#The first season 5 trailer dropped the first of June last year right? It feels like forever ago

[kyouka-supremacy]

You had to be there

[sleepykittypaws]

2020 Theatrical Holiday Premieres

Updated: December 10,  2020

Lina From Lima (holiday-set drama written and directed by Maria Paz Gonzalez; starring Emilia Ossandon, Sebastian Brahm and Cecilia Cartasegna; A Peruvian woman working for a wealthy family in Chile prepares for a Christmas trip home to see her son, her first in a decade, but things don’t go as planned) - Jan. 4, festival (Trailer); also available on HBO Max as of Oct. 8

The Lodge (Christmas-set horror film starring Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell and Alicia Silverstone; A soon-to-be stepmom gets snowed in with her fiancé's two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place.) - Feb. 7, Rated R (Trailer); also available on Hulu as of May 5 

The Crossing (a.k.a. Flukten Over Grensen; Norwegian-language film directed by Johanne Helgeland; In WWII Norway, two young children’s parents, active in the resistance, are captured by Nazis just days before Christmas, leaving them to fend for both themselves and the Jewish children they find hidden in their house) - Feb. 14, Norway/US TBA (Trailer, Website)

Tidy Tim’s (holiday comedy starring Shane Woodson, Rich Williams and Jennifer Day, about a father and son run who run a rickety used car lot in Southern California that is facing foreclosure.) - Feb. 15, Rated PG-13, festival (Trailer) also available on DVD Oct. 6

12 Days of Christmas (holiday movie starring Annie Newton and Drew Petriello; directed by Michael Boyle; Best friends home from college on Christmas break navigate an unplanned pregnancy, making it a tricky holiday with their families) - Mar 7, Cinequest Film Festival (Facebook, Website, Trailer) also available on DVD Sep. 1

The Last Christmas Party (indie drama starring Samantha Brooks, Anna Clare Kerr, Lainey Woo, James Williams, Martin Drop and Gabriel Armentano; directed by Julian Santos; Three college couples attend the last fraught party before Christmas break; filmed in New York) - June 7, Festival (Website, Trailer) available on Amazon Prime Nov. 13

Merry Christmas, Yiwu (Documentary from director Mladen Kovacevic focusing on life for workers in the Chinese city that has over 600 Christmas ornament and decor factories.) - June 24, Hot Docs Film Festival (Website, Facebook, Teaser)

A New York Christmas Wedding (starring Chris Noth, Avery Whitted, Joe Perrino, Adriana DeMeo and Tyra Ferrell; written and directed by Otoja Abit; As her Christmas Eve wedding draws near, a woman is visited by an angel and shown what could have been if she’d allowed her feelings for her childhood friend to flourish instead.) - Aug 21, Festival (Trailer, Trailer 2) also available on Netflix as of Nov. 5

A Christmas Cancellation (holiday movie starring Lauren Melty, Marcus Ellison and Elliott Kashner; written and directed by Justin Timpane; A group of fictional TV characters who become sentient as their show is set to end; filmed in Washington, D.C.) - Aug. 31, American Golden Picture International Film Festival (Website, Facebook, Trailer) available on Amazon Prime Nov. 13

A Christmas Tree Love Story (holiday movie starring Gregory Piccirilli and Ashley Holliday Tavares, filmed in Georgia; Two old friends reminiscence while searching for the perfect Christmas tree) - Sep 8, Richmond International Film Festival (Website, Trailer); also available on Amazon Prime as of Dec. 21

Blackbird (drama starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Sam Neill, Mia Wasikowska and Rainn Wilson;  A woman with ALS who wants to end her life on her own terms, gathers her family for one final Christmas celebration) - Sep. 18, Rated R (Trailer) also available VOD

We Three Kings (faith-based film from writer-directors Joseph and Stacie Graber; starring Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James and Nice Davies; The story behind the Christmas carol; filmed in Denver, Colo.) - Sep. 27, festival (Website, Trailer)

It Cuts Deep (horror-comedy from writer-director Nicholas Santos; A couple on Christmas vacation trying to figure out their future have their lives turned upside down by a disturbing stranger; filmed in Cape Cod, Mass.) - Oct. 8  (Website)

The War With Grandpa (holiday-set family comedy starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Jane Seymour, Rob Riggle and Cheech Marin; A grandfather comes to live with his daughter, ousting his grandson from his room and prompting a declaration of war from young to old) - Oct. 9, Rated PG (Trailer), available on digital Dec. 15 and DVD Dec. 22

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (holiday-set horror comedy written, directed and starring Jim Cummings, alongside Riki Lindhome, Robert Forster and Chloe East; A small town sheriff tries to keep control of a panicking small town as a string of murders on full moons makes the townspeople think supernatural thoughts) - Oct. 9, Rated R (Trailer)

The Food Club (a.k.a. Madklubben; Danish film directed by Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg and starring Kirsten Olesen, Stina Ekblad and Kirsten Lehfeldt; A women abandoned by her husband on Christmas Eve leans on her friends, a widow and lifelong singleton who take her to Italy to take part in an culinary adventure) - Oct. 22 Denmark (Danish Trailer)

Fair Haven (partially crowd-funded indie from Red Skies Studios starring Bobby McGruther and Amandalyn McLellan; A death in the family brings a musician on the verge of making it back to his hometown for the holidays) - Oct. 24, Catskills International Film Festival (Facebook, Indiegogo)

Friendsgiving  (a.k.a. Dinner with Friends; starring Kat Dennings, Malin Akerman, Christine Taylor, Aisha Tyler, Jane Seymour, Chelsea Peretti and Ryan Hansen; directed by Nicol Paone; Friends host a chaotic Thanksgiving dinner) - Oct. 23, Rated R (Trailer) also available on blu-ray Oct. 27

Gledelig Jul (a.k.a. Another Happy Christmas; Norwegian comedy starring Anne Marit Jacobsen and Otto Jespersen; directed by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken; The story of a family coming together for holidays for the first time in years, where secrets are revealed.) - Oct. 30, Norway  (Website)

A Christmas Gift from Bob (sequel to 2016′s A Street Cat Named Bob, based on the book; starring Kristina Tonteri-Young and Luke Treadaway; A ginger cat saves a homeless man at Christmas) - Nov. 6 UK (Trailer)

My Dad’s Christmas Date (UK holiday-set, comedy-drama starring Joely Richardson, Jeremy Piven, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Olivia-Mai Barrett; directed by Mick Davis and co-written by Brian and Jack Marchetti; A teenager struggling to cope with her mother’s death signs up her depressed, widower father for a dating service) - Nov. 6, limited (Website, Trailer, Trailer 2) Also available on iTunes

The Santa Box (family movie from writer/director Spanky Dustin Ward and starring Cami Carver and Shawn Stevens; A girl who thinks she’s cursed by Christmas finds a note in a Santa Box left on her doorstep that changes everything; filmed in Utah) - Nov. 6, limited (Facebook) also available via DVD and digital on Nov. 10

Julemandens Datter 2 (a.k.a. All I Want for Christmas 2; Danish-language family film sequel to the popular 2018 movie; After Lucia becomes the first girl to gain entrance to the Santa School, she most prove her best friend, Oscar’s, innocence, after he’s wrongly accused of a crime and expelled from school.) - Nov. 12, Denmark (Trailer)

A Wrestling Christmas Miracle (low-budget movie from right-wing Justice for All Productions, starring Ken Del Vecchio and Oriana D’Agostino and re-using many scenes from last year’s A Karate Christmas Miracle; A young wrestler gives up the sport to make a movie he hope will wake his comatose friend for Christmas) - Nov. 15, festival; also available as of Nov. 27 on Amazon Prime

Malous Jul (Danish-language fantasy film from Frederik Norgaard; starring Karla My Nordquist and Lars Ranthe; A troubled girl finds herself spending Christmas on an island with a family of elves) - Nov. 19, Denmark (Website)

Some Kind of Christmas (holiday movie written and directed by Davien Harlis and produced by his own Act1Scene2 Productions; starring Tomathan McGinnis, Mariela Perez Calderon, Andre Lamar and Derrell Lester; A man comes home for Christmas for the first time in years, but finds his holiday spirit tested when he hires a fake boyfriend to bring home for Christmas) - Nov. 19-21, Cinevision in Ga.  (Website)

A Carolina Christmas (right-wing, faith-based holiday movie from Dalton Pictures; A new city inspector tries to stifle a town’s Christmas celebrations; filmed in South Carolina) - Nov. 20, limited (Making Of Series)

Michael McClean’s The Forgotten Carols (filmed adaptation of the long-running, faith-based, original musical; filmed in Cedar City, Utah) - Nov. 20 in select theaters (Website, Trailer)

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (holiday movie sequel to the 2018 film starring Kurt Russell as a sassy Santa, Goldie Hawn, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Tyrese Gibson; directed by Chris Columbus; Kate Pierce—now a cynical teenager—is unexpectedly reunited with Santa Claus when a mysterious, magical troublemaker named Belsnickel threatens to destroy Christmas forever.) - Nov. 25 (Trailer) also available on Netflix

Fatman (action-comedy written and directed by Ian and Eshom Nelms, starring Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Chance Hurstfield, and Mel Gibson as a “rowdy, unorthodox” Santa Claus who is fighting his popularity decline when a 12-year-old hires a hitman to do him in after receiving a lump of coal the previous season.) - Nov. 13, Rated R (Trailer), available on digital Nov. 17

A Christmas Carol (live-action animated feature starring Andy Serkis, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman and Leslie Caron; abstract re-telling of A Christmas Carol when, during a children’s paper theater telling of the classic story, we enter the imagination of a child hearing it told.) - Nov. 19, limited release (Featurette, Trailer) also available in the UK starting Dec. 4

Katherine Jenkins: Christmas Spectacular (concert film featuring the Welsh opera singer's 2019 Royal Albert Hall Christmas show, including special guests Vanessa Redgrave and Bill Nighy) - Dec. 1 in UK, also available VOD

The Loss Adjuster (holiday movie starring Luke Goss, Martin Kemp, Joan Collins, Gary Siner and Cathy Tyson; An insurance adjuster’s wife leaves him a week before Christmas and his day just gets worse from there, until he discovers how truly lucky he is with the help of some Christmas magic) - Dec. 1 in UK (Trailer, Facebook) also available same day digital in the U.S.

Christmas in the Jungle (Latvian-Estonian family adventure movie, with mainly English dialogue; starring Paaru Oja, Tonu Kark, Rukman Rosadi; directed by Jaak Kilmi; When a 10-year-old girl is moved to the tropics by her parents, she has trouble getting into the holiday spirit, so she and a local friend head into the jungle in search of the Christmas Shaman; filmed in Indonesia) - Dec. 1 in Estonia

Saving the Spirit of Christmas (holiday musical written, produced and directed by members of the Grand Prairie Arts Council; A teen mourns the loss of her favorite Christmas traditions due to COVID, prompting the Spirit of Christmas to visit her) - Dec. 3, drive-in, benefit premiere at South Grand Prairie High School

Dear Santa (feature documentary from filmmaker Dana Nachman; based on the USPS’s Operation Santa, which allows people to adopt and answer children’s letters to Santa.) - Dec. 4 (Website, Trailer) Also available VOD

Lost at Christmas (holiday movie starring Natalie Clark and Kenny Boyle; After being dumped by his fiancé after a rejected proposal, two strangers stranded in the Scottish Highlands join forces to try and get home in time for Christmas; filmed on location in Scotland) - Dec. 4 in UK (Website, Trailer) also available VOD on Dec. 7 (UK only)

Nomadland (drama starring Frances McDormand, Gay DeForest and Patricia Grier; directed by Chloe Zhao; Exploring the life of a modern nomad, who travels the country looking for temporary seasonal work; starting at the holidays) - Dec. 4, limited (Trailer)

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Directed and written by Pedro Brenner, starring Guillermo Ivan and filmed in Mexico, the holiday-set, faith-based story of a reporter sent to research the meaning of a miracle who ends up needing one himself) - Dec. 10, limited (Trailer)

Silent Night (UK action-thriller written and directed by Will Thorne, starring Bradley Taylor and Cary Crankson; An ex-con hoping to go straight and spend a nice Christmas with his daughter, but who gets drawn back into the criminal life) - Dec. 11 in UK (Facebook) also available on UK VOD Dec. 14 and DVD Dec. 28 

Christmas on Mars (a.k.a. Un Natale su Marte; Italian Christmas comedy from director Neri Parenti; filmed in Rome) - Dec. 17 in Italy

The Lost Christmas (Dutch comedy about a theater producer who tries to save his theater from a Coronavirus-caused crisis by putting on a spectacular holiday show that goes horribly wrong; filmed in Velsen) - Dec. 21, Netherlands (Instagram, Trailer)

Pieces of a Woman (partially holiday-set drama starring Vanessa Kirby, Shia LeBeouf and Ellen Burstyn; A home birth goes horribly wrong, leaving a family and community to pick up the pieces) - Dec. 30 (Trailer), available on Netflix, January 7, 2021

Creatures (holiday horror-comedy about a group of students who find an adorable injured alien, only to find he’s being chased by terrifying creatures) - Dec. in UK (Facebook, Trailer, Trailer 2)

[witwerlove]

#RememberingRebels

Since the Star Wars Rebels season finale is tonight and I’ve been feeling SUPER nostalgic all week, I figured I’d take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on Sam’s involvement in the show.

This is under a cut because it’s REALLY long and overly detailed. I might have gotten carried away. It includes a collection of my own personal thoughts, opinions, experiences, tweets, and anything else related to Sam and Rebels that seemed appropriate that happened over the past FOUR YEARS OF MY LIFE. It’s amazing how much happened. I didn’t do this for anyone but myself. It serves as a reminder and a look back at all the wonderful experiences I’ve had because of this show and my love for Sam.

Here come the feels. 

AND I MEAN 

ALL 

THE. 

FEELS.

First off, I LOVE Rebels. Not as much or as deep as I love Clone Wars, but it definitely has a place in my heart. Ever since TCW “ended” (without any real closure) and it was announced that the new animated series was called Star Wars Rebels, I’d been hoping that Sam would be cast in it in some way. I feel like that was just as important as it being Star Wars. By then he’d cemented his place in Star Wars and in Dave’s agenda, so I inevitably knew it was going to happen. But it really surprised me with what happened vs what I wanted to happen. Because I’m sure if I asked 2014 me now if she wanted or expected Maul to be in this show, she’d laugh and be like hell no. Probably how much of the world was in 1999 when Maul died and then George and Dave were like BITCH YOU THOUGHT! HE’S ACTUALLY NOT DEAD! Dave Filoni is such a phenomenal storyteller and I have the upmost respect and admiration for him. He is the only one at Lucasfilm that I trust completely. He’s had 10 years to prove to me that he knows what he’s doing. And he knows what he’s doing. I never have any doubt when it comes to Filoni’s work. And I so happy that Sam and Dave have such a great relationship, professionally and personally. Because they both have such a passion to tell great stories and take care of this franchise. I love them together and I hope Sam will always have a place in Dave’s Star Wars.

Thinking back to the early days, I remember there was speculation before Season 1 aired that Sam might be playing The Inquisitor (which I was absolutely here for). There was a picture that revealed the character and I was like I WANT SAM TO VOICE HIM PLEASE LORD LET SAM BE THE VOICE. I had high hopes for that.....until Sam went and crushed all my hopes when this interview came out on January 30, 2014 and he said he was definitely NOT playing the Inquisitor. Which was fine...once the blow healed. It left the door open for him to play another character. I wasn’t gonna give up so easily. I knew he was gonna be in the show. Filoni would not let me down.

Then months later on October 26, 2014 (a few weeks after the show started airing), there were rumors that Sam was “deeply involved” with the show. It hadn’t been officially confirmed that he was in it. There was just that quote from Making Star Wars. But that was enough to get me super excited. I 100% believed with all my heart that it was true. And it was all I ever wanted.

We didn’t get official confirmation that Sam was in the show voicing Emperor Palpatine until April 18, 2015. It was confirmed at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim when the trailer for Season 2 dropped and Sam tweeted this:

But you didn’t have to tell me.

So everyone who attended the Rebels panel  at SWCA was able to see the first 2 episodes, titled Siege of Lothal Parts 1 and 2. The rest of us didn’t see those episodes until June 20, 2015.

But like a month before they aired, I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Sam at Tidewater Comic Con (May 16, 2015). And it was truly the best day of my entire life (or one of them because I met him again the next day....a few times actually)

We actually had a conversation about Rebels. Sam asked me if I’d seen the show and I said “Yes! I’m so excited for Season 2!” I told him I’m so happy that he’s going to be in it. He told me what it was like recording the Emperor for that. He said he was by himself, as opposed to being with the cast. And I'm like "that must have been weird because I know you guys usually record as a cast." Sam also did his Dave Filoni impression for me (before it became the overused gimmick it is today). I laughed and told him I loved it.

Sam also mentioned that James Earl Jones was doing the voice of Vader for Rebels. And I'm like "I know! That's huge!" And he's like "Yeah, because usually I'm up against a Vader sound alike. Never the real thing." Sam said he felt so much pressure to get his Emperor to sound just right next to James Earl Jones’ Vader. But he felt better when the audience at Celebration cheered when they heard his Emperor during the screening. I said I couldn't wait to hear it too. Sam also told me that he voiced multiple characters in the episode and that I should keep a listen to hear him.

It totally went over my head the first time I saw the episode that Sam was the voice of Lando’s droid, W1-LE. It had to be the thick Southern-esque accent that threw me for a loop. But after listening to it again, I felt dumb for not realizing. I think my ears are definitely more attuned to his voice now that I can pick up on it no matter how much or how little he speaks. It just comes naturally now. The tech was obvious though.

The best part of it all was obviously hearing Sam as the Emperor. Though we couldn’t see him (and wouldn’t see or hear him until 2 season later), it was still thrilling. Sam has such a distinct Emperor voice. It’s completely different from Ian McDiarmid’s voice, but not so much that it’s distracting or you don’t know who it is. Which I remember Sam talking about before (but I don’t remember where...probably twitch). How his Emperor has to be effective so you know it’s the Emperor. Especially because in that scene, the audience doesn’t see him. We just hear his voice. And Sam nailed it. As always.

The rest of Season 2 didn’t start airing until October 14, 2015. And while I was enjoying the show, I really missed my dude.

There was a mid-season trailer for Season 2 that was released on January 15, 2016 that had a Maul voiceover and shot of Maul in the dark...but I honstly can’t recall reacting to it at all. So I can’t remember if I saw it or not. Which is odd because I’m usually on that stuff. I’m sure if I saw it, I’d have lost my shit. And I can’t find any tweets or posts I made about it so..... I probably didn’t see it and was in the dark about Maul’s return. Or I didn’t care at the time. I don’t remember seeing any news or speculation about it either. I feel really dumb. I don’t know where my head was at.

In my ignorance, Sam didn’t pop up in anything Rebels related until the Rebels Recon for 2x18 when he teased about being the voice of Chopper. That was on March 16, 2016.

The Star Wars twitter account even “confirmed” it by liking my tweet about it. Plus their youtube channel said it too. So.....it must be true????

All I know is I lost my mind seeing Sam again. I don’t remember when I became aware of Maul coming back to Rebels. The segment in RR said he was “Emperor Palpatine”, but this was 2 weeks before Maul made his first appearance. This was also the day after he was announced to be on Once Upon A Time so I was on cloud 9 with all the new Sam content. I blame myself for being too occupied with OUAT over Rebels during this time to document my reaction to Maul on social media.Lucasfilm wasn’t being that discreet about it though. And Sam even called them out on knowing they’d make a promo revealing Maul, but he was gonna disguise his voice anyways.

Lucasfilm released the official info about Maul’s return on March 24, 2016.

These images were published in an article from Entertainment Weekly.

Sam tweeted the article. I think that is what finally brought it to my full attention that Maul was coming back. I’m sure I knew by that point, but it was there. It was actually happening.

I tweeted this to him and he liked it (so did Tracy Cannobbio...who is awesome btw):

And I replied to his tweet about Maul coming back with this gif. And that was the first RT I ever got from him. It was a good day!

And he replied with this....cheeky bastard.

We like had a whole conversation. It was great.

So Maul was officially back. It had been 3 years since we’d last seen him. Clone Wars Season 5 (5x16 The Lawless aired on February 2, 2013). I was psyched! This is what I wanted for years, but never expected this. But I was happy. Sam had made me LOVE Maul in The Clone Wars...against my initial skepticism. And I was so pumped to see what had happened to him in the 20 so years between The Clone Wars and the current timeline. Lucasfilm also released a preview clip on March 24, 2016 and this was a totally different Maul then we’d ever seen before. I couldn’t wait for the episode to air!

On March 29, 2016, Sam was in Vancouver filming OUAT and there were A LOT of pictures from the set. It was a good day. 

I couldn’t resist making a joke about those awful sideburns.

Twilight of the Apprentice aired on March 30, 2016 and it was absolutely amazing. Everything just blew my mind. It was the best Rebels episode up until this point (and is still in my top 5). Here’s my initial reaction to the episode that I posted here on tumblr. I also spazzed out on twitter too. 

Sam did a lot of press after the Season 2 finale aired, but the best thing was definitely his appearance on Collider Jedi Council with Freddie on April 7, 2016. It was the first time was saw the Force Bros together and I just fell in love with their bromance beyond what we’d seen on twitter. I love seeing them together every chance we get because they’re hilarious and adorable. And they obviously have mutual love and respect for each other. I never would’ve pictured this dynamic ever happening if it weren’t for Star Wars Rebels. And even though the show is ending, I have a feeling Force Bros will last well beyond.

Going through some old videos (for what I don’t remember), I came across an old Clone Wars press conference from 2012 and this part caught my attention so I decided to tweet Sam and Ashley about it (tweeted that April 14, 2016). Because they kinda sort called the Ahsoka/Maul thing in Rebels YEARS before it happened.

The next major thing was Star Wars Celebration Europe. Dave, Sam, and Tiya were the only ones who attended SWCE in London to represent Rebels (July 15-17, 2016). That was one of the best weekends ever because there were so many pics and videos. 

this one being the best:

Since the panel was small, Sam got to talk a lot. I remember going through a crisis not knowing if the panel would be livestreamed or not. But it was and it was awesome! Here’s my full thoughts on the panel because I just had to rant! (July 16, 2016)

The panel gave us the poster and the trailer for Season 3. And it was definitely going to be the most EPIC season yet. Everyone was all excited about Thrawn. But I was just hyped for more Maul! There was also a preview clip of a scene with Ezra, Kanan, and Maul that left us on sort of a cliffhanger until the fall. That was torture. At least for those of us who weren’t there at Celebration to see the first couple episodes. Sam did an interview that I pestered the Star Wars twitter account to upload and they finally did and I was so happy. There was also a press conference on July 16, 2016.

Rebels Season 3 started airing September 24, 2016, This preview clip of Maul was uploaded on September 28. Maul’s first appearance was in 3x02 The Holocrons of Fate (originally aired October 1). I dubbed this the start of “Witwer Weekends” because he was in Rebels AND Once Upon A Time. But that was a mistake because he didn’t appear much in either show. But I enjoyed it while is lasted. Tbh I think I was more caught up in Once Upon A Time than Rebels. I wrote WAY too many rants about it during this time and not enough about Rebels. 

Sam’s first interview on The Star Wars Show was on October 12, 2016. I remember seeing the tweet and being so mad I couldn’t watch it til I got home from work.

But seeing this face was worth the wait because he’s so adorable OMFJSHSHS

Too bad this never happened:

But this is still my favorite SWR promo that was ever made. 

And this is one of the best things I’ve ever made and tweeted Sam (November 21, 2016):

This is another lip sync video I did of Hyde and Maul using audio of Sam from a twitch stream. He didn’t see it but I still love it. (December 9, 2016)

After 3x02, Maul didn’t return until 3x10 Visions and Voices, which aired on December 10, 2016. In hindsight, comparing it to Mortis was lame. But fangirling with Tracy over Sam is always fun!

But it was blowing my mind that we were going back to Tatooine because that meant OBI-WAN!!!!! I don’t think I’d ever been more excited for a Rebels episode up until that point.

The mid-season trailer for Season 3, which came out January 4, 2017,  teased the Obi/Maul reunion, but the 3 month wait after that for Twin Suns was brutal. But completely worth it. There was a promo clip released on March 10 (a week before the episode aired) and it featured the infamous KENNNOOOOOOBIIIIIAHSHDGGGDG scream. Which I set as my phone notification sound and still have to this day because I’m lazy.

But the description of the promo basically spelled out the outcome of the episode.

Sam did lots of press before the big episode, including this livestream interview with Sideshow on March 15, 2017. I was at work when he did this so I didn’t watch it live. Which was disappointing at the time, but it is what it is and I LOVED it.

On March 17, 2017, Lucasfilm released the clip of Maul going insane in the desert on Tatooine, which also included the scream. In a way it felt like a spoiler, but it hyped me up.

There was also a Twin Suns and Zero Hour screening at the LDAC that same day. Sam was there. 

And that’s where this audio came from. "I’M FIRED BUT I’M ALREADY DEAD!” STILL CRACKS ME UP! XDDDDD. Shoutout to the Skywalking Through Neverland Facebook Group for posting videos of the panel with Sam, Dave, and Andi Gutierrez.

Twin Suns aired March 18, 2017 and it left me emotionally wrecked. Maul was a character who was part of the Star Wars saga for 18 years til that point. I grew up with this character. I got to follow his journey from the beginning in 1999 until his death. And I’m not gonna lie, but Sam definitely influenced my love for the character. But Maul really grew on me from TCW and SWR. It was such a privilege to go on this long journey and watch his character develop. I wrote more intimately about my feelings on Maul and Twin Suns here.

Sam appeared in the Rebels Recon episode for Twin Suns and it just ripped my heart out when he said this:

Sam is synonymous with Maul now. He is who I think of when I think of that character because he’s played him the longest and brought so much to him. It’s amazing what he did for the character. He put so much passion into playing Maul. I’m immensely proud of him.

There was so much press and interviews that came out after Twin Suns. It was fucking LIT! Including this amazing article from Star Wars.com on March 23, 2017.

Sam was announced for Star Wars Celebration Orlando on March 24, 2017

I got my Rebels Maul pop on March 29, 2017. Totally worth the 30 something dollars I spent on eBay. I really want Sam to sign it for me someday..along with a bunch of other things.

NEVER FORGET THIS PART FROM AN PODCAST INTERVIEW ON REBELS CHAT! THE POWER OF HANDSOME CAN NEVER DIE. EVEN IF DAVE FILONI KILLS YOUR CHARACTER! (April 6, 2017)

Next cam Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida. Sam kicked off SWCE by posting this pic with Ray Park on April 12, 2017. 

AND HOLY SHIT I LOST MY SHIT

Star Wars Celebration Orlando lasted from April 13-16 2017. And it was the absolute best Celebration ever. There was just so much content that my brain was melting. I was fangirling and nerding out so much and so hard. It was crazy. Sam wasn’t on the Rebels panel, but there was so much other stuff that it didn’t really matter. I know he had such a good time there and it made me so happy. He’d been confirmed for BF II, so that was cool. And the Schmoedown (which he lost and it was a bit humiliating...but I forgive him and he redeemed himself later). Also Smuggler’s Revenge.

But most importantly, on April 15, 2017 at the Rebels panel @ SWCO. It gave us this epic trailer , but t was announced that Season 4 would be the last season of Rebels. That was very sad. But what keeps me going is that Dave and everybody will get to tell a complete story. Unlike Clone Wars. That is what makes me most happy.

Still holding a grudge over this:

This interview Sam did post Maul’s death came out on April 24, 2017. It’s my favorite. I just love him so much. He’s just so intellectual and his passion comes through so much in his words.

Sam even liked my tweet to the woman who wrote the article. Did I mention I love him because I LOVE HIM!!!!!

On May 8, 2017, I got this cool Maul pin from an artist on twitter. He’s wearing a shirt that says MAUL LIVES?. It’s currently on my Starkiller bag that Sam signed (which is probably my most prized possession). I fucking love it!!!!

SPEAKING OF THE MAUL LIVES SHIRT, SAM HAS ONE OF HIS OWN! HE WORE IT ON JUNE 13, 2017 DURING A TWITCH STREAM! I asked him if it had an exclamation point or a question mark (like Dave’s Ahsoka Lives shirt) and he said “ it depends on what you want”

On June 15, 2017, The Star Wars Show released an interview with Eugene Byrd. And the conversation landed on Sam. And there was some bts footage of Sam recording Maul. FINALLY WE HAD FOOTAGE OF THE SCREAM!!! 

But the audio was very faint. So....I got the idea to take the audio from Twin Suns and sync it with the clip of Sam screaming.

I tweeted it to Sam and this happened:

And it’s become one of my most popular posts here on tumblr. It currently has over 2,000 notes. Which is like so surprising to me because it seriously makes me cringe now. But this was before we got the actual footage from a BTS featurette on the Season 3 bluray. So....I was ahead of the curve???

I was so excited when it was announced that Sam was going to on James’ Arnold Taylor’s show called Clone Wars Conversations. His episodes were recorded on June 15, 2017.

They were uploaded to JAT’s YT on August 5 (part 1) and August 11 (part 2). This interview was A LOT of fun and still one of my absolute favorites. I love Sam and James together. Two of my favorite people. Bless James for doing this! He’s the real MVP!  The scene they did of Wesley and Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride as Obi-Wan and Maul is still thing ever.

Season 3 of Rebels came out on DVD and bluray on August 29, 2017. I was at Disney World that day. Sam did a Rebels bluray giveaway during one of his streams in September (I don’t remember the exact date)...but I didn’t win. But I was the one who asked him to sign them..so whoever won, you’re welcome! I eventually bought Season 3 and it goes nicely with my CW and other Rebels DVDs. I can’t wait to add Season 4 to my collection!

There’s a featurette on the DVD that focuses on Maul and Kenobi called  Apprentices to Outcasts: Kenobi and Maul. It’s really awesome and has great insight into those characters and their dynamic over the years. Plus it has the Kenobi scream in beautiful HD.

A second trailer for Season 4 was released on September 4, 2017. And it was fucking epic af!!!!!!

It had been up for discussion since August that Sam and the Rebels cast including Freddie, Steve Blum, Mary McGlynn, Vanessa Marshall, and Taylor Gray were planning to start playing a SW tabletop role playing game that they would broadcast on twitch. Freddie tweeted a short fun promo video featuring Sam on November 8, 2017. It was adorable and hilarious and I’m still not over it.

The first game was on December 8, 2017. And it was so much fun.

The second game was on January 12, 2018. And it was even more fun.

When the Season 4 mid-season trailer came out on January 19, 2017, it was confirmed that Sam would not be voicing the Emperor, but the man himself, Ian McDiarmid. I’ll be honest and say I was really disappointed, but my respect for Ian outweighs my disappointment. He’s the man! And Sam happily stepped aside, so it’s all good.

Oh...and this happened.

THE MORTIS REFERENCE. I SCREAMED. MORTIS IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ARC IN THE CLONE WARS. AND TO SEE IT STILL RELEVANT IN 2018 JUST BLOWS MY MIND. I WAS SO HYPED FOR THAT.

So Sam’s been the voices of a few minor characters here and there, but it was such a surprise to hear him in 4x11 DUME, which aired on February 19, 2018. He was the Imperial tech who talks to Pryce in the first scene. I was like HOLD UP! IS THAT SAM. IT SOUNDS LIKE SAM!

So I checked the credits and it was him. He was also the trooper who finds the com and then gets blown up. I’ve seen the episode like 4 times and I don’t think there is a “biker scout #2″ in that episode. Pretty sure that’s a mistake.

The episodes that had the Mortis Gods (4x12 and 4x13) aired on February 26, 2018. It was epic and beautiful, but I think I hyped myself up too much. The archived sound of Sam’s voice as the Son was great, but I wanted more. But it makes my heart happy that Mortis still has a place in this story so many years later.

______________________________

And that brings us to where we are today; the series finale of Star Wars Rebels. It feels like the end of an era. One that will actually have some closure. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years. I know I tend to focus mostly on Sam when it comes to this show, but honestly, I love everything else about it just as much. I went on this journey with these characters for 4 years. Not all of them made it to the end, but they’ll be in my heart forever. Rebels is such an important part of the new age of Star Wars. It was the first taste of content we got from Disney. It held us over until Episode VII. My wounds from losing The Clone Wars healed because of this show. I knew it wouldn’t replace TCW and I wasn’t expecting it to. From day one, Rebels was its own thing, telling its own stories. Acting as a bridge between two trilogies, the same way Clone Wars was the bridge between two films. It was quality and surpassed my expectations. I’m grateful that I’m here to see the end of this amazing show and got to be a part of this journey. I had some wonderful experiences in relation to Rebels. Ones I’ll never forget.

I want to thank Dave and his incredible team of talented people who created and contributed to this series. We deserve this closure after being screwed over with Clone Wars. And I’m really glad Sam got to be a part of it. I’m really proud of his contributions.

I’m really excited for what the future holds for Star Wars and Sam. And how my two favorite things will collide again. I’m sure they’re all hard at work on the next installment in the franchise and I can’t wait to see what it is. I’m grateful that I get to be a part of this fandom and contribute to this fandom. Star Wars is very important to me. It’s my favorite thing in the world. It’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up with the films as a child, The Clone Wars was a part of my high school and college years, and Rebels was a part of my adulthood and discovering what I want from life. Star Wars, especially the animated series, have been my escapism. 

Reflecting back on all these wonderful memories filled me with great joy. Yes, I’m sad the show is ending. But I’m honestly happy. Not happy that it’s over. But happy that this story was told. And that this story gets an ending. I trust Dave will do it right. I have complete faith in him and his people. They’ll do it justice. Rebels will always have a place in my heart. I love it. And I will continue to love and appreciate it long after it ends. Thank you to everyone involved and everyone that made this series one of a kind and truly special.

[kayla1993-world]

2021 looks to be an exciting year for movies, especially because it will finally see the release of several notable projects that have been stuck development hell. At first glance, development hell is a dark creative abyss that pulls down eagerly-awaited movies and TV shows into an unknown future - shifting around scripts, directors and studios, and frustrating legions of faithful and hungry film fans in the process. Thankfully, some highly-anticipated films have finally escaped development hell, and are scheduled for a 2021 release.

Whether it's Mad Max: Fury Road or the new Guns n' Roses album, development hell is frustrating for fans and creators alike. And the irritation doesn't stop there: indeed, completed movies with a bumpy production history have rarely turned out questionably perfect (see: Alien Vs. Predator, and  John Carter). But despite the term's obviously negative connotations, snags in the creative process can be extremely beneficial to a project. It signals that a studio is unwilling to flippantly rush the film for the sake of filling a tentpole release date, and instead takes reasonable care in finding the right talent to breathe life into an important creative venture. More time on a project typically means more care taken in the thought process.

There are movies that have been gestating for ten years or more that will finally be getting their big pay-off in 2021. Whether they'll sink or swim is anyone's guess, but anticipation is naturally rife -- these films have been a long time coming.

1.  Pinocchio -- The upcoming Pinocchio is Guillermo Del Toro's long-awaited adaptation of the classic children's novel, popularized by Disney's 1940 animated film. Del Toro's project has had a awkward path towards principle production, having been cancelled in 2017 after Del Toro failed to acquire funding for his allegedly darker interpretation of the whimsical tale, which apparently retains its European setting but switches the 19th century setting for Mussolini's Italy. Del Toro has repeatedly called Pinocchio his passion project, claiming a "deep, personal connection" to the character.

After stagnating for over a year, Netflix came to Del Toro's creative aid on his career high from 2017's  The Shape of Water. Along with the Jim Henson Company, Pinocchio will finally materialize with co-director Mark Gustafson in tow. Gustafson's talents as animation director are essential for the film's stop-motion animation -- a unique, surreal style that could potentially be a nice change of pace from today's vapid, CG-overload fantasy tales. Incidentally, Disney's live-action Pinocchio is moving ahead. A release date is not yet set, and the film may be delayed while Del Toro completes Nightmare Alley, but production is progressing nicely with stars Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton and Christoph Waltz already on board. A 2021 release date on Netflix seems probable.

2.  Uncharted -- Naughty Dog's hugely successful video game franchise Uncharted is somewhat notorious for failing to muster a film adaptation. Talk of a movie featuring treasure hunter Nathan Drake dates back to 2009, after the success of Uncharted 2, and the project has since sifted through an array of directors. David O’Russell, Neil Burger, Seth Gordon, Shawn Levy, Dan Trachtenberg and Travis Knight have all taken a shot at prepping Sony's eagerly anticipated blockbuster, but each director fled the Uncharted project for undisclosed reasons.

But the future seemingly grows brighter for Drake and company. In what is now an Uncharted origin story, Tom Holland has been cast as a young Nathan, and Mark Wahlberg, in a surprising turnaround, is now on board as Drake's mentor Sully (Wahlberg signed on as Drake in O’Russell's version, that was also to feature Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci). Antonio Banderas has also joined the roster of actors. They will be led by Venom director Ruben Fleischer, who took over from Knight in January, which (yet again) delayed the movie from its previous December 2020 release date, replacing Masters of the Universe on Sony's release schedule in the process. Assuming Fleischer doesn't join his predecessors in walking away from Uncharted, the movie is set for release on March 5th 2021.

3.  Space jam 2 -- The original Space Jam appealed to sports and classic cartoon fans alike, and its $230 million worldwide gross put a sequel on the cards almost immediately. However, plans for Space Jam 2 were scrapped in favor of 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action , which is currently Bugs, Daffy and friends' last effort on the silver screen. A sustained interest in the '90s classic has lead to a variety of stalled sequels in recent years. These featured the Tunesquad in different games with different sports celebrities, including golf with Tiger Woods and skateboarding with Tony Hawk.

The upcoming Space Jam 2  sequel is evidently a much more back-to-basics approach. NBA champion LeBron James is set to replace Michael Jordan as the Tunes' captain with director Malcom D. Lee filling Joe Pytka's boots as captain of production. Ryan Coogler even features in a Producer role. Actors Don Cheadle and Sonequa Martin-Green have joined the returning Looney Tunes favourites, who are sure to give the "Monstars" an exciting and madcap rematch.

4.  The batman -- Batman's next solo outing, The Batman , has swerved drastically since the DCEU culminated in 2017's horifically mismanaged Justice League . Initially intended to be directed and co-written by then-incumbent star, Ben Affleck, he left The Batman project in 2017 and recently citied a "loss of interest" in the character.

After briefly dropping out, Matt Reeves is back to oversee yet another reboot of the dark knight legend. Little is known of the narrative, except it will not incorporate the Affleck script, nor be connected to the virtually extinct DCEU. Reeves' ideas are intriguing: he has described it as a more detective-oriented story that takes inspiration from the graphic novel The Long Halloween. The caped crusader definitely has his work cut out in this picture, with Catwoman, The Penguin and The Riddler rounding out the movie's rogue's gallery.

Robert Pattinson was surprisingly Reeves' top choice for the role, and the actor's youthful appearance suggests it will center on Batman's early days. A rough, makeshift costume revealed in February supported this idea; more recently, images of The Batman's Batmobile were revealed. Assisted by Andy Serkis' Alfred, The Batman takes to the streets June 25th 2021.

5.  Sherlock Holmes 3 -- Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are expected to reprise their roles as Holmes and Dr Watson respectively in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes 3 . The series that has long stalled squarely thanks to Downey Jr.'s MCU commitments, portraying Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Fans may have had three seasons of the BBC's Sherlock to get their fix, but certainly, some are eager to see Downey Jr.'s appealing performance as the Victorian detective once again, particularly after a decade-long absence.  Originally scheduled for December 2020, suspiciously, Sherlock Holmes 3  was delayed for an entire year.

Guy Ritchie directed the original 2009 film as well as its sequel, A Game of Shadows, but has vacated the chair for a potential third film. Hot from Elton John biopic Rocketman, British director Dexter Fletcher will replace him and has noted the inevitability that his sequel will be different to Ritchie's interpretation of the franchise.

Delays have been happening in the screenplay department for Sherlock Holmes 3. Chris Brancato is the latest writer hired to pen a script, after original's screenwriters Drew Pearce and James Coyne each turned in inadequate drafts of their own. Law has stated he and the filmmakers want the film to "be better" than the predecessors, so are understandably cautious about releasing a less-than brilliant "threequel." As the Sherlock Holmes 3 cast gears up, there's still time to perfect everything before its December 2021 release.

6.  Avatar 2 -- If anyone can believe it, Avatar was released more than a decade ago in 2009. Even before the movie's billion-dollar success, James Cameron had a rich vision and universe all laid out, which multiple sequels designed for him to draw from. Initially, Cameron envisioned Pandora and its surrounding worlds to be explored in a total of three sequels, with Avatar 2 finally releasing in December... of 2014.

Cut to seven years and multiple delays later, and there's not been a poster, trailer or much public interest to maintain faith in the continuation of the Na'vi story. But Cameron has evidently been working very hard. Development on the  Avatar sequels, although exhaustively drawn out, has never officially halted; Cameron has blamed an "involved writing process" for the Avatar sequels' setbacks, and even has hired some much-needed help in the form of four additional screenwriters, including Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.

Always the pioneer, Cameron has also focused his efforts on helping the motion capture and 3D technology that made the original film so ground-breaking, although will not use the controversial HFR. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang will be back on Pandora on December 17th, 2021.

7.  Indiana Jones -- After the release of 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , Harrison Ford said that he'd love to do Indiana Jones 5 , if it didn't take "another 20 years" to be released. Well, half of that time has passed, and the quickest the sequel will be released is likely 2021.

Similar to Avatar, Indy 5's mid-2010s release date was replaced by a blowing tumbleweed. In the 12 long years since Crystal Skull, and some back and forth over the sequel's script, director Steven Spielberg has ultimately left the project. This is and isn't surprising. His mixed feelings about the fourth film seemingly indicated that he wanted to close off the series with a more satisfactory story, but his commitment to various projects over the past decade strongly suggested he was dragging his feet on helming the film.

Ford has always been game to return, and Spielberg is expected to join Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in a Producer capability. There is no word that David Koepp's script is finalised, but production is clearly moving along, as evidenced by Lucasfilm's hasty recruitment of Logan director, James Mangold. Ford himself expects to start shooting Indy 5  in two months.

It's known that the film will not kill off Indy, nor will it integrate Shia LaBeouf's Mutt Williams; however it remains a mystery what Indy's quest will be. Ford has been deliberately vague, only hinting at where the character will go, promising a "resolve" to Indy's story. Given Ford's age and that the series was intended as five films, it's only natural that everything concludes here -- although the ever-eager Disney will inevitably pursue the reboot path in due time. Director and script troubles notwithstanding, Indiana Jones 5 will likely join the other development hell movies to be released in 2021.

[junker-town]

2021 NBA player rankings, Nos. 91-101: Dion Waiters will always be a cult hero

We slip a personal favorite in just before the list concludes, then run through a couple interesting youngsters.

We begin our countdown of the 101 best players in the NBA in four years with a cult favorite, then hit a couple intriguing young prospects, some old reliables, and a particularly interesting case at No. 92.

Here’s how this countdown works. Read this before yelling at us.

Here’s the full #101of2021 list as its unveiled.

101. Dion Waiters

The one and only. Miami saved his career, and Waiters will be in his physical prime in 2021. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were top 50. He wouldn’t be surprised if he were top 10.

-Tom Ziller

Our reactions

CHRIS GREENBERG: I hope that we can all find someone who unconditionally believes in us the way that Ziller believes in Waiters.

TIM CATO: Given the current geopolitical state of the world, Waiters Island seems like a rather safe place to be. I’m gonna take the SB Nation yacht out for an extended stay if anyone wants to come.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Well, yeah:

Dion Waiters is my favorite https://t.co/syvtNsYH7m

— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) July 15, 2014

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: We started out with the most perfect pick. I hope the rest of this lives up.

MATT PINEDA, HOT HOT HOOPS: DO. NOT. TELL. DION. He won't like this.

But by this time, he'll just be an iso scorer.

100. Bol Bol

I'll let our neighborhood high school hoops expert handle this one: "Bol Bol is the 5-star recruit carrying a famous name and a tantalizing game" was the headline on a story published by Ricky in May.

That sounds impressive. Bol outscored Marvin Bagley III in a high-profile matchup that his team won handily around that time. That also sounds impressive.

This 7’2 kid is the son of Manute Bol. He was another tall gentleman who blocked lots and lots of basketball shots.

-Chris Greenberg

Our reactions

TIM CATO: If we were picking based off names, he’d go No. 1.

TOM ZILLER: Just beating out Mo Bamba.

99. Caris LeVert

My guy, Caris. They can sleep on you all they want. I ain’t gonna do it.

Real recognize real, and I see you, my guy. You finna develop a consistent three-point shot, be a legitimate two-way wing, show the world you can handle the ball especially in pick-and-roll scenarios, and be part of a Brooklyn team that will be .500 in 2021. Salute, fam.

-Kristian Winfield

Our reactions

MIKE PRADA: I thought long and hard about taking LeVert instead of the guy I took at 95, but I need to see more than a handful of intriguing games with a crappy team to fully jump on board. It wouldn’t stun me if he’s a lot higher than this, though.

MATT ELLENTUCK: I covered Maryland basketball for two years and saw this dude play a total of zero times at Michigan. Congrats to Caris on finally being healthy, and I hope things work out for him now.

TOM ZILLER: Quincy Douby once scored 32 points in an NBA game.

TIM CATO: More importantly, Rodrigue Beaubois dropped 40.

98. Victor Oladipo

Oladipo is going to have a nice little career-saving experience in Indiana. He’s going to be a fan favorite in the Hoosier state, so his confidence will be sky high and he’ll be free to grow alongside a young and promising Myles Turner.

-Whitney Medworth

Our reactions

CAITLIN COOPER, INDY CORNROWS: Barely clinging to the top 100 amid pesky Gary Harris-hindsight will probably be inevitable for Oladipo, unless he blossoms into the elite defender he was projected to become or stops being reliant upon higher usage to compensate for limited shooting ability and sometimes-questionable decision-making.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Sneak peek at the Oladipo-Pacers:

why do the pacers always have to look so upset in every 2k trailer http://pic.twitter.com/zlQcy1zpSX

— Whitney Medworth (@its_whitney) August 16, 2017

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: Thought this was a receipt-free zone, Matt.

ZITO MADU: Look, I can’t even vouch for him as a Nigerian. You’re on your own here.

97. JaMychal Green

Green’s already older, turning 27 in June. But he’s an athletic dude with a really solid jumper who reminds me of a Serge Ibaka starter kit, at least offensively. This is only his third year in the league after a four-year college stint and some time spent overseas, so it’s safe to call him a late bloomer. He’s already a decent player, so a few years of slight improvements should put him near the top 100, if not actually there.

-Tim Cato

Our reactions

JOE MULLINAX, GRIZZLY BEAR BLUES: JaMychal Green still being a relevant NBA player in 2021 would be a major accomplishment for a player who began his career in the D-League.

TOM ZILLER: This presumes JaMychal Green actually has a contract by 2021, right?

MATT ELLENTUCK: Can’t NOT be ranked in the top 100 if you don’t have a contract.

96. Serge Ibaka

Shrugs. I’m not that confident about this pick at all. While his athleticism will surely decline, I feel that he can still be a serviceable stretch four for championship teams in four years. It would be his 12th year in the league, but he will be 31 years old. I’m torn.

-Kofie Yeboah

Our reactions

MIKE PRADA: His game has really fallen off in the last couple of years. I was optimistic that his athletic decline in Oklahoma City was due to playing out of position with the emergence of Steven Adams, but he looked even less springy this year.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: I’m a huge fan of Serge the person but not a big fan of the basketball player he’ll be in 2021. Thirty-one is still pretty young, but his game won’t age well.

TIM CATO: Whatever the reason, it feels like he has hit his athletic peak and is on the decline at this point. Yes, he has developed his skill set, but his talents are still wrapped too far around athleticism for his decline to be a good thing for his future.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Ditto everyone else. Ibaka’s drop-off has been a sad one.

95. Taurean Prince

I just love this dude’s game. No idea if he’ll ever be good enough as a pick-and-roll player to be a high point scorer, but he’s forever the kind of player who every good team needs. A Jae Crowder for a new generation, and I mean that as a compliment.

-Mike Prada

Our reactions

JEFF SIEGEL, PEACHTREE HOOPS: Prince has the physical traits to be a high-level starting wing, but there are certainly questions about whether he'll be able to put it all together and if his skill on either end of the floor will be enough to vault him into the top tier of wings in the league.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Prince had a really solid rookie year, and I almost took him with me next pick. It’s still tough to deduce what his future will be like after one season, but with the Hawks in tank mode, he’ll get plenty of opportunity in 2018.

TOM ZILLER: Saying he’ll get plenty of opportunity for a moribund, invisible Hawks team is like saying I’ll get plenty of opportunity as an architect when I bust out the Legos with my kid this weekend. It’s technically true!

94. Tristan Thompson

Tristan Thompson is an extremely solid player who undoubtedly makes the Cavaliers way better in any series that isn’t against the Golden State Warriors. A clean-up and lob-finish player like him will last in this league, and though he may not have the tools to develop into a team’s best two or three players, he’s going to have a starting role for a while.

-Matt Ellentuck

Our reactions

CHRIS MANNING, FEAR THE SWORD: Thompson’s two best skills — rebounding and switching — and his durability should keep him on this list. Just imagine if he could develop just a bit of range between now and 2021.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: Only problem here is that for Tristan to be this good, he needs to be on a good team. Who knows what happens to him in the inevitable LeBron James fallout with Cleveland.

TOM ZILLER: I remember how anonymous Thompson was on pre-LeBron Cleveland. That could be back next year.

TIM CATO: No doubt — but anonymous players can still fall in the fringe top 100.

93. Stanley Johnson

This is a total reach given what Johnson has done in his first two years in the league so far. I still believe, though. He has the size and mindset to defend anyone, and he can do a little bit of everything on offense. Give him a chance, Stan!

-Ricky O’Donnell

Our reactions

MATT ELLENTUCK: Stanley @ed SB Nation on his Instagram story to prove to us he hugged Frank Kaminsky one time. I don’t know what that means for his basketball future though.

TOM ZILLER: When your minutes get cut by 23 percent in your second season and not because the team improved its roster, that’s generally a bad sign.

MIKE PRADA: Ricky will starve on Stanley Johnson Island once Stan Van Gundy lays siege to it.

92. Jae Crowder

I think Jae Crowder can only improve. As his career goes on, he’ll be seen as consistent and an asset on both ends of the floor. His trade to Cleveland will make him more valuable, and he’ll put up better numbers playing with a great passer like LeBron James.

Even though he’ll be over 30 by 2021, I think playing with LeBron will do a lot for his career, the same way it has for others.

-John Ketchum

Our reactions

TIM CATO: Crowder’s the type of player who’s primed for the best season of his career simply because he’s playing with LeBron James. But the most impressive trick would be if Crowder can somehow play all four of the following seasons with James, wherever he ends up signing.

CHRIS MANNING, FEAR THE SWORD: If his 2016-17 shooting numbers hold up, and he doesn't slip too much defensively, Crowder should still be one of the league's best complementary players in 2021.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: I really hope Crowder doesn’t get stuck in Cleveland after LeBron bolts.

MATT ELLENTUCK: I think the opposite of Whitney. If LeBron bolts and Crowder builds on the improvement we saw from him on the offensive end last season, he’s a deserving starting small forward. Cleveland would suddenly have money to pay him, too.

CHRIS GREENBERG: Agree that Crowder can be a high-leverage, two-way asset while LeBron is in Cleveland. And I’m always here for ALL CAPS TWITTER. But it’s probably not a good sign for this pick that we’re referring to him as simply a “deserving starting small forward.”

91. Evan Fournier

Just as a preview of what’s to come from my erstwhile comrades, I thought Fournier was going to be my pick in the 60s. But these folks just kept picking worse prospects who will either still be children in ‘21 or will be on their athletic deathbeds. I should also note that this is Fournier’s ultimate triumph over Mario Hezonja, who unbelievably went unpicked.

-Tom Ziller

Our reactions

CORY HUTSON, ORLANDO PINSTRIPED POST: Fournier will be 29 in 2021, so it's fair to say he won't have fallen off a cliff by that point.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: Tom is right! Just google him and see for yourself!

TIM CATO: Whitney. This is a family website.

MATT ELLENTUCK: I googled him, and you’re all invited to my funeral.

[wavenetinfo]

Stranger Things fans caught a glimpse of the new, much larger monstrosity coming for the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in the trailer. But in case you need further confirmation, executive producer Shawn Levy says “season 2 makes the Demogorgon look quaint.”

During an interview on Facebook with The Hollywood Reporter, Levy teased a “darker” and “more ambitious” return for the Duffer Brothers’ supernatural phenomenon.

“I was just in the edit room with the brothers yesterday, and we’re like, ‘This is definitely darker. I hope everyone’s down with this,’ because the threats to Hawkins and to our characters are bigger, darker, often times scarier,” he said of the Netflix series. “So people who found season 1 too scary for them, probably you’re going to be more scared by season 2. But again, the best thing I can tell you is that through it all, it’s got the best heart. But it is, cinematically and budgetary, it’s definitely more ambitious.”

RELATED: 10 Rules If You Want to Hang with the Cast of Stranger Things As EW first reported in our exclusive cover story, Stranger Things season 2 picks up nearly a year after the season 1 conclusion. It’s Halloween and the boys are going as Ghostbusters, but Will (Noah Schnapp) is seeing images from the Upside Down and he’s not sure if they’re real.

Meanwhile, his mom Joyce (Winona Ryder) is trying to make things stable for him, while dating an old high school classmate (Sean Astin); Hopper (David Harbour) is trying to keep the events of last season under wraps to protect Joyce and the kids; and Eleven’s backstory will be explored. Plus, there are some new faces popping into Hawkins.

Levy warns season 2 might disappoint some fans, especially since Barb is not coming back from the dead. “I’ve had a lot of people, some huge celebrities, come up to me at these awards shows, like, ‘So, between us, Barb’s coming back, right?’ I’m like ‘No, you saw, she had like a creature, slug, worm, snake, coming out of her mouth. I don’t know that there’s a bounce back from that,’” he said. “So no, we are not going to cravenly service the wish list of fans. We’re going to service the Duffer instincts and what they feel is the right story to tell.”

Watch more from Levy in the video below.

The first trailer for Stranger Things season 2 dropped during the Super Bowl, and new episodes will premiere this Halloween.

17 June 2017 | 5:35 pm

Nick Romano

Source : Entertainment Weekly

>>>Click Here To View Original Press Release>>>

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); June 18, 2017 at 12:05AM

[nostalgiaispeace]

536

Bold Survey

You are female:

You are in high school: You dropped out of high school: You graduated within the last 5 years: You live on your own: You live within 20 minutes of your best friend: You live within 20 minutes of the last person you kissed: You live within 20 mintues of your ex: You have hugged someone in the last 48 hours: You have been to the movies within the last week: You have had 3 or more boyfriends/girlfriends just this year: You have been a designated driver: You have broken merchandise and not paid for it: You have played strip poker: You are Catholic: You are Atheist: You recycle regularly: You are a brunette: You have dated a blonde: You are friends with a redhead: You are taller than your mom: You have a checking account: You’ve written a check for less than $5: You have visited the Statue of Liberty: You have visited the Eiffel Tower: You have visited Big Ben: You have visited the Colosseum: You have visited The Great Wall of China: You have never been out of the country: You have been a waiter/waitress: You own a Bible: You own something with a Pentagram on it: You have used a Ouija Board: You have been a witch for Halloween: You have been a zombie for Halloween: You have been a Disney character for Halloween: You don’t celebrate Halloween: You have your belly button pierced: You have your tongue pierced: You have your eyebrow pierced: You have a Monroe piercing: You have your nose pierced: You have an ankle tattoo: You have a wrist tattoo: You have a back tattoo: You have no tattoos: You have more than 5 tattoos: You straighten your hair: You have worn a dress in the last 3 days: You live somewhere that gets snow: You celebrate Hanukkah: You were at your own house last New Year’s: You were at a bar last New Year’s: You slept through last New Year’s: You have worked on Christmas Eve: You have worked on Christmas: You have been told ‘I love you’ by someone today: You were told by someone not who’s not family: You slept in your own bed last night: You are dating the last person you kissed: You regret kissing the last person you kissed: You enjoyed your last kiss: You are wearing a necklace right now: You are wearing something red: You are wearing something blue: You are wearing something purple: Your phone is fully charged: Your phone number ends with an even number: You have kissed the last person you called/texted: You last called/texted a boy: You are currently listening to music: You are waiting for something: You don’t like seafood: You have eaten deer sausage: You have given a complete stranger your phone number: You have been hit on at work: You have been hit on by someone more than 20 years older than you: You have been whistled at: You were creeped out by it: You are a good speller: You are very punctual: You were dating someone in December of 2008: You are still dating that person: You have cheated on someone: You have been cheated on: You have been on a cruise ship: You have camped out in your own backyard: You are wearing something that doesn’t belong to you: You are a Pisces: You are a Leo: You are a Capricorn: You have Irish heritage: You have Polish heritage: You have Japanese heritage: You have Israeli heritage: You have German heritage: You have Portuguese heritage: You have French heritage: You have Norwegian heritage: You have Korean heritage: You were born in May: You were born in June: You were born in October: You wonder what will happen when you die: You are afraid of the dark: You write in all capital letters: You have been told you have nice handwriting: You have had a song written for you: You have had a picture drawn of you: You have curly hair: Your phone provider is Sprint: Your phone provider is AT&T: Your phone provider is Verizon: You live within an hour of your birthplace: You are wearing a watch: You are wearing flip flops: You wouldn’t date someone who smoked: You know someone with the same birthday as you: You are a morning person: You are a night owl: You slept in past 10am today: You have big plans for next weekend: You are thinking of someone right now: Your job is stressing you out: You don’t have a job: You have never had a job: You were fired from your last job: You know sign language: You made your bed today: You will usually try something at least once: You have been swimming in the last month: You are pessimistic by nature: You have taken a ballet class: You have taken karate: You have taken gymnastics: You wish on shooting stars: You wish at 11:11: Your birthday has already come this year: You have been in a relationship that lasted longer than a year: You ended your last relationship: Your ex ended your last relationship: You are over your ex: You have gone after someone you knew was bad for you: You have let someone use you: You have been in a physically abusive relationship: You are engaged: You are married: You are divorced: You have a child: You were/are a teenage mom: You were named after someone: You like your name: Your last drink was water: You have visited somewhere said to be 'haunted’: You have skipped school just because you didn’t feel like going: You have taken medicine when you 'feel a headache coming on’: You are self-conscious about your body: You have a hangover: You have had a Jehovah’s Witness show up at your house: You have pet fish: You live on a farm: You live in a trailer: You live in Montana: You live in South Carolina: You live in Illinois: You live ini Maryland: You live in New Mexico: You have godparents: Your parents are still married: You have step-siblings: You are the oldest: You are adopted: You have a twin: You don’t want kids: You want more than four kids: You have a bad temper: You have made out with a complete stranger: You usually make the first move in an intimate situation: You regret losing your viriginity: You lost your viriginity to someone the same age as you: You lost your virginity to someone you were dating: You lost your virginity before you were sixteen: You have worked with a Kayla: You have gone to the movies with a Jared: You have hugged a Lexie: You have held hands with a Marcus: You have dated a Rachel: You have kissed a David: You have ridden in a car with a Nicole: You have had class with a Patrick: You have gone out to eat with a Chloe: You know a Kyle in the military: You are related to a Julie: You have gotten drunk with a Brent: You have broken your arm: You have had to get stitches on your face: You have had an MRI: Your fingernails are painted: Your fingernails are painted black: You like to read: You like to cook: You like to draw: You can play an instrument: You keep a lot of secrets from people: You are don’t think people would accept you if they really got to know you: You don’t trust people easily: You borrowed something you really need to give back to someone: You drive a car older than a 2002: You have lost a friend you never thought you would: You know a child who died of cancer: You know a teenager who died in a car wreck: You have done something illegal in the past 24 hours: You have cut your hair in the last week: You wear glasses: You have been pulled over for speeding: You love to drive with the windows down: Your favorite season is Autumn: Your favorite color is orange: Your favorite animal is a dolphin: You last rode in a car with a relative: You last rode in a car with a girl: You last rode in a car with the person you are dating: You regularly watch soap operas: You love Italian food: You love Mexican food: You love Chinese food: You can see a box of tissues from where you are: You can see your reflection in a mirror: You can see what’s on tv from where you are: Your best friend is older than you: You have to go to school/work tomorrow: You answered every question truthfully:

[wbwest]

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West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 5/26/17

Here we are, on the verge of a 3-day weekend, which means nobody’s gonna read this thing. Still, “the show must go on”…

Well, the week was filled with spider news, as last Friday Sony announced that Tom Hardy will star in a Venom film. If you’re not “in the know”, Venom is a Spider-Man villain comprised of an alien symbiote suit and Peter Parker’s professional rival, Eddie Brock. Sadly, the film’s not meant to cross over with Spider-Man: Homecoming or any bit of Tom Holland’s portrayal. I’m starting to think Sony’s deal with Marvel Studios is actually a bad thing, as it seems like Spidey’s addition to the MCU is to the detriment of his expanded universe to which Sony still owns the rights. I don’t really care about a Venom without a Spider-Man. To add to that, yesterday, Sony announced a film starring Spider-Man supporting cast members Silver Sable and Black Cat, to be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball). I really don’t think there’s much to say about these characters without the possibility of a Spider-Man cameo. I get where Sony’s coming from; they have all these characters, so they might as well do something with them. That said, earlier talks made it sound like they were building their own Spider-Man-centric film universe, but since the MCU deal went through, Spider-Man no longer seems to be part of the equation.

Meanwhile, the Licensing Expo was this week, and we got our first look at the poster for the animated Spider-Man movie, starring Miles Morales. Apparently it was created by a child. Maybe a Make-A-Wish kid? Seriously, that thing is terrible.

It wasn’t all bad Spider News, however, as we got the third trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming. They’re basically giving away the movie at this point, but I’m still a guaranteed butt in a seat. A lot of people are having issues with it, but I kinda like that this is basically Iron Man 4. I really didn’t need a new Spider-Man, so throwing Tony Stark in there is a good way to get me interested. I mean, I liked Tobey Maguire. I liked Andrew Garfield. I’m sure I’ll like Holland, but I’m kinda tired of the Spider-Man revolving door. Now that he’s tied into the MCU, I hope the Holland casting sticks. Then again, we’ve had three Hulks already, so…

This poster, however, is horrendous, but endearingly so. I mean, it’s really bad Photoshop, but I still kinda like it. It’s busier than Times Square at rush hour, but I love it in all its ugliness. It looks like it should be airbrushed on a denim jacket at the mall.

Across the aisle, things aren’t going so well for the DC movie slate, either. First up, Doug Liman has dropped out of directing the Justice League Dark film due to his commitment to Lionsgate’s adaptation of the young adult series Chaos Walking. In case you didn’t know, Justice League Dark would focus on the more mystical DC Comics characters, like John Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman and others, battling supernatural threats – ya know, like the kind the Suicide Squad had no business fighting. I’ve got no interest in this, but that’s ’cause I don’t really like magic. If they manage to get Swamp Thing into the movie, though, I think it’ll increase its appeal. Right now, though, they’re just a bunch of magical nobodies coasting on the Justice League name which might not even hold any power if that movie fails this Fall.

In sadder news, Zack Snyder bowed out of Justice League post-production work to spend time with his family as they grieve the loss of his daughter, Autumn, to suicide. It was revealed that Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the film, which now has fans cautiously optimistic. Just last week, there were reports that there had been so many reshoots that the film was basically a different movie from what was originally shot. It’s possible, however, that these reshoots were part of Whedon’s plan. It’s really unfortunate what the Snyder family is going through, and it’s deplorable that some folks are making jokes about the situation.

In other movie news, it was revealed that Tom Cruise’s upcoming film, The Mummy, will kick off a Universal Monsters cinematic universe called Dark Universe. I bet they stayed up real late to think of that one! Anyway, Russell Crowe will portray Dr. Jekyll (who also appears in The Mummy), Javier Bardem will play Frankenstein’s monster, and Johnny Depp will play The Invisible Man. The next film in the franchise will be The Bride of Frankenstein, to be released on Valentine’s Day of 2019. Ya know what’s funny? DC’s Justice League Dark film was also going to be called Dark Universe. Somebody’s gonna have to lawyer up!

In TV news, it was reported that Hamilton scribe and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, will voice Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera AKA Gizmoduck in the upcoming DuckTales reboot. Cabrera? Really? He’s even brown now to go along with the name change. I know some folks are gonna have an issue with this. Hell, I even kinda have an issue with it. But if they’re gonna inject some diversity into Duckburg, I guess I’d rather them do this than, say, Launchpad McQuack-Jenkins.

While we knew that Bobby Moynihan was leaving Saturday Night Live, just hours before the season finale it was revealed that Vanessa Bayer would also be leaving. Then, Monday morning, it was reported that Sasheer Zamata would also be leaving the show. I’m really gonna miss Vanessa, as she definitely grew on me. Her characters have this adorable aloofness to them that I’ve come to enjoy. She’s got a big future playing the best friend in romantic comedies ahead of her. Sasheer was simply underutilized. She was always in the background of sketches, or only had a line or two. I hear that she really shined in the writers room, coming up with sketches like Black Jeopardy. I feel like SNL will merely be a footnote on her resume, as she goes on to bigger things, like Noël Wells and Jenny Slate.

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining some of my favorite people on the Nerd Lunch podcast, where discussed some of the greatest pop culture deaths. Nobody was safe, from Santa Claus to Michael Knight! And I finally got to join my pal Vincent (@RobotsPJs) on a podcast, which has been years in the making. We had a great time, and I think you’ll have a great time listening to it, so check it out!

Song of the Week

This week, I’ve got “It Ain’t My Fault”, by Brothers Osborne. Not only are they local boys, but I love the fact that this song/video has layers. Read the title and then watch the video. They’re trying to tell us something – the same kind of thing that sank the Dixie Chicks all those years ago. My how times have changed!

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Fresh off playing nurse Claire Temple in the Marvel Netflix shows, Rosario Dawson is in talks to play Dr. Cecilia Reyes in the X-Men spinoff film New Mutants. Just go to medical school already, Rosario!

Twin Peaks made its triumphant return for those of you who are fans. Based on the ratings, that’s not many of you…

The Get Down was canceled by Netflix after one season.

Chicago Justice was canceled by NBC after one season.

The Ben 10 reboot was renewed for a second season at Cartoon Network.

SpongeBob SquarePants was renewed for season 12 at Nickelodeon, taking it through its 20th anniversary.

Trial & Error was renewed for a second season at NBC.

The Black-ish spinoff, College-ish, received a 13-episode order on Freeform.

TruTV’s Impractical Jokers will enter national weekday strip syndication this Fall.

The bodies haven’t even gone cold and they’re already announcing a reboot of the Resident Evil franchise, this time produced by James Wan (Saw).

Tom Holland has been cast as young Nathan Drake in the film adaptation of the Uncharted video game.

In the realm of musical sequels that no one asked for, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! will be released July 20th, 2018.

Elizabeth Banks is producing a Charlie’s Angels reboot, scheduled to be released June 7th, 2019.

Tom Cruise announced that a Top Gun sequel is planned to begin filming next year. Fat Val Kilmer is waiting by the phone.

TJ Miller is leaving HBO’s Silicon Valley at the end of the season.

Surprising no one who’s been paying attention, Power Rangers continues the trend of just adding “Super” to the title of its latest incarnation’s second season with Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel

The Boss Baby 2 is a-coming, March 26th, 2021.

Sophia Bush is leaving Chicago P.D. after last night’s season finale

In the UK, there’s an annual event called Red Nose Day, where they’ve been raising money to end child poverty for nearly 30 years. Launched by the nonprofit Comic Relief, the event has since raised over $1 billion globally. The event came to the US in 2015, where you can buy a red nose at Walgreens for a dollar, with the proceeds going to the charity. One of the co-founders of Comic Relief happens to be Richard Curtis – writer and director of one of my favorite movies, Love Actually. Now, a lot of people hate the film because it gave way to Garry Marshall imitations like Valentine’s Day and New Years Eve. You know, those schlocky romantic comedies with an ensemble cast where all the storylines converge at some point. I don’t care, ’cause I happened to like those movies, too, but I especially like Love Actually.

Well, to celebrate this year’s Red Nose Day, Curtis reunited most of the cast of Love Actually to give us a 15-minute sequel to the film, called Red Nose Day Actually. We get to catch up on the characters 13 years later, and I have to say that I was smiling the entire time. It was great seeing those characters again, from Bill Nighy’s Billy Mack to Hugh Grant’s Prime Minister. I could’ve done without Rowan Atkinson’s meticulous shopkeeper, but it was even sorta nice seeing him again, too. You feel old as shit, though, when you see little Sam, who’s now 26 years old. I think his segment made me the happiest of all. Or maybe it was seeing Jamie and Aurelia and their kids. Or maybe it was seeing Martine McCutcheon again (why doesn’t she get more work stateside?!). I don’t know. I loved the whole damn thing.

The special originally aired in the UK in March for their Red Nose Day, but they’ve gone to great pains to keep it off the internet. Yesterday was the US’s Red Nose Day, and a new version of the short aired last night on NBC. Ya know, they should really have everyone celebrate on the same day worldwide, but what do I know? Anyway, I actually missed the NBC version because of things, but I was intrepid enough to find the UK version online. This morning, however, NBC posted it on their website so I was able to compare and contrast. The only real difference is that the UK version cut out the Laura Linney update, with Patrick Dempsey as her husband. It was a nice aside, but I guess British audiences don’t know who Dempsey is, so they didn’t miss out on much. Anyway, I wish more movies would give us short reunion updates, maybe on anniversary edition Blu Rays or something. It was nice to get just a taste of what everyone’s been up to, without them being burdened by a full film that would be more than likely fall short of the original. If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go watch this thing a few more times, but it’s safe to say that Red Nose Day Actually had the West Week Ever.