disney) - $1.9 million -20%

10. The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (Lionsgate) - .9 million -47%

This week’s “Chosen One” is Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz’s documentary, CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS (Kino Lorber), which is a surprisingly good documentary that combines a classic work of contemporary dance with how it originated from out of the AIDS pandemic of the ‘80s. Bill T. Jones was running the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company with his love and partner Arnie Zane, when the latter died from AIDS, and the deaths that followed led Jones to create “D-Man in the Waters.” Decades later, LeBlanc is performing “D-Man” with her college dance class, and she, along with Cinematographer Tom Hurwitz, ASC, capture that experience and embellish it with interviews with Jones and the original company performers.

Honestly, I’ve always been a bit reticent about dance and movies about dance, even though I’m almost always find that I enjoy them, like, for example, Wim Wenders’ Pina and the Cunningham doc from a few years back. The same thing happened with Can You Bring It, where I went in expecting to hate it or not find it interesting, and nothing could be further from the truth. FIrst of all, the original dance performance is something to behold, because there’s just an amazing physicality involved, which is why it’s amazing to watch LeBlanc (and the Jones himself) discussing the conditions in which the piece was written, but also getting some historical context about New York City at the time and how it was left ravaged by AIDS.

Hurwitz has tons of experience with documentary but LeBlanc is a relative newbie, but the two of them working together create a fantastic portrait of Jones, his amazing choreography work, and how the world of dance has been improved by the existence of his work and younger dancers trying to recapture the spirit of the original work. As I said, this movie was a pleasant surprise by how much I enjoyed it, since it woudln’t normally be my thing, but if you have even a remote interest in NYC’s iconic contribution to dance and how it was torn apart by the ‘80s AIDS crisis, you should give this a look.

Can You Bring It opens at the Film Forum this Friday, plus it will also be available via Virtual Cinema nationwide. Also starting at the Film Forum on Friday is its first series since the pandemic, a comprehensive Humphrey Bogart hardboiled retrospective with 19 films in 35mm and DCP.

You can also read my interview with Director/DoP Tom Hurwitz over at Below the Line later today.

A movie I’ve really been looking forward to seeing is Morgan Neville’s ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN (Focus Features), which does for the famed celebrity author and chef what Neville’s previous movie, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, did for Mister Rogers, really going in-depth into the life and career of the celebrated and opinionated foodie. Bourdain committed suicide in June 2018, leaving a lot of his friends and fans wondering why he would take his own life when he was at the height of his career. Neville’s film looks at that, but it takes some time before it gets there.

Oddly, even though I was a huge Bourdain fan and even moreso after reading his book, “Kitchen Confidential,” this isn’t my favorite movie Neville has made, and I’m still trying to figure out why. Sure, there’s tons of extra never-before-seen footage from the taping of his various world-travelling television shows. They do show us another side of Bourdain that maybe we didn’t get to see from what was eventually aired.

I guess I was disappointed that Neville didn’t try to talk to Asia Argento, or maybe he did, and she declined? (I was hoping to talk to Morgan Neville for Below the Line about this movie, but it wasn’t meant to be.) Bourdain’s friends and co-workers on the show talk about how Argento’s inclusion into Bourdain’s life disrupted the creation of his television show, particularly the Hong Kong episode Argento directed, which apparently wasn’t without its problems, even before it was yanked from CNN after Bourdain’s death. No one blames Argento for Bourdain's choice to kill himself, but it would have been nice to get her take on the man for a more complete profile.

Even so, one of my biggest issues with the movie -- and this is where I prove unequivocally that absolutely NO ONE reads this column -- has nothing to do with Neville’s filmmaking prowess or storytelling ability, but more to do with the complete inability by many that talk about his death to understand why there have been so many prominent suicides by hanging: Bourdain, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Chris Connelly of Soundgarden, and quite a few more. When you make the decision to end your life by hanging, there’s only two ways it can go: you fail miserably i.e. the rope snaps, the knots aren’t tied properly... or you die. Even if you have second thoughts while you’re standing on the chair, once you drop, you’re dead even if you merely slipped. This is why hanging has been such a popular form of execution for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s hard to screw it up. Unfortunately, when you’ve decided you no longer want to live, and you decide to hang yourself, it’s much easier to succeed in doing so… and for better or worse, I’m not sure that Neville or any of Bourdain’s friends interviewed have ever been to that point where they tried to hang themselves to really understand that. It’s minor and probably will be a non-issue to most seeing this movie, but having been at that point of hopelessness myself (probably for far different reasons than Bourdain), that bothered me a little. That sort of context would have helped people who watch the movie understand Bourdain's last moments.

Despite those issues, Roadrunner brilliantly captures the spirit and tone of Bourdain’s character as depicted on his various television series. That's why Roadrunner is a movie that mostly worked for me as a fan of Bourdain’s amazing writing and television work.

Focus continues to give its movies semi-wide releases, and this one is going pretty wide into 800 theaters, so it might be able to peek into the top 10, maybe?

Another movie coming to theaters is Michael Sarnoski’s PIG (NEON), starring Nicholas Cage as Robin Feld, a reclusive hermit of a man who once was a legendary Portland chef. He’s now living on his own in the middle of nowhere with his truffle-foraging pig, but one night, some people break in and steal the pig, thinking that it’s their path to fortunes. Robin isn’t having any of it, and he follows his pig’s trail to a fight club and then to the father of one of his main buyers (Alex Wolff).

Even though I’ve known about this movie for some time, I didn’t really know that much about it. Like man, I expected it to be a straight-up revenge action flick a bit like John Wick, but the only thing this has in common with that is that this as terrific a showcase for Cage as an actor as that was for Keanu Reeves. Spending much of the movie completely bedraggled and beaten-up, this is still a far more subdued performance for Cage than some might be expecting, and a slower and more subdued film with only a few moments achieving anything that could be considered “action.”

Even so, this is such a great vehicle for Cage, and Alex Wolff is also quite good, plus there’s a foodie aspect to the movie that should make it a great double feature with Roadrunner. It should be expected with so much of it involving truffles, which not many people outside of chefs and gourmands know much about

Some people might go into Pig with the wrong expectations of this being some sort of genre revenge flick, but it’s in fact a pretty solid character drama, truly showing off Cage’s terrific ability at creating character, so hopefully, it will find its audience even it might not be the one some might expect.

Rating: 7.5/10

Pig will actually open in a few hundred theaters nationwide so plenty of opportunities to see it that way.

Netflix has a duo of high-profile films this week, including the action-thriller GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE (Netflix), starring Karen Gillan and directed by Israreli filmmaker Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves). Gillan plays Sam, an assassin for a group called The Firm, a second generation assassin no less since her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey) was also an assassin. One day, she finds herself on the bad side of a crime lord whose son she killed (on a mission) and finds herself having to fight off dozens of killers as she tries to protect that man’s 9-year-old daughter Emily (Chloe Coleman).

I can’t believe how much I absolutely hated a good part of this movie, because I generally like Gillan and some of the others in this movie, but I don’t any of them are doing particularly good work. For instance, Paul Giamatti is in full-on scenery-chewing mode as head of the Firm, but there’s also a great trio of women known as the Librarians, played by Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino and Angela Bassett, who I wish were in the film more than they actually are, because they literally are the best part of the film. (I also was pretty disappointed by Coleman’s bland performance lacking any of the personality she showed in My Spy, in which she was very funny.)

Basically, it feels like this is another filmmaker who has seen Tarantino’s Kill BIll a few dozen times and thought they could do something just as cool. The fact that it’s so flagrant and obvious in its ripping that movie off, it’s almost impossible to fully enjoy it. What’s really missing is Tarantino’s knack for sharp writing, because the writing in this movie is just terrible.

I thought the score was probably the most interesting aspect of the movie, but even that was highly derivative of what Tarantino has done. Even the needle drop choices during the bigger action pieces feel too much like something Tarantino might do, but generally better.

Sure, there’s some cool action scenes, and the last act generally gets better once Headey and the Librarians rejoin the fray to fight off a cadre of henchmen, but the writing never improves, so it’s just a movie that relies on far too many “oooo… Cooooool!” moments that never really come together.

As much as Gunpowder Milkshake tries to be cool and stylish, it always feels like it’s trying too hard without understanding why movies like Tarantino’s and others work so well. Any of the bad-ass fight sequences are constantly marred as soon as there tries to be any sort of talking or story.

Rating: 5.5/10

The third part of the horror series based on R.L. Stine’s books, FEAR STREET PART 3: 1666 (Netflix), will hit the streamer on Friday, this one being a prequel to the previous two movies, taking place in 1666. I’m still behind on this series, but looking forward to a night where I can finally watch all three.

I definitely had more movies to watch than usual that I just didn’t get to include some of them like Martin WIlson’s directorial debut, the horror-thriller GREAT WHITE (RLJEfilms/Shudder), which stars Katrina Bowden and others, about a tourist trip that turns into a nightmare when five passengers on a sea plane get stranded miles from the shore and try to survive as they run out of supplies and run into, you guessed it, a shark. Sounds like my kind of movie, but I’ve just been swamped.

I was pretty tickled by the premise for Jean-Paul Salomé’s MAMA WEED (Brainstorm Media/Music Box Films), starring the wonderful Isabelle Hupert as Patience, a French-Arabic translator for the Paris anti-narcotics police unit who interprets calls between the city’s top drug dealers. She’s taking care of her aging mother and one day she hears the son of one of her mother’s nurses, so she tries to protect him but ends up with a huge cache of hash, so she becomes a drug dealer herself, becoming the persona of “Mama Weed.” Nominated for a César for its screenplay, the movie will open in select theaters this Friday and then be available On Demand on July 23.

Another doc of note is Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt’s NO ORDINARY MAN (Oscilloscope), which tells the story of American jazz musician Billy Tipton who had spent his entire career passing off as a man, unbeknownst to his wife and son that he was born female. It’s an intriguing story that unfortunately got mangled by the talk shows after Tipton’s death in 1989, but the filmmakers use an interesting way to tell the story rather than using talking heads. I haven’t actually watched it yet, but it sounds intriguing. It will open at the IFC Center in New York and the Landmark Nuart in L.A. on Friday.

Debuting on Hulu this week is the amazing six-part docuseries called MCCARTNEY 3, 2, 1 (Hulu), which as you can safely assume is about Beatles founder Paul McCartney, covering his sixty-year career as he talks with producer Rick Rubin in a studio filled with instruments and tapes of some of the great songs that Rubin mixes different elements up and down to discuss how they were done with McCartney. I generally love music docs, but this is something truly special that I expect to rewatch many times over the next few years.

Netflix also has a new docuseries called HEIST (Netflix) and is debuting a doc about tennis great, Naomi Osaka, this week. Meanwhile, the anthology prequel series, American Horror Stories, debuts on FX and FX on Hulu this week, as well, so it’s a pretty busy weekend, which was bound to happen after last week’s bye week.

Other movies out this week that I didn’t get to include:

Die in a Gunfight (Lionsgate) Out of Death (Vertical) Casanova, Last Love (Cohen Media) How to Deter a Robber

Next week, two more new movies, including the action prequel, SNAKE EYES, starring Henry Golding, and M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller, OLD.

#The Weekend Warrior Space Jam: A New Legacy #Escape Room #Box Office #Movies #Reviews #Roadrunner #Anthony Bourdain #PIG #Nicholas Cage

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i-sovereign · 5 years ago

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taofcomix · 5 years ago

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- 1995: Disney buys ABC - 2006: Disney buys Pixar - 2009: Disney enters 30 film deal with Dreamworks - 2009: Disney buys Marvel - 2012: Disney buys Lucasfilms - 2015: Disney buys National Geographic - 2017: Disney buys 21st Century Fox - 2018: Disney buys Hulu - 2019: Disney releases Disney Plus - 2022: Disney buys Universal Studios - 2025: Disney buys Dreamworks - 2026: Disney buys Sony. Playstation rebranded as Disney Infinity. Playstation Network rebranded as Disney Universe. - 2028: Disney attempts to buy Warner Bros, Warner Bros says no. - 2028: Disney, tries to buy WB through shell corporations. WB finds out and gets hostile. - 2030: Buys Apple. Apple Watch rebranded as the Mickey Watch. - 2031: The Church of Baby Yoda is the fastest growing religion in the world. - 2031: Disney acquires a private military, starts corporate espionage on a large scale. - 2032: Disney storms headquarters of Warner Bros. Few die because of the electronic surveillance provided by the "Apple" products most employees of WB use. - 2033: Disney buys DC comics. Mickey Mouse is now more powerful than Superman. - 2034: Disney owns the majority of the copyrighted material. Buys off US, EU, and other major powers to honor unlimited copyright for corporate ownership. - 2035: Disney buys Microsoft. Disney Universe is now expanded further. Master Chief is now a Disney Princess. - 2038: In the midst of negotiations, for takeover, Google launches escape craft. Departs solar system. Destination unknown. - 2040: Counter Disney efforts take place. The War on the Black Market starts. - 2041: Disney claims that Black Market efforts are headed up by small studios. Starts forced corporate takeovers. - 2042: "Terrorist" attacks on Disney starts. - 2045: Nuclear explosion destroys Orlando Florida. Black Market Terrorists blamed. - 2046: Hollywood turns into a war zone. All releases for the next 10 years are CGI due to die off of actors. Disney "Farms" start to raise next generation of actors. - 2050: Disney buys the United States of America - 2051: The Disney States of America is born. - 2052: Disney nukes Hollywood - 2055: Disney States of America annex's Canada. South Park, an underground resistance to the DSN, releases an episode on the black market deriding the move. It's #1 most viewed South Park Episode of all time. - 2056: Creators of South Park are declared Terrorists. Manhunt starts. - 2057: Mexico resists annexation due to the cartels banding together. - 2058 - 60: War in Mexico results in eventual annexation. South America becomes hot bed of resistance. 2061: EU integrates into the DSA. Disney State of the World is born. - 2062: The UK joins DSW. BBC is acquired. Doctor Who is now a Disney Princess. - 2065: DSW colonizes the Moon. - 2067: The Moon has its own government under the DSW. The Disney States of the Universe is born -2069: Mars colonization efforts start. Political prisoners used for the initial efforts - 2074: The First Mars Civil War starts. Is put down quickly due to orbital strikes - 2080: Mars colonization finalized. Disney Land Mars is opened. - 2083: First mission to Titan is sent out - 2086: Proposal for interstellar mission submitted. - 2088: Second Mars Civil War starts. - 2090: The Creators of South Park are discovered to be behind the rebellion on Mars. Pluto Team 6 is sent out and they are dispatched. 2091: Final resistance is quashed. Construction on Deathstar starts. - 2092: Total annexation of all remaining world governments is successful except for Switzerland. - 2094: First faster than light travel occurs. Exploration of close star systems starts. - 2097: Budding civilizations are found. Monoliths are used to "re-educate" the populations. Those planets are Annexed into the DSU. - 2100: Disney announces new X-Men movie. Marvel fans are excited.

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wbwest · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/06/09/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-6917/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 6/9/17

In an interesting shake-up over at CBS, Erinn Hayes has been let go from her role as wife to Kevin James in Kevin Can Wait. They say that the show is going in a new direction, which necessitated the firing. But here’s where it gets interesting. Leah Remini, who played James’s wife on King of Queens, popped up in the season finale as James’ former cop partner. Well, just before announcing Hayes’s departure, CBS announced that Remini would be joining the show next season as a series regular. Now, if you’ve never seen Kevin Can Wait, Kevin James plays a former NYC cop who tries to figure out how to adjust to his recent retirement. Based on the season finale, though, it seems like James’s character might be coming out of retirement. It’s just a strange move, seeing as how the show ended the season as the #1 new comedy on network TV – hardly a situation that necessitated a retooling of the show. Part of what critics praised was Hayes’s portrayal of James’s wife of 20 years. How do you just gloss over that relationship? I mean, they’ve gotta kill her off, but unless you do a time jump, you’ve gotta slog through all the grief stuff, which doesn’t lend itself well to a multicam comedy. And if they’re gonna fast track a relationship between James and Remini, will the audience accept it? It really feels like they blew a sure thing and, if they wanted to recreate The King of Queens, thy should’ve just revived The King of Queens! I’ve said that online since Kevin was announced!

Speaking of Remini, I’m starting to think she’s a Scientology double agent. Bear with me here: Scientology is a well-connected organization in Hollywood that allegedly has the power to ruin your career with the information that they have on their members. If you ever leave the church, you’re pretty much done. Just look at the list of former Scientologists. On that list, Remini and Jeffrey Tambor are the one ones who even have a semblance of a steady career right now, and Tambor kinda skirted the issue by saying he never really joined the church. Remini, however, joined up as a child, and was a HUGE booster of the church. Then, in 2013, she turned on the church – not for its negative views on homosexuality (which is why Crash director Paul Haggis left) or its alleged illegal activities. No, she left because she got her feelings hurt after leadership clapped back at her. At Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes, Remini asked why church leader David Miscavige’s wife wasn’t in attendance, and they basically told her she didn’t have clearance for that info (formal speak for “Nunyo Biznazz”). She didn’t trust that answer, and went further to file a missing persons report on Mrs. Miscavige. Then, she made it her mission to publicly discredit Miscavige, criticizing his leadership, citing reports of abuse in the Sea Org, and more. She went straight to the TOP with her blame game, yet NOTHING has happened to her. In fact, it’s probably rejuvenated her career. She got a successful show on A&E called Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, where she’s basically telling all their secrets. When the show debuted, the church issued a statement attacking her. Yet, she’s working more now than she was before. So, there’s two things happening here: either Scientology isn’t as powerful and litigious as we’ve been led to believe OR they’re in on it. It’s yin and yang. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. While Scientology has its critics, it never really had an enemy before. Why not create one where they could control the narrative? It’s like learning that Captain America has secretly been Hydra the whole time. Long story short, I’m not entirely convinced she��s left the church, especially over something as trivial as what’s reported to have started the whole thing. And she’s laughing all the way to the bank.

In other TV news, Tia and Tamera Mowry (yeah, they got married and have new hyphenated last names, but I ain’t got time for all that) are trying to get a Sister, Sister revival off the ground. And I don’t know anyone who wants this. If you were cool back in the 90s you probably never watched Sister, Sister, where a set of adopted twins didn’t realize they were twins until a chance meeting in a department store, a la The Parent Trap. Then they all move in together. It was the definition of “mediocre”, yet once ABC canceled it, it gained a new life over on The WB. The most memorable thing about it was that Marques “Batman” Houston, of the R&B group Immature/IMx, played their annoying neighbor Roger (kinda like a watered down Steve Urkel), and they’d constantly yell “Go home, Roger!” at him. Other than that, it was just a bunch of zany, mistaken identity twin shit – stuff that I’d hope adult Tia and Tamera had outgrown by now. What’s the story to tell? They both get divorced, and move in together with their kids? Sorry, Kate & Allie, Getting By, and the upcoming Raven’s Home have already covered that old chestnut. Are they single in the city, doing the same twin shit? Not interested. I don’t have a lot of faith in this one getting picked up, though, because they’re far behind where they need to be. Right now, they say they’re looking for a show runner to guide the project, but then they’d have to find a network. Sister, Sister was NO Full House, so I doubt Netflix would be interested. If anything, the only place I’d put it right now would probably be Freeform, even though the twins are slightly older than the target demo of that channel. Let this just be a lesson that not everything needs to be revived.

In other television news, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has cast Tala Ashe as Muslim “hacktivist” Zari Adrianna Tomaz for season 3. She’s a computer whiz from 2030, so basically the team’s got their own Oracle/Felicity now – not that they really need it, with Gideon and all. Anyway, in comics Tomaz is actually an Egyptian who uses the Amulet of Isis to transform into the hero Isis. Before the New 52 reboot of the DC Universe, Isis was an important character in the weekly series 52, as she was in a relationship with Black Adam, and her brother, Osiris, was eaten by Sobek. Oh, and she had a cheesy TV show in the 70s. None of that’s gonna be in the Legends, I’m sure. Given the current political climate, and how loaded the name “Isis” is right now, I doubt they’ll actually ever call her that onscreen, either.

Song of the Week

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Today I give you “Vampires”, by The Midnight. My pal and thrifting partner, “Special Forces”, and I decided that this is the official theme song for Thrift Justice should it ever become a real show. Synthwave AND saxophone?! I wanna direct Skinemax movies just so I can score them with this entire album. So sexy. Right now, Thrift Justice is a USA drama circa 1990, and I ain’t got no problems with that!

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Modern Family‘s Sarah Hyland will guest star on Freeform’s Shadowhunters, which kinda sounds like a step back…

Speaking of Freeform, they’ve ordered a pilot for an American adaptation of UK hit Misfits. The network is a good home for something like this, but I’m still pissed over the American adaptation of Skins, so…

Rudy Huxtable herself, Keshia Knight Pulliam, escorted TV dad Bill Cosby to the first day of his rape trial. Whatever. Call me when Lisa Bonet shows up.

In next level pettiness, Taylor Swift put her entire catalog back on Spotify at midnight – at the very moment Katy Perry released her album “Witness”

According to Dan Aykroyd, Paul Feig blew his chance at a Ghostbusters sequel because he overran his budget on unnecessary reshoots. Sony refuted the figures Aykroyd presented, saying the estimates were off by about NINETY percent. Woo!

Jennifer Connelly will join Daveed Diggs in TNT’s Snowpiercer pilot, playing the person who makes the daily announcements on the train. Exciting!

Tom Cruise revealed that the title of the Top Gun sequel will be Top Gun: Maverick. I wonder if John McCain has any feelings about that. Coherent feelings, not ramblings about the Diamondbacks…

Speaking of Cruise, his The Mummy reboot opens today, and reviewers have called it “the worst Tom Cruise movie ever”. Wow.

Singer/actress/sister of Ray J Brandy was found unconscious on a Delta flight, and the doctor who came to her rescue was reportedly Kim Kardashian’s uncle! Considering Ray J put that family on the map, I figure it’s time the Kardashians did something to return the favor.

Gotham stars Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie got married. Knowing that show, it’ll probably revealed that they’re Bruce’s real parents or some shit. It’s not like it pays attention to any of the rest of the lore, so why not?

Fox canceled 24 Legacy after a low-rated single season, but they’re still committed to the 24 brand. They’re reportedly developing an anthology series to take the show back to its real-time roots

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Like Peter denied Jesus, Jerry Seinfeld denied THREE requests for a hug from Kesha. I don’t blame him!

In one of the strangest deals I’ve ever heard of, Epix has inked a deal to stream its content directly to 2018 Honda Odyssey minivans

Sony will begin selling clean versions of some of their hit movies. If you’ve ever accidentally bought a clean version of an album from Walmart, you can see why this decision might anger some folks

Hank Williams Jr is back singing the opening to Monday Night Football for the first time since 2011. I guess all his rowdy friends will be over after they finish burning a few more crosses…

George and Amal Clooney welcomed twins Ella and Alexander

Former Power Rangers director/producer/fight coordinator Koichi Sakamoto will direct the upcoming Ultraman Geed series, focusing on the son of the evil Ultraman Belial. Yeah, those words mean something to someone out there.

Newcomer Blu Hunt has been cast as Danielle Moonstar in the upcoming New Mutants spinoff of the X-Men films.

A live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop is being developed, and my heart weeps. As one of the few anime series I’ve watched, and loved, I kinda hope this dies in development hell

Hackers released 8 stolen episodes of ABC’s upcoming game show, Funderdome, and nobody cared.

Donald Glover will be retiring her Childish Gambino hip hop persona after his next album.

We got our first poster for the Black Panther film.

Last week I gave my opinions and feelings on the movie. This week, I’m just gonna stick to the facts:

92% on Rotten Tomatoes

$103 million opening weekend domestic box office

$220 million opening weekend global box office

Third highest opening for a DC film

Most successful female-directed film

Mot expensive female-directed film, with a budget of $150 million

Most tweeted about movie of 2017, with 2.19 million tweets

Won Best In Show and Best Fantasy/Adventure at the Golden Trailer Awards

Last Saturday, Wonder Woman Day was celebrated at comic shops around the world

You’ve seen it by now, right? RIGHT?! Then, what are you waiting for? For these reasons, and more, Wonder Woman once again had the West Week Ever.

#Comics #DC #Marvel #Movies #Music #Politics #Pop #Power Rangers #Race #Religion #Television #Thrift #Thrift Justice #West Week Ever #X-Men

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theladyfromplanetx · 5 years ago

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A Disney Timeline

1995 - Disney buys ABC

2006 - Disney buys Pixar

2009 - Disney buys Marvel

2012 - Disney buys Lucasfilm

2015 - Disney buys National Geographic

2017 - Disney buys 20th Century Fox

2018 - Disney buys Hulu

2019 - Disney releases Disney+

2022 - Disney buys Universal Studios

2025 - Disney buys Dreamworks

2026 - Disney buys Sony. Playstation rebranded as Disney Infinity. Playstation Network rebranded as Disney Universe.

2028 - Disney attempts to buy Warner Bros, Warner Bros. says no.

Disney tries to buy WB through shell corporations. WB finds out and gets hostile.

2030 - Disney buys Apple. Apple watch is rebranded as the Mickey Watch.

2031 - Disney acquires a private military, starts corporate espionage on a large scale.

2032 - Disney storms headquarters of Warner Bros. Few die because of the electronic surveillance provided by the “Apple” products most WB employees use.

2033 - DC buys DC Comics. Mickey Mouse is now more powerful than Superman.

2034 - Disney owns the majority of the copyrighted material. Buys off US, EU, and other major powers to honor unlimited copyright for corporate ownership.

2035 - Disney buys Microsoft. Disney Universe is now expanded further. Master Chief is now a Disney Princess.

2038 - In the midst of negotiations, for takeover, Google launches escape craft. Departs solar system. Destination unknown.

2040 - Counter Disney efforts take place. The War on the Black Market starts.

2041 - Disney claims that Black Market efforts are headed up by small studios. Starts forced corporate takeovers.

2046 - Hollywood turns into a war zone. All releases for the next 10 years are CGI due to die off of actors. Disney "Farms" start to raise next generation of actors.

2050: Disney buys the United States of America

2051: The Disney States of America is born.

(Hmmm, I’ll be 67 by then.)

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mr-frequent-flyer · 5 years ago

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- 1995: Disney buys ABC

- 2006: Disney buys Pixar

- 2009: Disney enters 30 film deal with Dreamworks

- 2009: Disney buys Marvel

- 2012: Disney buys Lucasfilms

- 2015: Disney buys National Geographic

- 2017: Disney buys 21st Century Fox

- 2018: Disney buys Hulu

- 2019: Disney releases Disney Plus

- 2022: Disney buys Universal Studios

- 2025: Disney buys Dreamworks

- 2026: Disney buys Sony. Playstation rebranded as Disney Infinity. Playstation Network rebranded as Disney Universe.

- 2028: Disney attempts to buy Warner Bros, Warner Bros says no.

- 2028: Disney, tries to buy WB through shell corporations. WB finds out and gets hostile.

- 2030: Buys Apple. Apple Watch rebranded as the Mickey Watch.

- 2030: The Church Of Baby Yoda is the largest growing religion in the world.

- 2030: Disney acquires a private military and starts corporate espionage on a large scale.

- 2032: Disney storms headquarters of Warner Bros. Few die because of the electronic surveillance provided by the "Apple" products most employees of WB use.

- 2033: Disney buys DC comics. Mickey Mouse is now more powerful than Superman.

- 2034: Disney owns the majority of the copyrighted material. Buys off US, EU, and other major powers to honor unlimited copyright for corporate ownership.

- 2035: Disney buys Microsoft. Disney Universe is now expanded further. Master Chief is now a Disney Princess.

- 2038: In the midst of negotiations, for takeover, Google launches escape craft. Departs solar system. Destination unknown.

- 2040: Counter Disney efforts take place. The War on the Black Market starts.

- 2041: Disney claims that Black Market efforts are headed up by small studios. Starts forced corporate takeovers.

- 2042: "Terrorist" attacks on Disney starts.

- 2045: Nuclear explosion destroys Orlando Florida. Black Market Terrorists blamed.

- 2046: Hollywood turns into a war zone. All releases for the next 10 years are CGI due to die off of actors. Disney "Farms" start to raise next generation of actors.

- 2050: Disney buys the United States of America

- 2051: The Disney States of America is born.

- 2052: Disney nukes Hollywood

- 2055: Disney States of America annex's Canada. South Park, an underground resistance to the DSN, releases an episode on the black market deriding the move. It's #1 most viewed South Park Episode of all time.

- 2056: Creators of South Park are declared Terrorists. Manhunt starts.

- 2057: Mexico resists annexation due to the cartels banding together.

- 2058 - 60: War in Mexico results in eventual annexation. South America becomes hot bed of resistance.

- 2061: EU integrates into the DSA. Disney State of the World is born.

- 2062: The UK joins the DSW. BBC is acquired. Doctor Who becomes a Disney Princess.

- 2065: DSW colonizes the Moon.

- 2067: The Moon has its own government under the DSW. The Disney States of the Universe is born.

- 2069: Mars colonization efforts start. Political prisoners used for the initial efforts.

- 2074: The First Mars Civil War starts. Is put down quickly due to orbital strikes.

- 2080: Mars colonization finalized. Disney Land Mars is opened.

- 2083: First mission to Titan is sent out.

- 2086: Proposal for interstellar mission submitted.

- 2088: Second Mars Civil War starts.

- 2090: The Creators of South Park are discovered to be behind the rebellion on Mars. Pluto Team 6 is sent out and they are dispatched.

- 2091: Final resistance is quashed. Construction on Deathstar starts.

- 2092: Total annexation of all remaining world governments is successful except for Switzerland.

- 2094: First faster than light travel occurs. Exploration of close star systems starts.

- 2097: Budding civilizations are found. Monoliths are used to "re-educate" the populations. Those planets are Annexed into the DSU.

- 2100: Disney announces new X-Men movie. Marvel fans are excited.

☠

#disney

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carlosphoenix · 6 years ago

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JAN 202: Ranking The Superhero Movies of 2017 (01/07/18)

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The Jock and Nerd gang rank the superhero movies of 2017! John Bellotti, Jr. joins to discuss everything from Logan to Justice League. Plus, a look ahead at the superhero movies in 2018, an audio comment, listener comments and more!

Be a part of the show! Send us a message: speakpipe.com/jockandnerd Voicemail: (312) 248-4376 (312-248-HERO) Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jockandnerdcast Facebook: facebook.com/jockandnerd Facebook Group: jockandnerd.com/community Donate: jockandnerd.com/patreon Subscribe to Jock and Nerd on YouTube! Merchandise: jockandnerd.com/shop Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | GooglePlay | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Player.FM | iHeart Radio | RSS

Rate and review us in iTunes! jockandnerd.com/review Show notes: jockandnerd.com/202 Help spread the geekery with a Jock and Nerd merchandise! Support the show on Patreon for bonus content! Links and other stuff we talked about Follow Rugboy on Twitter @ReallyRugboy Subscribe to Jock and Nerd on YouTube! John Bellotti on Twitter @bellotti_john Robo 7 – The Art of John Bellotti Robo7 Facebook Robo7 T-Shirts on Teepublic! [00:09:07] The Superhero Movies of 2017 All Star Comic Con U.S. movie ticket sales in 2017 were lowest in 25 years March – Logan (FOX) May – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (MARVEL) June – Wonder Woman (WB) July – Spider-Man: Homecoming (SONY/MARVEL) November – Thor: Ragnarok (MARVEL) November – Justice League (WB) [01:10:044] The promos we played See, Here’s The Thing Podcast Popcorn Prattle Podcast [01:12:44] Fan Club Shout Out! [01:15:30] Ranking The Superhero Movies of 2017 [01:26:08] Honorable Mentions of 2017 [01:29:13] Who had the better year? Is the cinematic universe done? [01:35:40] Looking ahead to 2018 Possible Black Panther Runtime Points To Longer MCU Solo Movie Warner Bros. Taps Walter Hamada to Oversee DC Films Production (EXCLUSIVE) Why ‘Solo’ Is The First ‘Star Wars’ Sequel To Be A Box Office Longshot [01:50:27] Mailbag Check out The Nerd on these shows! Trivia Geeks Live Podcast Sketching Comedy Podcast Thank you to A Place to Hang Your Cape, The WeBeGeeks Network, The Tangent Bound Network, and The Lounge Network for their support! Make sure you check them out for more great geek content!

Check us out on Geek Life Radio, a 24/7 geek internet radio stream! Every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. CDT

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#IFTTT #WordPress

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furederiko · 7 years ago

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Surprise, surprise! It's the 2nd Random-News-Digest of the month... Just like last one, it's gonna be a shorter one than usual...

Disney Live Action

Production for Guy Ritchie's "Aladdin" has begun in Longcross Studios, UK. FINALLY. It was planned to start in Summer, but then casting was reportedly hit a hurdle, and it was postponed until August. I guess it's now September, then! Will Smith personally announced this via his social media, and it was later 'reblogged' by Disney.

The announcement also confirmed the core cast of the live action remake. As we all know, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott will play Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, while Smith himself will portray the iconic Genie. Marwan Kenzari is playing the antagonist Jafar, while the Sultan is played by Navid Negahban. This core cast will be joined by several new characters, that to my knowledge, were NOT in the animated movie (unless my eyes have been deceiving me all these years): Jasmine's handmaiden, played by Nasim Pedrad. She might likely serve as the comic relief, considering Pedrad's comedy background; Jafar's right hand Hakim, played by Numan Acar. I seriously hope his inclusion doesn't mean we won't be seeing Jafar's sneaky parrot Iago. THAT would be a huge miss, especially when most Disney live action remakes so far, have been very close to the original animated versions; and last but not least, surprise surprise, Prince Anders, who will be played by Billy Magnussen. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Turns out the movie still NEED a white actor anyway. Anders is said to be Jasmine's suitor and potential husband who hailed from Skanland. This isn't the first time Magnussen plays the only white character in a foreign-setting movie, with the very recent "Birth of the Dragon" as his first.

To be completely honest, I'm still on the fence for this particular remake. Not just because Ritchie's "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" somehow tanked in the box office. I'm not keen on Smith's casting, and that hasn't changed. There is however, one thing that easily caught my interest: Alan Menken is providing the score, and is in charge with bringing the original songs from the animated movie! Now THAT... is an okay, for me. Not just him, recent Academy Award winner Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the guys who did "La La Land", in case you forgot their very specific names) contributed two new songs for the movie. The first one might be Jasmine's very own solo song, not unlike Dan Stevens' Beast in "Beauty and the Beast". The other one? With Magnussen's musical background, I have an inkling suspicion that he's going to perform the other new song. Anyways, here's hoping we'll hear more about this movie soon.

Star Wars

Meanwhile, the hurdle that stumbled "Aladdin", had probably moved on towards another Disney property. Yes, in case you haven't heard, Colin Trevorrow will no longer be directing "Star Wars: Episode XI". Creative differences, as they say. As they ALWAYS say. Certainly not unlike Chris Miller and Phil Lord, right? Lucasfilm themselves announced the termination of their collaboration with Trevorrow, so it's not just a whistleblown rumor, but an actual thing.

What happened to Trevorrow? The reason is not perfectly clear until now, but I suspect it has something to do with the performance of his latest work, "The Book of Henry". Not only it had a tremendously weak opening, but its stars were a no-show during the preview too, sending all the wrong message. Apparently, that might truly be the case. Vulture has published a follow-up report since then, and revealed that the split wasn't really a mutual one. It is said that Trevorrow was fired because he was... NOT easy to work with. Other reports claimed he had a strenuous relationship with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, that led to her decision to boot the brash and overconfident Trevorrow out of the project.

It's now unclear who will take over Trevorrow's seat. Fans immediately began throwing around names, from the most obvious like J.J. Abrams, Ava Duvernay, to the unlikeliest. The latest report from Deadline, revealed that "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"'s writer/director Rian Johnson is currently on top of the shortlist. No confirmation yet on whether he will take it or not. Judging from Johnson's genuine enthusiasm to the franchise, how much he enjoyed working on his "Episode VIII", and the studio's positive response to it, I won't be surprised if he ends up really stepping in to get a second run. That's the most logical turnout, anyway. Thankfully, the final capper of the modern trilogy isn't expected to begin production until January 2018 (for a May 24th, 2019 release). So it's not a similar situation to what happened with "Han Solo: A Star Wars Story" (tentative title), which have almost completed its filming when Ron Howard entered. If Lucasfilm can get a replacement for Trevorrow right away, the new director will have 3 whole months to adjust the script with new scripwriter Jack Thorne, while preparing for the directorial role.

By the way, have you heard that Joseph Gordon-Levitt might be in "The Last Jedi"? Oh and yeah, there's an "Obi-Wan Kenobi" movie on the works too, with Stephen Daldry signed as director. Will Ewan McGregor return to portray the amazing Jedi master? These are important questions for another day...

James Bond

"Bond 25" has been confirmed, with actor Daniel Craig returning (for the last time?) as the lead. Problem is, the 2019 movie no longer has a distributor, after the agreement with SONY expired with "Spectre". Should fans be worried? Probably not, because several major studios like Warner Brothers, FOX, and Annapurna have entered the bidding for the movie. And they are not alone, because surprise surprise, even Apple and Amazon are among them too. Apple's the one that surprised me, but Amazon? Not really. Just like Netflix, they have been on a streak in producing their own movies and series lately. Adding a franchise as beloved and well known like "James Bond", would be a possibility too big to ignore for the company. Sure, it turns out the franchise doesn't give much profit to its distributor, but I imagine the appeal would benefit it anyway. Let's just wait and see how this turns out.

DC Films

They don't call it Warner Bros, if it's not thinking and talking big, and/or doing things and trying anything without snob and grand ambition. That's mostly why discussing about DC Films tend to be on the... 'annoying' side for me.

You've already heard the recent news, right? WB has approached the great Martin Scorcese to... *drumrolls* create a stand alone solo movie for "The Joker" (obviously not the title, for now). According to recent report, this project will NOT take place in the current DCEU. Which means, WB is already planning on a replacement, just in case the Zack Snyder vehicle continues to perform weak. A good idea and all, but isn't it too ambitious? I get it though, they want to be 'different'. But I digress. The fact is, WB is STILL trying to ape or mimic if not downright copy Marvel's current situation: having multiple Cinematic Universes (Marvel Cinematic Universe, FOX's, SONY's Spider-Man, and now Marvel TV, and Netflix) due to the movie rights being hold by various owners. WB is the single owner of DC properties, but it also wants to have the same thing: that questionable DCEU, and various anthology-style spin-offs NOT bound/related/connected to it. Apparently, having David F. Sandberg's "Shazam" being worked by New Line Cinema (also a WB label), and CW TV Network with its "Arrow-verse" is simply not enough! Yikes... greedy much?

Here's where it got more interesting. Scorsese and Todd Phillips won't be using Jared Leto, because apparently, WB is already thinking BIG, setting their eyes on a much promising name: Leonardo Dicaprio. Make sense really, because Dicaprio has been Scorsese's golden boy in the past few years. Will he take the job though? That one is unclear, leaning towards UNLIKELY (he's currently eyeing a marvel-ous project instead LOL). It was also reported that Leto has not taken this turnout comfortably. I might have totally disliked his pointless-exaggerated performance as the supervillain in "Suicide Squad" (he's a metaphor of how bad the movie as whole), but seriously... Poor Leto.

Speaking of the 'Skwad' movie, "Suicide Squad 2" has possibly found its writer and director! Gavin O'Connor, who previously worked on... WB's "The Accountant" (classic WB, always rotating around their own), has been signed to pen the script and has also entered negotiations to direct. It seems WB is keen on getting the script done right away. The filming however, will not be able to start until Fall 2018, due to Will Smith's other commitments. Unless... speculation and all, Smith is written out from this direct sequel, allowing for production to begin earlier. This is WB, so you can never tell what its bigwigs are thinking, huh? Beside, they need to service an angry Jared Leto, and a growingly important Margot Robbie before the two walks away, so sidelining Smith could still be a possibility in their agenda. What do you think, would you like to see a Deadshot-less Suicide Squad? I'm fine either way, because I'm totally NOT watching this sequel (I'd rather see one for "The Accountant", to be honest). I've already made a fatal mistake watching the first movie anyway... LOL.

All eyes are on Patty Jenkins now, who has just officially signed up to write, direct, and produce another "Wonder Woman" less than 24 hours ago. And not just for double the initial prize, but so much more, which probably explains why the negotiation took a lot longer than usual. Will she continue to do wonders with this sequel for the DCEU, being the only director who had accomplished that so far and all? Her upgraded demand, was it justified, or perhaps a little too much? Can the sequel really do better, or was the first movie's success just an example of an unexpected flux, a one-time-wonder influenced by US current political condition? We'll just have to wait and see...

X-Men Universe

Drew Goddard almost had his major comic book adaptation with SONY's "Sinister Six". He even left behind Marvel TV's "Daredevil" project for that. But then SONY decided that the Spider-Man universe was working, and rebooted it... again. So that super villain team up movie only remained a vague dream. Well, dream no more, because Goddard has finally found a project with prospect.

It's back with Marvel, folks. Not Marvel Studios, nor Marvel TV (although he remained as executive producer for "Daredevil" and "The Defenders") though, it's for... FOX. Yes, according to The Wrap, Goddard has been signed to write and direct that "X-Force" movie. I guess this implies that Joe Carnahan is no longer involved, huh? Pretty sure HE was going to direct and not Goddard. This "X-Force" movie is expected to not only serve as yet another FOX' ensemble movie (they have X-Men, and New Mutants so far), but also a direct spin-off to "Deadpool". That means we can expect Deadpool, along with Domino, and probably Cable to be in it too, right? Then why not just call it... "Deadpool 3"...? O_o

This news can either be good or the opposite. I liked most of Goddard's work before this, so I think it's in good hands. But I'm also quite surprised how "The Defenders" that he executive produced, ended up becoming such a bore. Suffice to say, I'm not so sure about it anymore now. Let's just wait and see...

Oh, one more thing. Turns out Jessica Chastain might NOT be playing Empress Lilandra Neamani in "X-Men: Dark Phoenix". Who is she playing? Don't know and don't care, please consult the nearest X-Men movie enthusiast near you. LOL. Then again, this COULD be related to that statement by writer/director/producer/whatever Simon Kinberg, who stated that this movie would be 'grounded'. Considering the movie will somehow be set in Genosha, which character is your lucky guess? Magneto's other child Polaris? Great goodness, I sincerely hope it won't be FOX' version of Scarlet Witch... O_O

Marvel Studios

Filming set can be a tricky little thing. Sometimes it reveals a little too much, even if it isn't really supposed to (mostly due to fans taking candid pictures and all). The scene of Tilda Swinton's Ancient One's death in New York for example, hit the internet months prior to "Doctor Strange" official release. Such is with the case of UNTITLED 2019's "Avengers 4". Had the movie was filmed concurrently with "Avengers: Infinity War", things wouldn't be as bad. Problem is, Marvel Studios decided to do these two movies one at the time. Production for "Infinity War" had been wrapped in July, and continued with the next movie sometime last month. That means, any behind the scene takes that flew around the internet lately, automatically serve as spoiler for "Infinity War". Regardless of how big or small.

*WARNING: the following paragraphs include reports that might/could(should?) be considered spoilers for "Infinity War". So if you're avoiding that with all cost, then please skip the remaining Marvel Studios category and just move on to the next one.*

Look no further than the actress who was spotted on set late last month. Yes, Gwyneth Paltrow's presence on set, pretty much confirmed she would be returning as Pepper Potts in the movie. Problem is, she was NOT alone. She was doing a scene with... Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Jon Favreau. You see where I'm going with this, right? That's right, it's proof that Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Happy Hogan all make it out of "Infinity War" alive. Meanwhile, a Marvel Studios actor showed up and joined the production of now-Ron Howard's "Star Wars" spin off. Paul Bettany! Wait, why is he NOT among the Marvel Studios set? Could it be because... something bad truly happens to his Vision? It's uncertain for now (the super tall Bettany can still join production later on), but it's one of that undesireable possibilities.

Then there's that generous inspiring "Day of Giving" charity video from the cast of "Avengers 4" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp", dedicated for the Hurricane Harvey's survivor in Texas. It might seem harmless, but pay attention to which actors are included there. We got Scott Lang's Paul Rudd (a spoiler too, though it's pretty much logical if we consider the release dates of his solo sequel), and Hope van Dyne's Evangeline Lilly. Make sense, right? But hold on, who's next...? Zoe Saldana (the spokeperson in behalf of everyone) and Karen Gillan, reprising their roles as Gamora and Nebula. Please don't tell me you think they are in the "Ant-Man" sequel! And how about Don Cheadle, who was also spotted in Atlanta precisely a week ago? Last but not least, a Japanese-esque set was build for the movie, hinting that the movie will probably visit an East Asian country (like it did before with South Korea). The interesting part though, is because it is rumored to feature Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff taking down criminals! And she might not be alone, because someone else is reported to be joining her, but with a new moniker. MCUExchange reported that... Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton will also be in the movie, but no longer as Hawkeye. He's going to be in it as the elusive anti-hero... Ronin, due to being "in a very dark place". Japan? Ronin (a term for a master-less Samurai)? That's too much to be a coincidence.

In case you're somehow missing out on my points here... Pepper, Iron Man, Hulk, Happy, Ant-Man, Gamora, Nebula, War Machine, Black Widow, and Hawkeye/Ronin are pretty much confirmed to be in the movie, while Vision probably isn't (or is he?). More are coming too! Do you think that's NOT enough to be called spoilers? I rest my case.

Journalist's set visit, is equally dangerous when it comes to harbouring potential spoilers. Usually released a few months before a movie premieres, it's primarily used as an effective marketing tool. Yet it's also a double-edged sword, because while it can generate buzz and attention, it also unleashes a horde of new information that... depending on the case, probably should've been best to be kept as secret. That's right folks, before I move on to the next category, let's talk about "Thor: Ragnarok" quickly!

Arriving alongside that catchy bright-colored individual character posters, embargo for set visit reports has also been lifted. That obviously led to various discoveries and scoop from the movie itself, like: when the movie is set, how it connects to or is influenced by previous Marvel Studios movies, the overall plot rundown and confirmation of a flaming Marvel character, what happens to an absent character, to Asgard, and the antagonist. If you're not privileged with extra time to read the original sites one by one, you can head on to Birth.Movies.Death for a quick digest of what has been reported there so far. I must say, though some of these are really great, there were also some 'sensitive' facts that I would've wanted to discover as I watch the movie late next month (or November 3rd, in other countries). A double-edged sword indeed, and I've already stumbled upon it rather intentionally. Here's hoping this won't ruin my movie-going experience...

And yeah, you can already pre-order your tickets for the movie right now. Don't pretend like you don't give a darn about it, I KNOW deep inside you're already itching to see this movie right away. Am I right? LOL.

Marvel TV

To be honest, I've been thinking about dropping, or at least skipping the upcoming 5th season of Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.". The 4th started great, but it ended in a rather disappointing way. Top that with my genuine distaste to that Inhumans series (it premiered on theatres here, but apparently only for one/two days before it's burried under the sand), the WTF disappointment that was that highly anticipated Netflix crossover mini series, and basically... it's an instant JACKPOT.

Well... good job AoS, now you've got my attention (again). Why? Due to the news reported by Entertainment Weekly. Yes folks, the witty and pointless chitty-chatty Lance Hunter is back!!! Hunter is among my very few instant favorites of the show (the other is... duh? Iain De Castecker's Fitz. What can I say, I have a soft spot for Brit smartasses LOL), so of course this is good news. At least, it works in... convincing me to reconsider my initial plan to drop/skip this season.

The big question though, is how and/or why is he back? And what about Adrienne Palicki's Bobbi Morse? The pairing was ceremoniously retired from the show back in Season 3, to pave way for their own series Marvel's "Most Wanted" that sadly never saw the light of day. We never even got to see the pilot episode, while a wasted potential like Inhumans got an IMAX debut. Talk about one truly unfair world, huh? Ever since then, Palicki had scored a leading role in FOX's and Seth McFarlane's scifi comedy "The Orville", so she likely don't have time to join actor Nick Blood's return. Now that I think of it, this fact does make me more worried instead. I can only hope that Hunter's not coming back to be killed off, nor joining the new season because Bobbi has been killed off-screen. That would be an aggravating disservice to both characters. Then again, this IS Marvel TV we're talking about, with the tendency to kill a character as much as they pleases. Should we even expect better? Not really... *sigh*

DC Television

Last we heard, DC was developing a "Titans" series for their very own dedicated streaming service, that is set to be available in 2018. And apparently, it's slowly progressing nicely. Greg Berlanti, the Godfather of the Arrow-verse at CW, is set to executive produce, eventhough it's still unclear whether this new show will take place in the continuity to the other CW superhero series.

Casting is moving forward too, with young teenage actress Teagan Croft being the first cast member to portray the supernatural hero Raven. I haven't heard of Croft until now, mainly because she's more popular in her home country Australia, being part of the soap opera "Home and Away". I've said this over and over again, that Australian show is basically the gateway to Hollywood for Australian actors. Croft is just another name in the long list of talent who are its alumn!

Comparing this casting to the animated series "Teen Titans GO!", it seems "Titans" will be slightly 'younger' than the CW shows. But that's not the case, due to the next casting announcement. African-american actress Anna Diop has been cast as... Koriand'r, an alien character more popularly known as Starfire. Intriguingly, 29 years old Diop is obviously way older than Croft, which means the show could be taking an 'older' route instead. With Dick Grayson's Nightwing and not Robin being said to be the team leader, he might hold the key to this question. Don't forget, Grayson IS famous for being romantically connected with Starfire.

Turns out, the 'older age' route is what the show is aiming after all. This was confirmed by the official casting of Grayson, and he's a name that I doubt any of you would expect. 28 years old Aussie Brenton Thwaites, is DC TV's choice for Robin/Nightwing (apparently, it's still unclear)! If you think his name sounds familiar, that's because he's yet ANOTHER "Home and Away" alumn, and has been featured in numerous Hollywood movies. He was the lead human character in the mythological sci-fi "Gods of Egypt", and his most recent work was "Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales", where he played the son of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knighley's characters. Calling him a rising star would be an understatement, because he's been everywhere.

I have to admit, I had a pretty unfair reaction when I first read the news. I actually shouted, "Is this for real? What WERE they thinking?". No offense to Thwaites, I think he's a good actor to his own's worth, but certainly NOT Dick Grayson material. A Tim Drake/ Red Robin or Damian Wayne/ (new) Robin perhaps, but not a Dick. He somehow lacked the physicality and charm I've always expected from former circus performer Grayson, so this casting news was a HUGE let down for me. Then again, this has always been DC's game of beef against me. The company always casts actors I'm not too fond of when it comes to my favorite characters *sigh*. Poor Steven R. McQueen, since the beefier 'dreamboat' is the guy I've been rooting for the character *sigh*. He's around the same age to Thwaites, and has always wanted to play Nightwing (and openly public about it). I guess his stardom (departure from "The Vampire Diaries") just wasn't in the right alignments when DC was casting for this show. Too bad... (dear Steven, please try out for that Nightwing movie instead. Or head over to Marvel Studios for better result!)

Following Thwaites, Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly joined the series as recurring characters Hank Hall and Dawn Granger. The two is famous as the Hawk & Dove duo, and the plan is for them to have a spinoff series in the future. Wow, already thinking ahead, huh? Their casting also pretty much confirmed that the series is definitely not a "TEEN Titans" adaptation, but the grown-up version.

I was initially kind of genuinely excited about "Titans", because it's going to debut one of my favorite DC characters (mind you, I only have a few). Unfortunately, thanks to this casting... not anymore. To be fair though, the prospect of me paying a subscription to an entirely new streaming service that ONLY has DC titles, is VERY low anyway. My days with DC shows have long gone, I've dropped "Arrow" after Season 2, and never could catch the appeal of the other CW series. "Justice League Action" is the only thing I'm currently following, and clearly that says a lot. Why would I subscribe to a service that I won't probably use? Seems like DC TV is just not fated to be with me...

Super Sentai

As wildly enjoyable and vastly entertaining as it may be, "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" has passed its halfway point last month. That means it's most logical for TOEI to start moving forward with their plan for next season. Thanks to that, a very strong rumor for the upcoming 2018 series has landed. Courtesy of the ever-helpful and informative Power Rangers aficionado Dukemon. This is not officially confirmed for now, but as proven by past years, it's usually close to being highly reliable. How so? It's customary for TOEI to announce the title sometime around the month of September, so details about it are usually already set to be promoted via toy catalogues.

The source of this rumor, J-Hero, recently posted a report that somehow combined two previous rumors into one. Said rumors were: a vehicle-themed series to celebrate Go-Onger's 10th Anniversary; and a Fairy-Tale themed storyline that incorporated folktale characters like Momotaro, Cinderella, and others. J-Hero claimed, that the title for the next Super Sentai series might be called "Shinsha Sentai Racerranger", with a mix-match theme of Cars + 3D + Fairy Tale. The quantity of members are down to 5 personnels, and the story involves them using racing cars to travel through time, and meet Fairy Tale heroes of Legend.

There were additional technical details as well. Similar to Go-Onger, the Racerrangers will still use 3D cars, but they are also a hybrid of mythical creatures from various Fairy/Folk Tales: Shisha, Kyuubi, Kirin, Buffalo, and Mermaid. Transformation device will be called Mechanitime Changer, with the form of engine and a clock. The collectible gimmick is a 'number 8', which falls in line with the year it's released (2018, duh? And the pattern of decreasing number pattern with 10/Zyuohger, 9/Kyuranger, and then 8) and the quantum theme (8 is also generally used as symbol of Infinity). These members belong to the "Speed Association of Time", and has a logo called RCT (Racing Club Timer). Perhaps, something similar to those Space Police/Quantum Patrol on "Doraemon"?

Considering Kyuranger is currently doing a time travel twist, and 2015's "Kamen Rider Ghost" had already approached the use of historical figures (referring them as... heroes), this rumor might very well be true after all. Do you think these sound interesting? I think it does. At least, TOEI is trying to do something new, not just rehashing the same concept over and over again. That alone will easily persuade me to give it a chance. Of course, all we can do for now is just wait and see. Here's hoping it would be as good if not better than Kyuranger...

#Random-News-Digest #random thoughts #news #movie #Disney #Aladdin #star wars #james bond #dc #Suicide Squad #X-men #Marvel Studios #Avengers #infinity war #thor: ragnarok #tv show #Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#Teen Titans #SuperSentai

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